BLACK SEED OIL CAPSULE STOCK UPDATE

STATEMENT REGARDING ONGOING CAPSULE STOCK ISSUES

25th October, 2025

Dear Customers,

Over the past year, we’ve faced ongoing challenges with the manufacturing of our Vegan Black Seed Oil Capsules, and we feel it’s important to be transparent about what’s been happening behind the scenes.

WHAT HAPPENED

Earlier this year, three full batches of capsules — Original, Strong, and Super-Strength — had to be disposed of due to manufacturing defects that only became apparent after production was complete. These batches were produced by our long-standing UK manufacturing partner, with whom we had never previously experienced any issues.

Unfortunately, these defects resulted in tens of thousands of pounds in losses, left us with no capsules available for sale, and understandably caused frustration among loyal customers. We decided to give the manufacturer another chance and sent a smaller batch of Super-Strength oil for encapsulation — but regrettably, this also failed.

WHY WE CAN’T SIMPLY “MAKE MORE”

After these repeated issues, it became clear that we could no longer rely on that manufacturer. However, suitable vegan capsule manufacturers in the UK — particularly those that can meet our required specifications and use our chosen shell ingredients — are extremely limited.

To date, we’ve only identified one UK manufacturer capable of producing capsules to our specification, and unfortunately, they are not currently able to take on new production.

As a result, we turned to a European manufacturer capable of meeting our technical and ingredient requirements. While the quality of their encapsulation has been excellent, the process has become far more complex and costly.

To produce our capsules now, we must:

1. Import our Nigella Sativa Seeds to the UK
2. Press our oil here in the UK
3. Ship that oil to Europe for encapsulation
4. Import the finished capsules back to the UK

These additional steps add considerable time and expense — each encapsulation run in total typically takes 12–18 weeks — but even longer when working with European manufacturers. Overall, this process has increased our total production costs by around 75%, forcing us to raise retail prices slightly — even though we’re still selling the capsules at an estimated 25% loss.

We’ve continued to offer them at this loss purely to keep our customers supplied, even though it’s not sustainable long-term.

WHY STOCKS ARE LIMITED

Our current arrangement in Europe is a temporary measure while we work to secure reliable UK-based manufacturing again. Each “small batch” we have so far produced has sold out within 24–72 hours, even with limits of 3 packs per customer.

Even more surprisingly, our latest batch (made available for purchase on 25th October), sold out in just over 2 hours — and this, despite us ordering a larger volume on this occasion.

We appreciate that given such a fast sell out, this likely means even more customers missed out this time. While some may question why we did not produce an even larger number on this occasion — this was quite simply because we are selling them at a loss, and as a business we need to keep those losses within what is sustainable to us.

Since we began producing these ‘small batches’, we’ve always notified our email subscribers first before that batch is released for sale, to give regular customers a fair chance to buy. If you’re not already subscribed, we strongly recommend doing so to receive early notifications. You can do that here.

WHY CAPSULES ARE EXCLUDED FROM PROMOTIONS

Some customers have recently expressed frustration that our capsules are excluded from our regular site-wide promotions, such as our ever-popular “Buy 2, Get 1 Free” offer.

We completely understand that this may feel disappointing, but the reasoning is straightforward. We’re already selling our Vegan Capsules considerably below cost due to the significant increase in manufacturing expenses. Offering further discounts would only increase those losses and risk discontinuation altogether.

We also do not want to incentivise bulk buying — and have always been clear that you should only purchase the amount that you genuinely need.

It’s also important to note that many of our other customers rely on these promotions to stock up on Bottled Oils, as well as Nigella Seeds & Powder — products that remain fully available. It would be unfair to suspend all promotions simply because one item in our range is experiencing supply issues.

Let’s be honest — if it were the other way around, would you be complaining?

In short, we’re doing our best to strike a fair balance: keeping capsule pricing as low as possible while continuing to reward customers purchasing other products through occasional promotions.

A SINCERE MESSAGE TO OUR CUSTOMERS

We fully understand how frustrating it has been to see our capsules repeatedly go out of stock, or remain out of stock for prolonged periods of time. Take it from us — we share that frustration — our team has spent the past year working tirelessly to overcome these manufacturing setbacks while continuing to produce our bottled oils, powders, and seeds without compromise.

We also want to make clear that verbal abuse or hostility toward our team will not help resolve the situation. Every member of our small, family-run business is doing their utmost to keep our products available, maintain quality, and look after our customers.

LOOKING AHEAD

We remain fully committed to returning capsule production to the UK as soon as a manufacturer can meet our technical and specification requirements. We are currently in advanced discussions and early trials with another UK manufacturer and are hopeful that with some adaption on their side, this will allow us to resume full UK-based production in the not-too-distant future.

In the meantime, our current plans are to continue releasing limited European-made batches until we reach a sustainable long-term solution.

We sincerely thank the vast majority of our customers who continue to support us, and understand the challenges we’ve faced this year. Your patience and loyalty genuinely keep us going, and as many of you know — we’ve always done our best to look after our customers and make no doubt about it — when things are back to normal we will not forget you.

For those who disagree with our temporary measures, we understand — but unfortunately, it just isn’t possible to please everyone. Our priority is to keep doing what’s right for the long-term health of our business and for the many customers who value what we do.

If that means some decide to shop elsewhere — even if just for now, we accept that — and we wish you well.

Once again we appreciate everyone’s continued patience, support, and understanding through what has been an incredibly challenging year for us.

Warm Regards,
The Black Seed Oil Co.