Supplement Line

Supp · Jan 9, 2008

I'm new to the board and not sure if I can post this here. Anyways, I want to start my own supplement line. What licenses do I need to keep everything in good standing with the FDA and government? I live in the USA. Any info on this would be appreciated.

dancinfool · Jan 16, 2008

Try trueprotein.com

I believe they will make you any supps you want in blank containers. Not sure if you had your own recipes in mind, but I hear they do pretty good work and have decent bulk prices.

powertec · Jan 16, 2008

Is the supplement industry regulated by the fda?

BOOMSHAKER · Jan 16, 2008

Hey BIG A, is this where the buddy chimes in with the "website" to go to?

Supp · Jan 17, 2008

So far I have yet to find information about a license. I've already purchased equipment, supplements, and bottles. Working on the labels and logo as we speak. I can't believe out of 78 views, no one seems to know.

PHIL HERNON · Jan 19, 2008

No offense

Supp said:
So far I have yet to find information about a license. I've already purchased equipment, supplements, and bottles. Working on the labels and logo as we speak. I can't believe out of 78 views, no one seems to know.

May I ask what you plan on selling? What will make your company different than the other 300 companies selling supplements? Cheaper? Higher quality? Exotic, synergistic blends?

Ryce · Jan 19, 2008

PHIL HERNON said:
May I ask what you plan on selling? What will make your company different than the other 300 companies selling supplements? Cheaper? Higher quality? Exotic, synergistic blends?

I guess you could ask the same question to the 287th company out of the 300 that decided to go into the supplement business. I am sure there was somebody telling him " what makes his product different than the 286 other companies out there?". he still went ahead and did it.

There is enough room for 500 companies. its a 20 billion dollar a year business. Its basically whoever has the nicest labels wins.

Supp · Jan 20, 2008

My first idea is to customize each order to the specs of the customer. When ordering, the customer can request vitamin a, b, or c, creatine, etc in their capsules. My aim is to allow the customer to get everything they need in one pill versus taking several supplement pills a day. I understand it's going to be a battle with all of the other companies out there but it'll be worth the fight in the end. Also, I appreciate the feedback. If there is anything I am missing, please feel free to let me know.

garcia · Feb 18, 2008

Supp said:
My first idea is to customize each order to the specs of the customer. When ordering, the customer can request vitamin a, b, or c, creatine, etc in their capsules. My aim is to allow the customer to get everything they need in one pill versus taking several supplement pills a day. I understand it's going to be a battle with all of the other companies out there but it'll be worth the fight in the end. Also, I appreciate the feedback. If there is anything I am missing, please feel free to let me know.

You're gonna have a hard a time w/that business model. Overhead would be way to prohibitive--and you would not have the manfacturing technology to benefit on economies of scale. Can't customize for every end-user, but MAY be able to to this for larger accounts. However, the science involved w/combining several different supplements often does not yield the desired results.

Supp · Feb 18, 2008

I have the money to invest and actually on a small scale it's starting to work. When business picks up then it might get more complicated. So far everyone I have sold to has been satisfied. I'm willing to put up the capital for research purposes.

inoverdrive · Mar 13, 2008

Marketing brother. It takes smart and innovative marketing for any company to make it. I do marketing and advertising for auto dealerships, and what we have is extremely unique. We market the hell out of it and it has payed off. If you ever need help just shoot me a pm. Ill be glad to help with that end of it.

BOOMSHAKER · Mar 13, 2008

Supp said:
I have the money to invest and actually on a small scale it's starting to work. When business picks up then it might get more complicated. So far everyone I have sold to has been satisfied. I'm willing to put up the capital for research purposes.

If your serious about this, then why not talk to Phil or Heinz, or one of the other IFBB guys or GALS. They take quite a bit of different things for shows and such and I am sure they would love to sclae it down to 2 or 3 capsules versus 8 or 9 a day. Get them to give you their needs, make it for them, then ask them to come back here and present their findings!

If you get a positive feed back from the pro's then talk to them by way of PM's or Emails and exchange their positive comments for $$ if you can use them to openly market your products!?

PHIL HERNON · Mar 13, 2008

OK

Ryce said:
I guess you could ask the same question to the 287th company out of the 300 that decided to go into the supplement business. I am sure there was somebody telling him " what makes his product different than the 286 other companies out there?". he still went ahead and did it.

There is enough room for 500 companies. its a 20 billion dollar a year business. Its basically whoever has the nicest labels wins.

NAME 300 COMPANIES AND I WILL SHOW YOU 200 THAT STRUGGLE TO MAKE A PROFIT.

Uluwatu · Mar 15, 2008

PHIL HERNON said:
NAME 300 COMPANIES AND I WILL SHOW YOU 200 THAT STRUGGLE TO MAKE A PROFIT.

Any industry that you enter will always have companies that make alot of money and companies that struggle. The supplement industry is no different than any other. Business is a complex arena. It takes both knowledge and capital to be successful. First learn the industry you want to get into, then find the capital you need to get it started and sustain it for a while.

From what I have seen the supplement companies that are the most successful have very large marketing and advertising budgets. It seems that all the top guys pretty much put out the same products or combinations of products as the little guys, but the little guys can't afford the proper marketing for it to work nor do they have shelf space in the big stores.

Entering the supplement industry most likely requires lots of capital and persuasive marketing.

phoenixonfire · Mar 29, 2008

Supp said:
My first idea is to customize each order to the specs of the customer. When ordering, the customer can request vitamin a, b, or c, creatine, etc in their capsules. My aim is to allow the customer to get everything they need in one pill versus taking several supplement pills a day. I understand it's going to be a battle with all of the other companies out there but it'll be worth the fight in the end. Also, I appreciate the feedback. If there is anything I am missing, please feel free to let me know.

Sounds a bit like these folks: **broken link removed**

I've not used them, and I don't know how well they're doing financially.

An absolutely outstanding website front end for making choices will be critical. And your web team will need to be on top of their game for getting the site placed high in the search engines.

Good luck, personally I love the idea!

Big Bapper · Apr 26, 2008

Uluwatu said:
Any industry that you enter will always have companies that make alot of money and companies that struggle. The supplement industry is no different than any other. Business is a complex arena. It takes both knowledge and capital to be successful. First learn the industry you want to get into, then find the capital you need to get it started and sustain it for a while.

From what I have seen the supplement companies that are the most successful have very large marketing and advertising budgets. It seems that all the top guys pretty much put out the same products or combinations of products as the little guys, but the little guys can't afford the proper marketing for it to work nor do they have shelf space in the big stores.

Entering the supplement industry most likely requires lots of capital and persuasive marketing.

I sell supplements for a living and will only deal with the big companys, reason being they would not take the chanch of the product not making the lable claims. Because if there product was tested by the FDA in US or coustoms and exicse here in the UK, there compeitors would hit the media and send them under over night. There is a baby food manufacture here in Ireland that makes sports supplements as a side line. It would cost me $1200USD to set up my first run. That is how easy it is over here hence the reason I only deal with the supplement giants.