Starting Supplement Brand

[Torro]

First things first, I am a 19 yr old college student looking down the entrepreneur route. Looking at the Tim Ferris model of BrainQUICKEN, and my own supplement/nutrition knowledge, I feel developing a simple supplement is a good place to start.

1. Product- An up-and-coming fat burning ingredient, combined with 1-2 other thermogenics depending on cost. I feel strongly about the success of this single ingredient.
2. Sales Medium- A simple website with a simple domain name and contact email.
3. Marketing- Start off locally with the assistance of local gyms and personal trainers combined with bodybuilding forums online (no monetary cost, only time), then expand advertising through media in Florida college towns (Tallahassee, Gainesville, etc.), and finally through PPC and different online advertising.

Whether you agree with the approach or not, I feel that the biggest hurdle is the initial product development. I would appreciate if anybody who has been down the supplement road has any insight. With a single ingredient (+ either 1 or 2 depending on cost), what are the rough startup costs am I looking at for production? What is the amount I need to purchase up-front for this to become a reality?

If anybody has any information at all, please do not hesitate to post.

[kamakiri]

Creating the product is the simple part. There are thousands of literally off the shelf brands that you can private label. Tim mentions thousands of studies. Do you think he initiated them and funded them? Of course not. He chose tried and true ingredients that had reams of backup support data.

You were doing great until your marketing strategy. Local marketing is not any way to sell a 4HWW product, in fact it is the opposite. You want customers who live far away, ones that you can't see every day. Heck, if you want that, then sign up for Pharmanex, you will make more money.

With that kind of a marketing plan, you are trading your time for money. You need to concentrate on the internet to leverage the 24/7 nature, and let automated systems do the work for you.

[Torro]

1. Thank you for bringing that to my attention, I completely agree.

2. I already have researched the studies, and have the ingredient(s) that I want. I meant to say that privately labeling my product was the hurdle, as I did not know where I could get the ingredients into a capsule, then have bottles made with a label.

Since the first post, I have found customcapsule.com. Does anybody have any opinions on this? Anywhere better/cheaper?

Although they did not have the specific ingredient I wanted, it looks like I can put something together that, if bought in bulk, would only be around $7/customer. That doesn't come with the labeling though.

[kamakiri]

Okay. You are going the wrong way. You aren't working on your business at all. You have no business to work on yet, and wasting your time. Go back and read the book. Doing the steps out of order is foolish.

Your product doesn't matter. You need to do what Toyota did with the Prius. Create the marketing first then the product. You need to get a web site up and start split testing with google ads, gauge the demand, then work on your product. Go back and re-read that part of the book, you will save yourself a big hassle.

[tomswiftjr]

Okay. You are going the wrong way. You aren't working on your business at all. You have no business to work on yet, and wasting your time. Go back and read the book. Doing the steps out of order is foolish.

No need to be an asshole about it. Care to share your accomplishments in muse creation? So far as I can tell, you spend most of your time on this forum insulting others under the guise of honest criticism.

While I agree that you should do your marketing before you create your product, it's definitely not a bad idea to do some upfront research to make sure you can create the product at all. To use your own example, I can create some amazing marketing for an electric vehicle that goes 5000 miles on a single charge and costs $999, but when it comes down to product creation, I'm going to have a big disappointment on my hands.

Regardless, what do you think you're accomplishing by insulting people?

[webgal]

OK, let's chill out. No need to be reactionary or be critical in a way that someone can perceive is insulting.

First, you don't just do marketing without a product or do a product without thinking how you will take it to market. It's actually a dual process.

[Denson Polk]

Hey Torro – what you’ve got is a GREAT idea! I’ve been thinking about starting a supplement line myself and was doing some research when I came across this thread. I have done a lot of homework on this and have compared quotes from reliable private label manufacturers. Did you know there are private label manufacturers (http://www.vitacaplabs.com/private-labeling-vitamin-manufacturers.html) who offer you the personal service of a dedicated professional assigned to your account from start to finish, while providing all your business needs under one roof? They will help you with your label and logo designs, packaging, marketing storing, etc. I’ve just signed a contract with Vitacap Labs for their anti-aging formula. The thing I liked about Vitacap Labs was their emphasis on scientific formulations and they work within a GMP-certified facility. They are also willing to take small order quantities, unlike many others out there. You may want to consider them – all the same, do some research on your own before coming to a decision.

[shushu]

Torro WOW you rock!
I admire your courage way to go.
I'm no one to say nothing from the biz stand point BUT I'm so frikking inspired by your determination I'm blown a way, GOOD JOB

[MoneyHungry]

Good luck on your journey. I once heard that the most predicting figure for entrepreneurial success is how young the individual is when they start their 1st business. It looks like your off to an early start. Good Luck. And if it fails, try again, you will have learned a ton from your 1st attempt :)

[jackg]

Hey Torro – what you’ve got is a GREAT idea! I’ve been thinking about starting a supplement line myself and was doing some research when I came across this thread. I have done a lot of homework on this and have compared quotes from reliable private label manufacturers. Did you know there are private label manufacturers (http://www.vitacaplabs.com/private-labeling-vitamin-manufacturers.html) who offer you the personal service of a dedicated professional assigned to your account from start to finish, while providing all your business needs under one roof? They will help you with your label and logo designs, packaging, marketing storing, etc. I’ve just signed a contract with Vitacap Labs for their anti-aging formula. The thing I liked about Vitacap Labs was their emphasis on scientific formulations and they work within a GMP-certified facility. They are also willing to take small order quantities, unlike many others out there. You may want to consider them – all the same, do some research on your own before coming to a decision.

Great info. Thanks!

Do you know of any private label manufacturers that will drop ship?

[Avex]

Haha, I see you also got your "newbie welcome from kamakiri". Don't mind him, he's not here to make friends :P

As for the vitakem, that sounds like a shameless paid forum promotion rather than a real post.

I did a lot of research on dietary supplements. The market is ridiculously overcrowded. I thought I had a pretty unique product and approach, and still found over 20 companies already doing the same thing. Try doing research on amazon or iHerb.com to find products similar to yours.

Let's not forget that Tim Ferriss started his brand in 2004, and promoted the hell out of his formula.

[Denson Polk]

Great info. Thanks!

Do you know of any private label manufacturers that will drop ship?

Vitacap Labs offers Drop Shipping, but I am pretty sure that there are volume minimums - Don’t know specifics so you may want to get in touch with them to check it out. I am very happy with their manufacturing services.

[norman lee]

I shall never use any supplement of any brand.
i will improve my muscle naturally, because these
supplement have side effects.
Baltimore fitness (http://www.neverstopfitness.com/)

[lewayotte]

these supplement have side effects.

Like bigger muscles :-D

[Director]

I know that this one company called Matsun Nutrition does drop shipping and has pretty low minimums. They are awesome to work with and can help you in your marketing efforts. They do both custom formulation or private label vitamins (http://www.matsunnutrition.com) of their in house stock formulas. Give them a shot. They are in California but they do work for people around the world.