Private Labeling Supplements

Private labeling is putting your brand on existing, high-quality nutritional supplement formulas with legal permission from their provider.

It allows healthcare practitioners and entrepreneurs to build a niche brand and grow their business with less liability risk, because they may be partially protected by the supplier's compliance and insurance umbrella policy.

Private labeling is attractive because research and development, legal considerations, marketing material and compliant labels are all provided by the supplement manufacturer. That enables practitioners and business owners to reap the benefits without the time and expense of creating a new formula from scratch.

The terms are often used interchangeably. They shouldn't be — along with the rest of the vocabulary in our supplement manufacturing glossary.

With white labeling, a generic product is created for multiple resellers. It's a fast way to reach the market, but your products will be more or less indistinguishable from those of other resellers.

With private labeling, the reseller has the option to modify the product to fit their selling requirements and brand — and can sometimes customize it with their own branding colors, unlike generic white label products.

Selling private label supplements can help you increase brand awareness and expand your patient base.

Done correctly, it builds trust among patients and lends credibility to your practice or business. When people see your brand being used by friends or family, it reinforces your expertise in specific areas of health and wellness.

On top of this, private labeling offers genuinely lucrative revenue opportunities. For doctors, naturopaths, chiropractors, registered dietitians, nutritionists and wellness coaches who already sell supplements, branding your own products adds a factor of exclusivity that boosts profitability.

The margin problem it solves

You may already be reselling high-quality supplements to your patients. However, many people are bargain hunters — they'll listen to your recommendation and then search for a cheaper generic version of the product rather than buy from you.

When you have your own unique blend of active ingredients designed to support a specific metabolic system, it becomes much harder for someone to hop on Amazon or go to Walmart and find an option they think delivers the same benefits — even though cheaper products often lack potency and include more fillers.

Private labeling improves the likelihood your patients or client base will buy directly from you.

Private labeling can be lucrative. It's also increasingly competitive, so you'll need to be organized and take a strategic approach. Here is how to launch in seven steps.

1. Create a checklist

Organization is critical when launching or expanding any business. If you plan on selling in volume through e-commerce sites or physical retail, start with a checklist that outlines every aspect of your business plan, including who is doing what.

A few examples: Who is my market? Who will design my label? What is my customer acquisition plan? If you're unsure what questions to ask yourself and your team, we recommend The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande.

2. Evaluate your market

Evaluate your market to determine whether you should sell online, face to face, or both. Understanding your market at a fundamental level lets you design a more effective course of action — it determines everything from how you market to how you fulfill.

Selling online gives you a larger market, greater revenue potential and far more data. Selling in person means less inventory, a greater connection with patients and an easier start.

3. Choose a high-quality supplement supplier

Tailoring your products to your practice, ideal patient or business goals matters. Different healthcare providers specializing in functional medicine, hormone replacement and chiropractic care often need vastly different supplements for their clients.

Focusing on your niche is the best path forward — it builds trust and keeps risk low. If you're an e-commerce vendor concerned with maximizing margin, start with a few top-selling formulations and grow from there.

Once you've identified your market and a formulation that provides a targeted solution for it, remember that you can't be everything to everyone. Start with one or two products to build your brand around. Once you have a successful base, expand.

4. Find the right products to private label

Choosing a supplier can be challenging — there are a great many private label service providers out there. Create a list of providers that receive high marks from other private labelers, then narrow it down based on product selection, service and alignment with your core values. Here is what we would want you to know about us while you vet suppliers.

5. Create your brand logo and label

If you already have a logo for your practice or business, all you have to do is send it to your representative, who will make sure the design team incorporates it into a professional label.

If you don't have branding in place yet, you can work with our design team. They'll work with you hand in hand to create a logo and label that represents your vision.

6. Set up a legally established business

If you're a licensed healthcare professional, you probably already have a legally incorporated business. If you haven't set your business up as a separate legal entity, do so as soon as possible.

7. Start selling

At this point you're ready to receive your new supplement line and begin selling. If you're a sole proprietor or an established practitioner offering branded supplements directly to your customers or patients, starting a private label business is straightforward and quite affordable.

