Did You know Anyone Can Start Their Own Supplement Line For Cheap Or Even Free?

I am not sure if you have realized the same thing I have but, recently I realized that it has to be super easy for someone to create their own supplement company. It has to be really easy because, I keep seeing random ass brands and people starting their own supplement brands and selling them with half naked pictures on instagram.

I am not talking about someone well established in the industry as an expert like Layne Norton or even a celebrity like Mark Wahlberg who now have their own line of products. I am not even talking about someone promoting a large or moderately sized supplement company with a discount code or, even a multi-level marketing company that has independent distributors selling supplements with marketing material supplied from the company. I am talking about Bobby Biceps who has a load of selfies with his shirt off and Betty Boobs-Enbutt in a bra and short shorts who start to sell their own brand of supplements to their followers and fans out of the blue. They don’t always seem to be scientists, trainers, nutrition professionals or have anything but what seems to be a fitness enthusiasts involvement in the fitness and nutrition industry.

There seems to be a growing trend that is countering the Multilevel marketing companies like Herbalife, Isagenix and all those others.

So, how are they able to start their own supplement company if it’s not their full time gig and how is it more cost effective than just joining an MLM?

These two guides( 1 and 2 ) did not serve me well and they were some top results when I googled it.

The supplement industry has been encroaching on the health and wellness industry, even crossing a bit too far over the line when these companies start making products with outrageous claims of being cures for real diseases and health issues.

I had to find out.

What do you think goes into Starting your Own Dietary Supplement Line in 2016?

Well, a person or a group of people decide they want to create a better version of the products that are available; a noble effort. They form a company and start doing their research or partner up with someone that can help them do their research on ingredients and concentrations. This will all end with them choosing the best ingredients and combinations to put into their products that will produce the desired results for the user. Just like any other business you would think there should be some time spent in planning and execution stages if you trying to eventually scale your business to a larger market. It would make sense if you really wanted sell supplements then making your own combinations and concentrations should be a vital piece of the puzzle before you started everything. Like these guys did over at Citadel Nutrition.

Their stories and processes were really detailed and, I wanted to think that this would be similar for the people I kept seeing coming out with their own supplements but, I knew that would be far fetched since these people weren’t making what seemed to be a full time priority. Citadel Nutrition is a separate company and has a very specific mission in how they bring their supplements to market. They aren’t just selling products through social media by placing a bottle next to them at the gym or in the park like these other people were.

So, if it isn’t a full time gig or even a separate company all together; how are they able to make branded supplements on their own with the ability to reach a large market and scale if needed?

Again, I had to find out.

The D.I.Y. Method

I remember a documentary I watched a while back called Bigger, Stronger, Faster by Chris Bell. In the documentary Chris Bell literally made his own pills by bulk ordering the raw main ingredients, filler ingredients, pill capsules, bottles and printed labels. Then he hired illegal undocumented workers to fill little pill capsules at his dining room table, glue on the labels and then heat seal the caps on the bottles. (video clip below)

This is one way to do it for sure. But, unless you are willing to make the supplements on your own literally from start to finish and then pack&ship to your customers, I don’t think this is the best way to go about building a business that’s actually going to give you returns. Outside of the actually work time it can take to get the bottles filled and ready, to do this is and maximize profits you also need to have a very expensive up front cost when ordering the actual ingredients.

While this method might be what Myth Busters calls “Plausible”, I don’t really think it’s an option someone would take when they wanted to make supplements for more than just their personal and casual use. It just doesn’t seem cost and time effective to do everything in house.

White / Private Label Manufacturing Service

Now we are getting somewhere. If you are not familiar with private label manufacturing it’s O.K and actually really easy to understand. To keep it simple there are generally two sides to private label manufacturing.

Side One: Is where you have your own unique product but not the means to produce it in large enough quantities, hold the inventory and ship it. So, the process of creating the products is done by someone who can handle it making it but, the actual product is still unique to the label on the end product. This is not uncommon and actually showcased in a show called SharkTank a few times.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_label

Side Two: Is where the product is already made and just waiting for your branding to be placed on it. Think of this like those T-shirts you made for the charity 5K run last year. You didn’t make the actual T-shirt or have a special blend you prototyped then had made. You simply designed what would be on top of the fabric and had someone else make the shirt and then someone else print the design and ship it to you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-label_product

I found plenty of companies willing to do a private label or white label manufacturing solution for supplements and realized I was getting closer to the answer I was looking for.

While making the process of making them way easier these companies still “missed the boat” a bit because, they it didn’t eliminate some struggles that would take more effort from someone not making this a full time priority. With a lot of these white/private label companies they still require:

• Large Lead times of 6 weeks to actually produce the product before labeling.
• Pretty hefty minimum orders amounts(lowest I’ve seen is ~50 pieces per product) Some were a few hundred items.
• Holding unsold inventory either in their warehouse or holding it in your location.
• Shipping to Customers myself once the bulk order arrived at my doorstep
• Handling returns

I knew I was getting close but not quite there yet in terms of what I suspected to be happening. Again, it could be plausible but still full of doubt unless they were already pretty stacked with pre orders.

