3 Tips for Starting Your Own Supplement Line

Owning your own supplement line can be an extremely rewarding endeavor. Not only are you providing your consumers with ways to better their health, you’re also the one calling the shots. While starting a supplement line might seem like a straightforward process, it’s a little more in-depth than you might realize. Here are some tips to help get you started.

Your ideal consumer

Most supplement lines (and most businesses in general) fail because they don’t have a defined target demographic. Simply saying you want to target “health-conscious men” is too vague because that isn’t a solid consumer group. There are several ways you can hone in on your target demographic.

Ask yourself who your ideal customer is. What do they want? What do they need? What are their likes and dislikes? How does your supplement fulfill those wants and needs? The fundamental tenet of a supplement line is to solve a health issue your consumer has. Conducting customer surveys of individuals in your market segment can help you answer these questions and discern how your supplement will solve their problems. This will help later on with marketing as well.

Research the competition

This is another key component of any business. If you don’t know what your competition is doing, it makes it that much easier for them to leave you in their wake. Even the best business ideas will flounder if you’re not doing your utmost to ensure they stand out from the crowd. Some primary research will help you discern what your competitor is selling and what their marketing efforts look like. It gives you a better understanding of how to effectively price your supplement.

Once you’ve collected some initial information, you’ll be able to tailor your product accordingly. Perhaps one of your biggest competitors is priced particularly high because they use premium ingredients. If you’re able to produce a similar formula more affordably, you’ll attract their consumer base with ease. The same goes for finding new, untapped customer segments. Many individuals don’t consider supplements because they haven’t had products properly marketed to them. If you’re able to find a void in your target market that you think your product could fill, then go for it. It could hold a lot of untapped potential.

Find a manufacturer

Once you’ve done the groundwork of running a business, you get to move on to the exciting part, which is formulating your unique supplement. To do this, you’ll need to research supplement manufacturers to find the right fit for your brand. This part of the process is often the most intimidating, especially for newcomers, so do your research beforehand and have an idea of what exactly you’re looking for in a manufacturer.

You’ll want to select a manufacturer based on a variety of factors. While pricing concerns are important to keep in mind, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. Don’t risk wasting your money on a lackluster product just because it seemed like a good deal. You should always work with a reputable manufacturer that is NSF compliant or else you’ll stall out before you even get started. Trust industry expertise and be ready to pay top dollar for the best manufacturers in the business.

Just getting started

While breaking into the supplement industry often seems daunting, it’s simply because there’s a lot to learn off the bat. Not only do you need a good product concept, you also need some business savvy. Keep in mind that some of the best businesses were built through trial and error and it may take a couple mistakes before you’re on the right path to success. If you’re ready to put in the work and push yourself, you just might be the next big name in your local GNC store.