Our minimum order is just 10 units per SKU for white label and 100 units per SKU for private label. With that in mind, a first shipment of branded supplements can be set up and ready to sell for a very modest initial outlay.

Our private labeling services include label application, production and help identifying the products best suited to your business. Rather than charging service or label fees, we've built these features into our minimums to keep the process streamlined and affordable.

Additional options include digital imaging for your website or online sales, branded marketing material such as sell sheets and product information, and third-party testing certificates of analysis to verify your product's quality.

Marking up supplements is a judgement call that depends on your niche and how well marketed your line is.

A markup of one hundred percent is standard. If your cost comes to $10.00 per unit, you might sell it for $20.00 and find your sweet spot there.

Some highly successful private label brands have marketed themselves so effectively that they sell their products for three to four times cost.

First orders take longer than reorders, because label printing happens alongside production. Once your artwork is on file with us, repeat orders move considerably faster.

For online retailers, we recommend maintaining extra inventory. Our minimums are low, but when you're selling on marketplaces like Amazon we recommend holding at least 144 units per SKU.

Running out of product on e-commerce sites can seriously damage your brand. When you run out of stock you risk losing rank, sales, trust and competitive edge — all of which are expensive to recover.

Practitioners who see patients face to face or through telemedicine have far more flexibility with inventory. Maintaining stock isn't as challenging, especially since new orders ship quickly.

A compliant dietary supplement label must carry five elements. These are regulated content and must not be modified:

1. The statement of identity — the name of the dietary supplement in the package
2. The statement of net quantity of contents — the overall amount of supplement in the package
3. The nutrition labeling — the Supplement Facts panel
4. The list of ingredients — all ingredients included in the supplement
5. Business information — the name and place of the manufacturer, packer or distributor

Alongside these, labels carry suggested use, servings information, warnings and the standard FDA statement. Everything else on the label — your logo, colors, typography and brand voice — is entirely yours.

Nutritional supplements and vitamins are not pre-approved by the FDA. The Food and Drug Administration does not have authority over whether vitamins and supplements can be sold.

However, like any other food product, supplements must comply with the FDA's regulations regarding labeling and manufacturing.

Provisions, laboratory production controls and distribution guidelines for supplements and cosmetics are regulated under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act — Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, Section 111. The Current Good Manufacturing Practices required under CFR-21-111 ensure testing is done on every raw material in a supplement, measuring purity, potency, identity and contaminants to prove the product meets all standards in place. cGMPs also provide a statistically valid method for substantiating label claims on finished products.

Who is responsible for making sure a supplement is safe?

Since vitamins and nutritional supplements do not need FDA approval for sale, the onus falls on the manufacturer's cGMPs. The manufacturer must make sure products are safe before taking them to market.

This is one reason private labeling is a wise route: providers like MaxVera ensure all products are safe and ready for market. As a private label customer, you have protection from associated liabilities as long as you follow our labeling guidelines.

The best way to determine the quality of a supplement is to evaluate the company you're purchasing from. A few things to look for during vetting:

• Is the supplement manufacturer FDA registered?
• Does the manufacturer have an up-to-date Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) certification?
• Do they have on-site regulatory and quality control departments?
• Are they certified non-GMO, hypoallergenic and free of heavy metals?
• Does clinical research back their ingredients?
• Did doctors or nutritional experts create the formulas?
• Does the manufacturer employ third-party testing?

If you're a doctor, naturopath or licensed healthcare practitioner of any sort, you don't want to give your patients anything you wouldn't take yourself. Verifying supplement quality is easy — just ask the private label provider for compliance documentation. You can also search publicly for product recalls and truth-in-labeling violations.

Private labeling presents a real opportunity for any health professional or entrepreneur. It offers a fast, straightforward way to offer superior-quality nutritional supplements to the people you serve — allowing you to help them achieve their goals while simultaneously building your brand and boosting revenue.

By following the steps in this guide, you can launch your first private label products successfully.