5 g Drink-Powder Stick-Pack Spec: Fill, Foil and Moisture
By the Silk Foods Ceylon Editorial Team
Buyer’s snapshot
- For packs of 5 g to 50 g, OIML R 87 allows a tolerable deficiency of 9 per cent of the labelled weight, which is 0.45 g on a 5 g stick (OIML R 87).
- On a loose laminate rated at 0.5 g/m²/day, a 5 g stick can take in about 0.59 g of water in 180 days. A foil structure at 0.02 g/m²/day takes in about 0.02 g.
- Silk Foods Ceylon (SFC) runs single-serve sachets per quote today. Stick packs arrive at the Matale facility from December 2026. Small runs welcome, quote on request.
- The spec table and the moisture budget are the two items to put in front of a converter before artwork is released.
A drink-powder brand owner who asks for a 5 g stick usually writes one line on the brief: 5 g, foil, 14 sticks a box. A co-packer can quote against that line, but it cannot protect the brand from what the line leaves out. The first batch will have a fill weight, a laminate, a seal and a moisture level whether anyone specified them or not.
This post is the spec sheet behind that one line, for a brand owner who has a settled drink recipe and wants stick packs from Silk Foods Ceylon (SFC) once the machine is commissioned. The sachet and stick-pack co-packing overview covers format choice and lead times. This post covers the numbers a buyer writes into the sheet itself.
What belongs on a 5 g stick-pack spec sheet?
A stick-pack spec sheet is the one page that both the brand and the co-packer sign before a run, listing every measurable property of the finished stick and how each will be checked. Seven lines cover most drink powders, and each line should name a value, a method and a frequency.
| Spec line | What to write | How it is checked |
|---|---|---|
| Labelled net content | 5 g, in SI units, as the label states it | Check-weigh of sampled sticks |
| Target fill | A set point slightly above 5 g, agreed in writing | Running average of the sample |
| Tolerance | The tolerable deficiency and the hard floor | Count of sticks below each floor |
| Laminate | Layer structure, including a foil layer, and the water vapour transmission rate with its test condition | Converter datasheet, per roll |
| Powder moisture at fill | A maximum, set at the bench during R&D | Moisture check on each batch before filling |
| Seal integrity | No powder in the seal zone, no channel leaks | Visual and squeeze or immersion test at set intervals |
| Shelf life claim | Months, with the storage condition stated | Retained samples and a shelf-life study |
The spec is a document for the brand’s own protection. A line that names no method is a wish, and a co-packer cannot be held to a wish.
How much powder is really in each stick?
The labelled 5 g is a floor for the batch average, so the machine is set above it. Under OIML R 87, a 5 g pack may fall short by 0.45 g before it counts as defective, but the average of the sample must still reach 5 g. The earlier overview sets out the three-rule test in full, and the Measurement Units, Standards and Services Department describes its pre-packed goods inspections as following OIML practice.
Where this post adds to it is the order-size arithmetic. A brand planning 3,000 boxes of 14 sticks needs 42,000 sticks. At 5 g each, that is 210 kg of finished powder before any overfill. Each extra 0.1 g of set-point overfill adds 4.2 kg to the batch, and the brand pays for that powder whether or not anyone drinks it.
| Set-point overfill | Extra powder per stick | Extra powder across 42,000 sticks |
|---|---|---|
| 0.05 g | 0.05 g | 2.1 kg |
| 0.10 g | 0.10 g | 4.2 kg |
| 0.25 g | 0.25 g | 10.5 kg |
So the spec should state the target fill and the tolerance together. A tight target costs the machine more attention, and a loose one costs the brand powder. Neither is free, which is why the number belongs in the quote conversation and not only in the quality plan.
How much moisture can the foil let in?
A drink powder with sugar, milk solids or fruit solids takes up water from humid air and cakes, and a 5 g stick has very little powder to absorb the damage. The moisture budget below turns the converter’s water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) into grams of water over the shelf life. The stick is assumed to be 30 mm wide and 110 mm long, two faces, about 66 cm² of film. Seal areas are ignored, so the true figure is slightly lower.
| Laminate (assumed WVTR) | Water in per day | Water in over 180 days | Share of a 5 g stick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loose barrier, 0.5 g/m²/day | 0.0033 g | 0.59 g | about 12 per cent |
| Foil structure, 0.02 g/m²/day | 0.00013 g | 0.02 g | about 0.5 per cent |
One supplier buying guide suggests aiming for a transmission rate under 0.5 g/m²/day for hygroscopic powders, which makes 0.5 the edge of acceptable, not a comfortable target. Foil structures are generally far tighter, and the 0.02 figure here is an assumption for illustration. The brand should ask the converter for the measured value on the structure actually quoted.
Test conditions matter as much as the number. Laminate WVTR is commonly reported at a hot, humid test condition such as 38 degrees Celsius and 90 per cent relative humidity, which is harsher than most Sri Lankan warehouse conditions. The budget above is therefore an upper bound. A figure quoted without its test condition cannot be compared with one that has it.
Spec snapshot: 5 g drink-powder stick
Net content: 5 g labelled, set point agreed in writing
Barrier: laminate with a foil layer, WVTR and test condition on the converter’s datasheet
Moisture: maximum at fill set during R&D, checked per batch
Seal: no powder in the seal zone, leak-checked at intervals
Availability: stick packs from December 2026, quote on request
What decides seal quality for a fine powder?
Fine powder is the usual enemy of a stick seal. If particles dust into the seal area, the jaws close on powder instead of film, and the stick can leak in a carton weeks later while looking perfect on the line. Three checks reduce the risk. The sealant layer must tolerate contamination, the powder’s particle size and flow should be settled at the bench, and the seal should be tested on a retained sample at fixed intervals, with the interval written on the spec sheet.
