Thai fibre drink sachets: how to read the label

The useful parts of a fibre drink sachet label are the ingredient panel, the serving and mixing instructions, and the warning statement. The front of the box is mostly marketing. Thai sachet brands tend to have bright packs and big words like "DTX", "slim" or "detox", and the best thing a retailer can do is look past those to what the pack actually lists, then pass that on to customers in plain terms.

Start with which product line you are holding

Many Thai brands sell several drinks under one name, and the boxes look alike. Donutt is a good example. The seller describes it as "a Thailand-made dietary supplement drink mix range available in 9 flavours across two product lines":

• Fibely Plus Probiotics (Lime, Mango, Fibely Mixed, Passion Fruit, Pineapple, Tamarind), described as a fruit-flavoured fibre and probiotic powder mix.
• Instant Slimming (Coffee, Green Tea, Cocoa), described as a sugar-free instant beverage powder.

These are different products with different ingredients and different directions. Mikeo is similar: its range includes Fiber XS alongside tomato, coffee, matcha and vitamin C drinks. When you order or reorder, write the line and the flavour, not just the brand.

Find the fibre and the other actives

Once you know the line, look for what kind of fibre is in it. Common names you will see:

• Inulin and fructooligosaccharide (FOS), which are prebiotic fibres.
• Psyllium husk, a bulk-forming fibre.
• Polydextrose, a soluble fibre often used in drinks.

Donutt's Fibely Plus line lists prebiotic fructooligosaccharide, psyllium husk and a Bacillus coagulans probiotic strain. The Precious Skin Primme DTX Kiwi Plus pack in our range is one of the clearest labels we carry, because it gives amounts per sachet: gold kiwi powder 6,000mg, apple extract 6,000mg, inulin 2,500mg, polydextrose 2,500mg, then smaller amounts of garcinia extract, chitosan, green coffee bean extract and black pepper extract.

Many sachets also contain ingredients that have nothing to do with fibre. JOJI's DTX range lists glutathione, marine collagen, vitamin C, astaxanthin and CoQ10 across its variants. That is fine, but it means the drink is not simply a fibre supplement, and you should describe it by what is in it.

Serving and mixing instructions

This is the part customers most often get wrong, and the directions vary more than you might expect:

• Donutt Fibely Plus: mix 1 sachet with 150ml of room-temperature or cool water, stir until dissolved, 1 sachet a day.
• Donutt Instant Slimming: dissolve 1 sachet in 100 to 120ml of hot water, 1 to 2 times a day as desired.
• Mikeo: mix with 80ml of hot water, once a day, 15 to 30 minutes before breakfast or your first meal.
• Precious Skin Primme DTX: 1 sachet a day with 150 to 250ml of room-temperature water, 30 minutes to 1 hour before dinner.

Hot versus cool water, and morning versus evening, are both printed on the pack. If a customer asks how to take it, read them the pack's own line rather than paraphrasing. Anything beyond that, such as whether it suits someone on medication, pregnant or managing a condition, is a question for a pharmacist or doctor.

Read the warning statement in full

Good labels say what a product is not. Donutt's warnings include:

• Not recommended for children or pregnant or breastfeeding women.
• To be consumed as part of a varied, balanced diet, not as a meal replacement.
• "This product has no effect on the prevention or treatment of any disease."

That last line is worth noticing. It is the brand telling you how the product should be understood, and it is a sensible way to talk about the whole category.

Words on the front of the pack

"DTX", "detox", "slimming" and "fat" appear on a lot of these boxes and in some sellers' descriptions. Treat them as brand wording. We do not repeat them as promises on our site, and we suggest shops do the same in their own signage and listings. Describe a sachet by its fibre type, flavour and directions, and let customers read the box.

Health-related wording on products sold in Singapore can fall under the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), so if you are writing your own shelf talkers or online listings, check with HSA what applies to you.

Shelving and stocking

• Group by purpose. Put fibre-led drinks together, and collagen or beauty drinks together, in your wellness section.
• Keep laxatives separate. Fibre drinks are food-style supplements. Medicines for constipation are a different shelf, covered in laxative formats explained.
• Check box counts. Donutt and Primme DTX come as 10 sachets per box; Mikeo Fiber XS as 30.
• Check the pack you receive. Sachets are easy to copy, so buy from a source that can show you where stock came from. Our note on checking you are buying genuine stock has more.

If you want to try a few Thai sachet lines, list the brands and flavours on our enquiry page and we will tell you what we can supply, with pricing and minimum order.