Why most bicarb products use pellets — and why ours doesn't.

The commercial bicarb market has settled into two delivery formats. Maurten's Bicarb System 19 and bicarb.shop use enteric-coated pellets. FLYCARB and BICARB.NET both use a hydrogel powder you mix with water. The question worth asking: why do some brands use pellets, and are we missing something by not joining them?

The short answer is no. The longer answer involves pH-sensitive polymers, fluid bed coaters, and a manufacturing barrier that separates kitchen-scale operations from pharmaceutical ones. Here's the full picture.

The two formats on the market

It's worth being precise about what's actually out there, because "bicarb supplement" covers significantly different product philosophies:

Enteric-coated pellets (Maurten Bicarb System 19, bicarb.shop) — sodium bicarbonate granules with a pH-sensitive polymer shell, packaged loose in a sachet or suspended in a gel carrier. The shell dissolves in the small intestine, bypassing stomach acid entirely. Highest manufacturing complexity, cleanest consumer experience.

Hydrogel powder (FLYCARB, BICARB.NET) — a dry blend that forms a viscous gel when mixed with water, physically slowing the bicarb's contact with stomach acid. FLYCARB ships from the UK at ~$6.10/serving and requires mixing. BICARB.NET is $5, made in Palo Alto, same approach.

Why pellets exist: the enteric coating solution

The pellet format was developed almost entirely to solve one problem: GI distress. When raw sodium bicarbonate contacts stomach acid (HCl, pH 1.5–3.5), they react immediately:

Enteric coating solves this with a pH-sensitive polymer shell. The coating is chemically designed to remain intact below pH 5 (the acidic environment of the stomach) and dissolve above pH 5–6 (the more alkaline small intestine). The pellets pass through the stomach untouched, then the shells dissolve in the small intestine and the bicarb absorbs into the bloodstream — without ever triggering the acid-base reaction.

The other reason is manufacturing and shelf life. Dry enteric-coated pellets are stable, precisely doseable by weight, easy to package in sachets or capsules, and have an indefinite shelf life in dry conditions. They don't require the end user to mix anything.

How enteric coating is actually manufactured

This is where kitchen-scale production hits a hard wall. Enteric coating is done using a process called fluid bed coating. Here's how it works:

1. Sodium bicarbonate granules are loaded into a coating chamber
2. A column of heated air suspends the granules in a fluidized state — they behave almost like a liquid, constantly tumbling and moving
3. A solution of enteric polymer (typically Eudragit L100-55, cellulose acetate phthalate, or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate) is sprayed onto the suspended granules continuously
4. The polymer deposits in a thin, uniform layer on each granule as the solvent evaporates in the airstream
5. This is repeated until the coating reaches the target weight — typically 10–15% of the core weight — at which point dissolution testing confirms the shells hold at pH 1.2 (simulated gastric fluid) and dissolve at pH 6.8 (simulated intestinal fluid)

A fluid bed coater capable of meaningful batch sizes costs $15,000–$150,000, requires pharmaceutical-grade enteric polymer (not a consumer ingredient), and demands dissolution testing equipment to validate every batch. Minimum order quantities at a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) that operates this equipment are typically 50–500kg of finished product per run.

Maurten almost certainly uses a pharmaceutical CMO in Europe. The magnesium stearate and hydroxypropyl cellulose in their ingredient list are classic pharmaceutical excipients used as flow agents and binders in pellet manufacturing — not ingredients you'd find in a kitchen formulation.

Why BICARB.NET's hydrogel achieves the same outcome

The goal of enteric coating is to physically separate sodium bicarbonate from stomach acid long enough for it to reach the small intestine. Enteric pellets achieve this via a pH-triggered polymer shell. BICARB.NET achieves it via viscosity.

When xanthan gum is mixed with cold water and allowed to hydrate for 3–5 minutes, it forms a thick, viscous gel. That gel encases the dissolved bicarb particles throughout the matrix. In the stomach, the gel's high viscosity physically slows the bicarb's exposure to acid — the acid has to diffuse through the gel to reach the bicarb, dramatically slowing the CO₂-producing reaction. The gel then moves into the small intestine where it breaks down and the bicarb absorbs.

This isn't a workaround — it's a valid delivery mechanism backed by research. Studies on enteric-coated bicarb (PMIDs 36705750 and 37027014, the 2023 CrossFit rowing RCT and swimming interval study respectively) show GI tolerability improvements consistent with what gel-based delivery achieves in practice.

The absorption timing argument

There's a case that hydrogel delivery is actually faster than enteric pellets in one important sense. Solid enteric-coated pellets, once they reach the small intestine, still need time for the polymer shell to dissolve and then for the liberated bicarb to dissolve in intestinal fluid before it can cross the intestinal wall into the bloodstream.

A liquid hydrogel that reaches the small intestine has already dissolved the bicarb — absorption can begin immediately as the gel matrix breaks down. Peak blood bicarbonate elevation may come slightly earlier with a gel format than with solid pellets, though the difference in practice is likely small and absorbed by individual variation.

The one real advantage pellets have

Consumer experience. With Maurten and bicarb.shop, you open a sachet, add water, drink — the pellets dissolve and you're done. No shaking, no waiting for a gel to form. For athletes who want zero friction in their pre-race routine, enteric pellets are genuinely more convenient than any powder format, ours included.

The mixing step in BICARB.NET's protocol is a real friction point, especially for first-time users. It's manageable — 90 seconds of shaking, 3 minutes of waiting — but it's a step that pellets eliminate entirely.