For many people, starting a supplement business makes a lot of sense. The overheads are low, distribution is relatively straightforward, and there’s massive demand out there. But that doesn’t mean that creating a brand from scratch is easy. While there are opportunities, there are also enormous risks.
Before going into the supplement industry, you need to take the red pill. You need a big fat dose of the truth to put you in good stead. If you don’t heed the warnings, then your business can fail, and ultimately you wind up losing money.
Find Products That Are In Demand
You can put virtually any digestible substance in a pill these days and sell it to customers. But unless people know what it is and why it helps them, you’re unlikely to see the sort of success you need for a self-sustaining business.
It pays, therefore, to spend time researching products that are in demand right now, and will be in the future. Once you’ve lines that fit the bill, the next step is to calculate your margins. How much are you likely to make on each unit you sell? You need to make this calculation to check that it is worth your time.
Work With A Flexible Supplier
Unless you have repackaged medication facilities already, it is highly unlikely that you’ll be able to bottle supplements yourself. Usually, the supplement brand farms out this task to a third-party with the equipment that they need.
Some outfits, however, don’t provide the scale that you need to expand into new markets. When signing up for a bottling service, check the small print. Look for the number of units that the supplier can provide per month. Make sure that this is at least ten times your current volume, just in case you experience rapid growth.
Make The Product Last
A lot of entrepreneurs in the supplement sector believe that they need to create the product first and then market it later. This strategy, however, puts the cart before the horse. In general, it is much better to list the properties that the product needs to have first and then develop the formulation.
Doing it this way around is important because it gives you the opportunity to come up with something unique. What you don’t want is a product that is just a carbon copy of your competitors. There has to be something unique about that customers can’t get elsewhere. If there isn’t, it won’t sell.
Think Very Carefully About Packaging Labels
Packaging drives the supplement industry. It is what the customer sees the moment that they interact with your product, whether online or in-store. And for that reason, how it appears is essential.
Where possible, A/B test your product packaging on your site to see which versions appeal to customers the most. Try to choose designs that will most appeal to your target audience. Bodybuilding supplements will obviously have a different aesthetic from those looking to sell pills to ease stiff joints.