The spray-dried drink-powder guide explains how the carrier and particle size are decided upstream. The same humidity discipline applies to dry tea, as set out in private-label herbal tea shelf life in Sri Lanka’s humidity.
Why is daily output not a number on this page?
Because Silk Foods Ceylon does not publish line speeds, and because the machine is not yet commissioned. A buyer still needs to plan, and daily output is a product of three things, only one of which the co-packer controls.
- Packs per minute is stated in the quote once commissioning is confirmed.
- Productive minutes are the shift minus the changeover, the cleaning, the check-weigh stops and any wait for film or powder.
- Quantity ordered is the buyer’s number, such as the 42,000 sticks above.
The second item is where short runs lose time, and the buyer can shorten it. A film roll that arrives with the right core size, a powder that arrives inside its moisture limit and a spec sheet signed before the booking all shorten the stops. The changeover and batch-size post shows how a fixed stop is spread over a run.
What does a missing spec line cost?
Consider a genericised composite, not one client. A ginger and lemongrass drink brand briefed a 5 g stick with the fill weight and nothing else. The converter’s roll turned out to be a loose-barrier structure of about the 0.5 g/m²/day class, chosen on price. By the moisture budget above, a stick on that laminate could take in about 0.59 g of water across 180 days, close to one-eighth of the powder’s weight. The first sticks to the distributor caked within the season. Adding a WVTR line and a moisture maximum to the sheet would have cost a conversation, not a batch.
Where SFC walks away
A brief that asks for a shelf life of more than a year on an unfoiled film is one SFC would ask the buyer to revise before quoting, as is a brief with no moisture limit on a sugar-heavy powder. Before stick packs arrive in December 2026, single-serve sachets are scoped per quote, and brands still iterating on flavour are better served by a few more bench rounds first.
Frequently asked questions
Does Silk Foods Ceylon offer stick-pack co-packing for drink powders?
Stick-pack co-packing arrives at the Matale facility from December 2026, when the stick-pack machine is commissioned. Until then, single-serve sachets are scoped per quote. Small runs are welcome and quoted on request. The certification scope of the stick line is confirmed after commissioning.
How much can a 5 g stick weigh below its label?
OIML R 87 sets the tolerable deficiency for packs of 5 g to 50 g at 9 per cent of the labelled weight, so 0.45 g on a 5 g stick. The batch average must still reach 5 g, and no stick may fall below the label minus twice that deficiency.
What laminate should a drink-powder stick pack use?
A structure with a foil layer is the usual choice for powders that take up moisture. One supplier guide suggests keeping the transmission rate under 0.5 g/m²/day for hygroscopic powders. Ask the converter for the measured rate and its test condition, then run the moisture budget for your shelf life.
Why does SFC not publish a daily output figure for stick packs?
SFC does not publish line speeds or capacities for any machine. Output depends on packs per minute, productive minutes and run size, and it is stated in each quote. For stick packs, no figure is available before the machine is commissioned in December 2026.
How Silk Foods Ceylon can help
For local brands moving a drink powder from a home blend to a retail stick, Silk Foods Ceylon (SFC) offers co-packing and contract manufacturing at its Matale facility, which is BRCGS- and FSSC 22000 V6-audited, with SLSI clearance and Sri Lanka Food Act compliance on retail SKUs. The in-house R&D team can settle the moisture limit and particle size at the bench in 3 to 4 weeks at most from a signed brief. Stick packs arrive from December 2026, and small runs are welcome, quoted on request. Send the five spec inputs from the table above with the brief. To brief a project, email b2b@esilkroute.com.lk or call +94 77 157 7294.
Sources
International Organization of Legal Metrology, OIML R 87, Quantity of product in prepackages: tolerable deficiency of 9 per cent for 5 g to 50 g and the three-rule test. Retrieved 5 November 2026. https://www.oiml.org/en/files/pdf_r/r087-e04.pdf
Parliament of Sri Lanka, Measurement Units, Standards and Services Department, Performance Report and Annual Accounts 2018, on pre-packed commodity inspection to OIML practice. Retrieved 5 November 2026. https://www.parliament.lk/uploads/documents/paperspresented/performance-report-measurement-units-standards-services-department-2018.pdf
Government of Sri Lanka (2026), Food (Labelling and Advertising) Regulations 2026, Gazette Extraordinary No. 2494/47, 26 June 2026, in operation from 1 July 2026, made under the Food Act No. 26 of 1980. Retrieved 5 November 2026. https://documents.gov.lk/view/egz/2026/6/2494-47_E.pdf
Alibaba.com, “How to Choose Sachet Sticks Foil Packaging: Buying Guide” (supplier guidance, not a standard): suggested transmission rate under 0.5 g/m²/day for hygroscopic powders. Retrieved 5 November 2026. https://smartbuy.alibaba.com/buyingguides/sachet-sticks-foil-packaging
Silk Foods Ceylon, internal capability data for the Matale facility: R&D 3 to 4 weeks maximum from signed brief to approved formulation; stick-pack machine commissioning from December 2026.
Written by the Silk Foods Ceylon Team. Silk Foods Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd. is a BRCGS- and FSSC 22000 V6-audited contract manufacturer in Matale, Sri Lanka, offering contract manufacturing, private labelling, co-packing, and in-house R&D for local Sri Lankan brand owners, FMCG companies, hotel and restaurant groups, and distributors. To brief a project: b2b@esilkroute.com.lk or +94 77 157 7294.
