Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer

Given you want to create a blockbuster supplement, then it’s a fair bet you need to work with a top-class manufacturer to help you formulate your supplement.

Producing your own powdered greens supplement at home isn’t feasible this isn’t like making jam for a farmer’s market or even “Breaking Bad!”. I am looking at a contract with a manufacturer who can produce the supplement as well as the packaging, although I will be designing my own packaging.

Having the right manufacturer is critical, you need their help to ensure that what you are putting together makes sense and most importantly it is healthy and safe!

Safe is the crucial word here, there are several examples of tainted products, the last thing you need is a manufacturer that includes sub-standard or knock-off product, so they can give it to you as cheaply as possible.

Manufacturer Location

Firstly, you need to decide which country to manufacturer your supplement.

The two biggest factors when considering manufacturers should be safety and where will the bulk of your product will be sold. Manufacturing your product in Germany may make sense from a Big Pharma and safety point of view, but not if 75% of what you sell will be going to the US. For me, it made sense to opt for a US-based supplement manufacturer.

There are quite a few companies in the US that will produce relatively low volume powdered supplements. Relatively low volume means less than 250,000 units. I already knew about some of the manufacturers that I found during a thorough search of US-based manufacturers. I ended up with a list of four companies that I thought would be suitable.

Private Label or Custom Formula

A quick point to mention here, most of the manufacturers provide two types of service, private label or contract manufacturing. The difference is important to understand as it influences your costs and lead time (the time is taken for the manufacturer to produce the supplement from start to finish).

A private label is where the manufacturer will supply you with pre-made formulas that they typically have in stock. All you do is provide them with the artwork and tell them how you want your product to be packaged. Once that is signed off they send out their supplement with your branding on it.

Whilst Private label or stock supplements are quicker to produce the thing to remember here is, you are using their ingredients and so the product may not be exactly what you’re looking for. On the plus side though, the minimum order quantities are much lower than making your own bespoke formula.

If you’re on a tight budget and want to take smaller steps in creating your first supplement, then I would recommend Private Labelling a product. Spend your time creating a stunning label and know how you will stand out with your marketing.

Although I cannot personally vouch for these private label companies, I do know friends who have used the UK-based company and have been happy with their service.

Both companies offer stock supplements in various niches from skin care, weight loss, nootropics and vitamins/minerals.

Nutrascience can take care of your fulfillment and can-do drop shipping too – perfect if you’re in the USA looking to take your first plunge into supplements.

But remember these are stock Super Greens supplements, and many are not up to the job, and none of them meet the criteria I set for myself.

USA Contract Manufacturers

Because I have a bespoke ingredients list I am using Contract Manufacturing, the process requires a reasonable amount of contact, you provide the ingredient specifications to the manufacturer and they confirm if it is achievable and more importantly if it is safe to do.

Of course, the per-unit price will vary considerably depending on your ingredients, and the minimum order quantity (MOQ) will be much higher. The MOQs are typically 1,000 – 5,000 units.

The downsides to using your own formula are: It takes time to research the correct ingredients with the right amounts (especially if you really care that your supplement actually works! See my other articles on this subject). secondly, “bespoke” always means increased costs expect them to be much higher than using a Private label Formula.

I fired off a quick email to each one, giving an outline of what I was looking to do and waited to see who got back in touch.

Nutra Science Labs and Superior Manufacturing replied asking for information really quickly, literally within 24 hours.

ABH Pharma and Pure NSM basically didn’t even bother following up at all – which in any world is not good sales! Maybe I wasn’t big enough for them, but that then means their sales message needs amending, I have an article on this here. But very simply the point of marketing is to give the right message to the people you want to sell too.

My next step was to send over an example ingredient formula that I had been putting together to get an idea of the cost to both Nutra Science Labs and Superior Manufacturing.

* The ingredient formula was initially developed after an in-depth look into the common Super Greens ingredients used in the most popular brands balanced with what I was trying to do. More on this in my next article.

Before Contacting a Manufacturer

Some quick advice prior to reaching out to a manufacturer for the first time. You should have a reasonably clear idea of what you looking to put together especially if it’s a contract manufacturer.

Doing this will not only make you look more professional but means you will be taken more seriously.

It goes without saying, if you start out not knowing the answers to basic questions about your supplement then they may consider you to be wasting their time.

Remember many of these companies deal with supplement companies producing 100’s of thousands of just one supplement in a single order!

Which Supplement Manufacturer Did I Choose?

In the end, I decided to work with Nutra Science Labs, they were the most helpful and responsive when I contacted them. Which is great as they came out the best on price.

The next step is to formulate the ingredient blend by working with them. Once we have a formula I can then having some samples produced so we can do taste and mixing tests.