Anybody here start a Supplement brand before?

[HarshReality]

Hope everyone's doing well!

I'm a copywriter/email marketer for supplement brands.

I wanted to eventually try starting one of my own. Then one day, an elementary school friend of mine reached out saying he wanted to start one too.

Long story short, we ended up partnering up & now I'm executing my plan now instead of later lol.

Being an experienced writer and email marketer, I have understanding of what makes a good brand + how to make money on the back end.

However, I have no real experience outside of that.

Has anyone here sold white label supplements like whey protein, pre-workout, etc? If so, what was your experience with the business?

 

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[Devilery]

I'm currently setting one up and I'm also primarily a copywriter (but I also build funnels, landing pages, etc.). I'm also white labeling my products, however, I haven't launched them yet.

I have the products, and I have the store set up, but I want to create a ton of UGC and other forms of content and form partnerships with influencers, so I can get results from day 1 rather than launching and then googling "how do I make my first sale".

It's all about having great products, a niche you live and breathe, but without social proof - people using and promoting your products, it's tough to compete.

If our niches don't overlap, I'd be happy to connect!

 

[SEBASTlAN]

I did it for a few years.

You don't make much money on protein powders. You'd be better off focusing on pre-workout. These days it's super competitive, so make sure you have a niche market.

 

[HarshReality]

Niching down makes a lot of sense.

For those of you that have done it, which niches did you try?

 

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[Devilery]

Niching down makes a lot of sense.

For those of you that have done it, which niches did you try?

Don't just try random niches, find a niche that you can truly and genuinely serve.

Are you an ultra-runner? Create a supplement line for endurance athletes focusing on endurance and cardio-boosting properties.

Do you know a ton about PEDs? Create a supplement line that supports PED users, e.g. testosterone boosters, supplements for liver health, blood pressure management, etc. (of course, that's complex, bordering with medical products).

The point is, don't just create another generic supplement brand. As I said before, you will not create better products unless you can invest millions annually in research and development (even then you're better off investing that in marketing).

For example, whey protein - it's all the same shit, doesn't matter if it's AlphaBeast3000 or GrizzlyLabs, bought at a hardcore gym or a supermarket.

 

[MarcusAurelius]

I'm currently setting one up and I'm also primarily a copywriter (but I also build funnels, landing pages, etc.). I'm also white labeling my products, however, I haven't launched them yet.

I have the products, and I have the store set up, but I want to create a ton of UGC and other forms of content and form partnerships with influencers, so I can get results from day 1 rather than launching and then googling "how do I make my first sale".

It's all about having great products, a niche you live and breathe, but without social proof - people using and promoting your products, it's tough to compete.

If our niches don't overlap, I'd be happy to connect!

Hi @Devilery

How do you manage costs for supplement's production? Have you found a company that cover the entire process of production for you?

Or are you going to resell a little brand that has his own stock already?

 

[Devilery]

Hi @Devilery

How do you manage costs for supplement's production? Have you found a company that cover the entire process of production for you?

Or are you going to resell a little brand that has his own stock already?

There are multiple white-label manufacturers who usually have a list of products that you can resell with your label on them, and ask for custom formulations for a higher fee. Some do the fulfillment for you, and some ship to fulfillment centers.

You can have your brand but realistically, the same products (just with different labels) will be sold by other brands.

It simplifies the process a ton and puts the focus on branding and marketing, which is something I'm experienced in. I wouldn't want to manufacture my products or fulfill them as that's neither within my existing skillset, nor it fits my lifestyle.

It does not fit the CENTS framework, and it's mainly passion (not need) motivated, which is something you should keep in mind.

 

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[Amin Purshottam]

There are multiple white-label manufacturers who usually have a list of products that you can resell with your label on them, and ask for custom formulations for a higher fee. Some do the fulfillment for you, and some ship to fulfillment centers.

You can have your brand but realistically, the same products (just with different labels) will be sold by other brands.

It simplifies the process a ton and puts the focus on branding and marketing, which is something I'm experienced in. I wouldn't want to manufacture my products or fulfill them as that's neither within my existing skillset, nor it fits my lifestyle.

It does not fit the CENTS framework, and it's mainly passion (not need) motivated, which is something you should keep in mind.

where does one find private lable manufactures for something like this? I am also interested. Is everything manufactured in the US or North America?
Thanks, AP

 

[Devilery]

where does one find private lable manufactures for something like this? I am also interested. Is everything manufactured in the US or North America?
Thanks, AP

Just google them and reach out for quotes (there are also platforms with pricing displayed in product catalogs). Many of the products are manufactured in the US but you can also find Europe, Asia, or any other supplier.

 

[Amin Purshottam]

Just google them and reach out for quotes (there are also platforms with pricing displayed in product catalogs). Many of the products are manufactured in the US but you can also find Europe, Asia, or any other supplier.

Thanks and sorry for the late response. I have a lot of ideas bouncing around in my head around this.

 

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[MRiabov]

Hope everyone's doing well!

