Format origins
Why Korean Vitamin C Comes in 3,000 mg Stick Packs
The format looks unusual in the U.S. In South Korea, it has been everyday life for more than forty years.
UltraVitas did not invent the high-dose vitamin C stick pack. Here is the category that did — and what we took from it.
The 15-second answer
In South Korea, vitamin C is not primarily a pill. Powdered vitamin C in single-serve sticks has been a mainstream supplement format there since 1983, and 3,000 mg per stick has become a recognizable high-dose tier sold by the country’s best-known vitamin brand.
UltraVitas takes inspiration from that established Korean category and adapts it for U.S. consumers — with flavor development, zero-sugar formulations, and single-serve convenience.
Where the format comes from
Korea’s Four-Decade Powder Habit
In 1983, when vitamin C almost everywhere meant tablets, Kyung Nam Pharm launched LEMONA — Korea’s first powder-form vitamin C, sold in small individual packets. It became a fixture of Korean daily life: by 2022 the brand reported cumulative sales of 4.5 billion packets, and its yellow tins are recognizable enough that the company is closely identified with the color.
The format stuck for practical reasons: no swallowing pills, easy to carry, easy to share, and individually sealed so the powder stays fresh. In Korea, a stick of vitamin C powder in a bag or a desk drawer is as unremarkable as a multivitamin bottle is in the U.S.
The high-dose tier
Why 3,000 mg Became a Recognizable Format
Korea’s daily nutrient reference value for vitamin C is 100 mg. A 3,000 mg stick is therefore exactly 3,000% of the reference value — a round number that reads clearly as the high-potency tier, and one Korean consumers already understand.
This is not a niche. Kyung Nam Pharm sells multiple LEMONA products at exactly 3,000 mg per stick — including LEMONA Max 3000 and the LEMONA Daily Vitamin C 3000 launched in 2026 through Olive Young, Korea’s largest health-and-beauty retail chain, aimed at office workers and students who want a high-dose stick they can take anywhere.
In Korea, “3,000 mg in a stick” is a shelf category, not an experiment. UltraVitas brings that format to a market where it is still novel.
Different shelves, different defaults
How This Differs From Typical U.S. Formats
The U.S. vitamin C aisle is built around gummies, chewable and swallowed tablets, effervescent drink mixes, and lower-dose drink packets. Each has a practical ceiling: a gummy can only physically hold so much active ingredient before it stops being a gummy, and most effervescent packets top out around 1,000 mg.
A powder stick sidesteps those constraints. There is no tablet binder bulk, no gummy matrix, and no effervescent chemistry competing for space — which is how a single slim stick can carry 3,000 mg of vitamin C plus additional nutrients. The trade-off is that you mix it with water rather than chewing it.
What we took from it
The UltraVitas Version of a Korean Idea
UltraVitas is manufactured in Korea, inside the industry that built this category. What we adapted for U.S. consumers is the experience around the format:
- Flavor development — Apple, Lemon, and Korean Plum, formulated to make a tart active ingredient genuinely enjoyable.
- Zero-sugar formulations — 13 to 35 calories per stick, depending on the formula.
- Differentiated formulas — zinc and B-complex in the Immunity family, and Beauty with 2,500 mg marine collagen, probiotics, and biotin alongside its 3,000 mg of vitamin C.
Why UltraVitas cares
Why This Matters to UltraVitas
We think being straightforward about where the format comes from builds more trust than pretending we invented it. The Korean category proved that high-dose vitamin C in a stick can be a daily habit for millions of people. Our job is to make that experience feel at home in the U.S.
See how stick packs compare with pills, gummies, and effervescentsQuestions
Korean Stick Pack FAQ
From the Lab to the formula
Curious about the format?
All three current UltraVitas formulas use the single-serve powder stick — see what each one packs inside.
Citations
Scientific Sources & Further Reading
- Dong-A Ilbo. The secret of LEMONA's longevity ahead of its 40th anniversary (2022).LEMONA launched in 1983 as Korea's first powder-form vitamin C product; cumulative sales reached 4.5 billion packets by 2022. (Article in Korean.)donga.com
- EToday. Kyung Nam Pharm launches LEMONA Daily Vitamin C 3000, enters Olive Young (2026).A 3,000 mg-per-stick vitamin C product from Korea's best-known vitamin brand, sold through the country's largest health-and-beauty retailer. (Article in Korean.)etoday.co.kr
- Enuri price comparison. Kyung Nam Pharm LEMONA Max 3000, 3 g x 20 sticks.A second 3,000 mg stick-format LEMONA product, listed as a GMP-certified health functional food. (Listing in Korean.)price.enuri.com
- Hankyung Market Insight. LEMONA: 37 years of Korea's powder vitamin (2020).Background on the stick format's portability and the brand's place in Korean daily life. (Article in Korean.)marketinsight.hankyung.com