FYI for those interested in Supplements

[themusicman]

So far, I've run into some roadblocks/disappointments when it comes to getting a supplement company up and rolling.

Here are a few of the companies that I've found through these forums or elsewhere:
- PJ Noyes
- Nutricap Labs
- Draco Herbs
- Eye Five

Most of the companies I've contacted refuse to quote prices without a company name, phone number, and address. Or they have restrictively high minimum orders for their products.

PJ Noyes has a 10,000 bottle minimum order for custom formulations. At a guesstimated 2.50-4.50 per bottle to manufacture, that comes out to a $25,000 to $45,000 investment up front. When you are trying to get a 500-1000 bottle first run, this is a huge letdown.

Draco Herbs didn't have all of the products that I wanted to go into my supplement in-house. They have a policy that they do not accept outside products to mix into custom formulations, and their minimum order size for bulk product (herbal products to go into a final supplement) is 5 kg. For an herbal product that is only going to have 100 mg of that product in each pill, that comes out to +/- 50,000 pills.

Eye Five has some terrible AJAX form for quotes on their webpage, and I'm not even sure my request for a quote went through.

Nutricap Labs hasn't gotten back to me, but I will try giving them a call later this week.

I'm really glad that I've spent the time testing the market and audience for my product before spending a bunch of money on a business plan, lawyers, setting up an LLC, etc. All told, I've spent $100 (and $80 of that was free Google Adword credit), so I'm way ahead. I've decided to back out of this endeavor. Interestingly, it isn't really for the reasons Tim spoke about in the 4HWW, he says the constant questions from customers and potential customers were the bane of a supplement company, I think it is all the legal hassle and red tape that has to be navigated even before getting started that makes a supplement company so difficult to navigate.

If you have any questions about my experience so far, ask away!

[JPress]

Did you read this thread?

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/vBul...ght=supplement

I wouldn't mind doing a supplement, but 1 muse at a time.

[themusicman]

Originally Posted by JPress

Did you read this thread?

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/vBul...ght=supplement

I wouldn't mind doing a supplement, but 1 muse at a time.

Yes, that's actually the thread I was referring to about the recommendations (PJ Noyes and Nutricap Labs were recommended in there I think).

I will have to go back and double check if there were more details that I missed. I might have repeated a lot of info there...

Thanks for the link to the thread!

[liam75005]

Thanks for the info about the suppliers !

[korvix]

Maybe try to find a private label supplement, there's much less minimum order ?

I know vitalabs is not bad

To micro-test your niche you need 20 bottles man, not 200...

[themusicman]

Originally Posted by korvix

Maybe try to find a private label supplement, there's much less minimum order ?

I know vitalabs is not bad

To micro-test your niche you need 20 bottles man, not 200...

My muse wasn't a private label supplement that already exists on the market. I saw an area that didn't have any quality products or websites for a specific product, so I was looking at having a custom formulation done.

I wouldn't be looking at getting 500, 200, or even 100 bottles done if I could just micro-test with 20 bottles. If I were a custom supplement manufacturer, I would laugh at anyone wanting to do a custom formulation run of 20 bottles...

[DJL2.0]

themusicman,

I've contacted PJ Noyes and Nutricap Labs for potentially manufacturing my muse supplement. Still waiting to hear back with a definite quote from PJ Noyes, but my quote from Nutricaps was ridiculous. Minimum order 1000 bottles @ $35.35 a bottle - when I've sourced the raw materials myself for $4.50-$7.50/bottle.

I'd love to discuss more if you or anyone else is up for it... still trying to find the right manufacturer!

[Limitless]

DJL2.0,

I'm currently researching a supplement myself to be distributed here in the UK. I'd be interested to know about where you have sourced the materials from. I may already have a manufacturer lined up (fingers crossed).

Would also love to hear from any UK based members as well!

[themusicman]

Here are some additional questions that you might want to be prepared for, as most of the companies that have contacted me back have asked them:

Would all the raw materials and packaging components be supplied by you or us?
What size capsule?
What is the density of the blend?
When is the timeline?
What is the retail price of your 60 capsule bottle?
What is your company's name, address, phone, and fax.

I have no clue about the density or size of the capsules, but I'll do a little research and update with what I find.

BTW: The P.J. Noyes people were mostly out of the office the past week for the Supply Side West convention, so I would follow up with them if you haven't heard back from them yet.

[DJL2.0]

Limitless - I found my raw material manufacturer using the shotgun method - basically on Alibaba and ThomasNet contacting as many manufacturers as I could to receive quotes. And although it may be a bit more work, it's a lot more feasible when you receive your raw materials for $5-$6/bottle as opposed to a finished product at ~$30/bottle (there's no way finishing/encapsulating/bottling a product costs that much)

themusicman - out of all the companies I've spoken to, PJ Noyes is the only one to ask those questions. Capsule size can easily be determined with a quick google search. Density was required as they needed the info for their machine operation but can be found through testing they perform.
Simply put - I don't see PJ Noyes being able to fulfill all my manufacturing needs; just finishing the product at best.