I'm a copywriter/email marketer for supplement brands.

I wanted to eventually try starting one of my own. Then one day, an elementary school friend of mine reached out saying he wanted to start one too.

Long story short, we ended up partnering up & now I'm executing my plan now instead of later lol.

Being an experienced writer and email marketer, I have understanding of what makes a good brand + how to make money on the back end.

However, I have no real experience outside of that.

Has anyone here sold white label supplements like whey protein, pre-workout, etc? If so, what was your experience with the business?

Have you read Unscripted ? No, but for real.

 

[alord]

Hey guys @HarshReality @Devilery how are things progressing with your brands?

 

[Devilery]

Hey guys @HarshReality @Devilery how are things progressing with your brands?

Launching on the 31st (this month), however, I've been super busy with a ton of other projects, so it's a very "soft" launch, and I don't expect much from it. It's not my main or even secondary focus, it's a passion project that I do during my very scarce free time. However, now that it will be launched, I plan to start by sending out my product to relevant creators, and get lots of photo and video content to both repost on my social media and also use in ads.

Besides that, I need to figure out how to source more and better products on a budget. White labeling is convenient but the production and fulfillment cost requires a huge markup which I can only counter with smart marketing. I'd rather have my own products but that's not within my budget right now.

 

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[alord]

Besides that, I need to figure out how to source more and better products on a budget. White labeling is convenient but the production and fulfillment cost requires a huge markup which I can only counter with smart marketing. I'd rather have my own products but that's not within my budget right now.

Interesting, thanks for sharing

About "have my own products" do you mean actually producing them or going through larger orders through a manufacturer?

There seem to be a lot of options these days for private labels like "small order quantity we handle your fulfillment" but as you mentioned, the prices are actually super and once you take into account delivery + admin/fixed costs + marketing/CPA cost in total it's challenging to make a profit sustainably

 

[Devilery]

Interesting, thanks for sharing

About "have my own products" do you mean actually producing them or going through larger orders through a manufacturer?

There seem to be a lot of options these days for private labels like "small order quantity we handle your fulfillment" but as you mentioned, the prices are actually super and once you take into account delivery + admin/fixed costs + marketing/CPA cost in total it's challenging to make a profit sustainably

I'd likely start with custom white-label formulas (currently, I just pick what I want from a standardized list), but yes, I would prefer to make my own products by which I mean - order custom formulas in bulk from a manufacturer not have my own manufacturing facility. I believe it's still possible to formulate superior products if you find your niche.

 

[alord]

I'd likely start with custom white-label formulas (currently, I just pick what I want from a standardized list), but yes, I would prefer to make my own products by which I mean - order custom formulas in bulk from a manufacturer not have my own manufacturing facility. I believe it's still possible to formulate superior products if you find your niche.

Gotcha, yeah I tend to agree with you!

 

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[BrightAhead]

I have worked for 3 years with a company that made pre-workout coffee. The company does not exist anymore, besides a name in the ether, but we learned metric tons during the process.

We sourced the coffee, with the specific formulations we needed through a huge company that white-labeled the product for us.

We went through the process of having the product certified by the antidoping agencies, which implied having all initial batches tested and then random testing on batches to be able to rock their seal on the packaging. That was great focusing on the world of professional athletes, but pretty much worthless to the general public. Casual gym goers do not even know what it means nor the dangers of cross-contamination of their supplements (which is a huge deal in supplements from China).

The competition is fierce. Although the formulation was great, having no proprietary anything on the product made it always at risk of being copied and crushed by a big company.

Success points: we developed a container that had been used for supplements before, but for coffee, it was a new thing. It worked great and testers loved it. The product was good. The results were great. Having coffee as the vessel to deliver pre-workout supplements was a great idea. It took a lot of work to have enough supplementation to bring results while not altering the flavor of good coffee. Lots of trials, tweaking and adjusting.

Why it did not succeed?

Not enough capital to enter the savage world of retail coffee competition. Pretty much impossible to acquire shelf space, which limited the channels to online only and some "on location" points of sale.
Misuse of Marketing budget. The company fell for shiny speeches and spent loads of money in the wrong channels. -Hint- Sponsoring fancy award ceremonies, does not result in sales.
Trying to expand before having sales to support it.

Lack of capital made the spiral collapse. There was a point in time were the manufacturer had a shipment ready but there was no money to pay for it. Batch testing got delayed which made the packaging with the seals useless. Also, the expiration date on the undelivered shipment started to tick-tock. Expiration getting closer, and the company had to get rid of the inventory at cents on the dollar without using the original packaging.

A very good example of a solid idea, with a lack of proper execution. Trial and error scaling a company, without proper funding is a shot in the air. Every step is a Hail Mary, and that is not sustainable. Anything that does not go perfectly smoothly, threatens the mere existence of the business.

Invaluable learning process. We are all better after it. Also, we ended up building a great friendship with the other members, as we showed ironclad loyalty to each other. Even while the company was not looking great, we kept all principles and moral values intact.