Is there a Private Label Golden Ticket?

I wanted to find the Golden Ticket of Private Label Supplements because, I can’t see random people with a decent following on social media really going through the long and expensive process of the other options. I new there had to be an option that was taken care of from start to finish. By start to finish I mean from the formula creation all the way to them arriving on my customer’s doorstep.

Here is my “Criteria for Inclusion”:

1. Obviously has to be Private Label or White Label Manufacturing.
2. Ability to make a Custom Formula using their individual Ingredients So I can make my own blend.
3. They need to also have Stock or pre made Formulas So I can have a a full catalog of products.
4. I need an order minimum of one single bottle/item whenever I want.
5. No Holding Inventory
6. I need to be able to design the label on a template they provide.
7. They need to print the labels
8. They need to pack it and ship it from their warehouse
9. The shipping needs to go direct to my customers
10. Worldwide shipping because my fans are hypothetically everywhere.

Hazzah!

I found the golden ticket (a few of them actually) and while I was happy about it, It was also something that made me sad at the same time.

You know what I mean?

The supplement industry is already huge and I mean like top three things you have in your kitchen and or medicine cabinet huge. With this option being real that means now it’s even more easy for someone who has no idea what they are doing to package up some random stuff behind a label and sell it to people who think they are cool or pay a person with no clothes on to model the supplements for them.

It’s nothing against these manufacturing companies offering the products or ability to make your own. It’s just sad that it is available for anyone and really, really cheap.

ShipOffers.com– The only downside is they didn’t have Protein available

1. Pay as you go
2. They do all label printing on demand
3. They pack it
4. They allow custom formulas and have stock formulas.
5. They Ship direct to my customers
6. They handle all returned products
7. Allow B2B wholesale fulfillment
8. Full White Label inserts and up selling options
9. No inventory
10. The Pay as you go Model requires literally a few dollars to start.
11. Worldwide shipping

It’s Ok they don’t have Protein because I can just use these 2 other companies.

Nutraship.com

1. Huge product catalog to cover everything from Male impotence, anti aging, sports, weight loss and others.
2. 1 bottle minimums
3. full white label printed on demand
4. you can only use their stock formulas with no minimums
5. custom formulas have some restrictions on dose quantity.
6. $35 dollar per product set up cost.
7. If I do the labels myself it cost me $0.00 and they provide the templates.
8. they handle all print pack and shipping
9. Only in USA shipping
10. they even can automate the order process directly form your e-commerce software.
11. auto billing on orders also.
12. wholesale options

Specialist Supplements, Ltd

1. Pay as you go
2. They do all label printing on demand
3. They pack it
4. They only have stock formulas.
5. They Ship direct to my customers
6. They handle all returned products
7. Allow B2B wholesale fulfillment
8. Full White Label inserts and up selling options
9. No inventory
10. no stocking fees
11. no set up costs.
12. fast fulfillment

Closing Thoughts and Precautions

It’s really easy to create your own supplement line and not have to work full time at maintaining it. That brings up a question I have for fitness professionals.

Do you think it’s better to start your own line using one of these methods at first then moving to some more cost effective Private manufacturing or just sign up for an MLM company?

Is it a better way to generate an additional income stream or worst than MLM?

If private label manufacturing is what most supplement companies use, is it a better option than doing MLM?

While the mission and effort of some people will be to actually create a quality product, there are going to be people out there who are just going to slap a flashy label over top of a generic product that you could probably get at your local Walmart Supercenter or Local Budget Grocery Store.

Precautions:

1. Remember there is little regulation in the supplement industry and if the people selling the supplements are not serious about the process of making them then their products are probably not going to be worth your time and hard earned dollars. Check out more info HERE
2. Simply because someone has a decent physique and a lot of social media followers and fans doesn’t mean they are now experts in everything fitness.
3. If they sell their own line of supplements as a side gig I would look to asking some questions of how they got their formulas and concentrations. If it all seems pretty random they are probably selling you a stock blend/formula that you can probably make yourself for cheaper.
4. Cool labels are easy to make and not a testament of the quality of what’s inside the bottle.
5. You could easily start your own affiliate marketing or Multi-Level Marketing Company with any of these manufacturing suppliers. All you have to do is set up the membership platform (which is surprisingly easy and can be done at less than $200.00 out of pocket and a weekend on the computer.)

1. Their goal is to get you with the marketing. They can pretty much say whatever they want as long as they include a disclaimer and use non descriptive words that tell you what they want to say without actually saying anything.

That “Lord of the Gains” Label… I made in 5 Minutes in photoshop using a blank layout one of the companies gave me. Super easy