Getting off on the right foot is key to building a successful supplement company online. Having a strong foundation will put you on that path. The best part is that starting your own supplement company doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

Choosing Your Supplement Business Model

business model graphic

There are a few different ways to start your own supplement company: custom formula, private label, and drop shipping.

Drop shipping supplements is the one of the cheapest and quickest ways to start your supplement company but it’s also one of the best ways to get started. You can use drop shipping as a testing ground for new supplements and marketing tactics without having to invest money into inventory and warehousing.

Buying thousands of dollars worth of a supplement (private label or custom) is a risky way to start your business. If the supplement flops you’re stuck holding the bill. That’s why drop shipping is such a great way to lay a good foundation for the future success of your company.

Once you know that your branding, supplement, and marketing are successful you can move on to a different model if you’d like but drop shipping is the perfect place to start.

Now is the time to lay the bricks that you can build your entire company from. Here are five things every supplement company needs to be successful.

5 Things You Need to Grow Your Supplement Company

1. Finding the Right Supplements to Sell Online

Obviously a top concern for building a successful supplement brand online is having good supplements. Selling high-quality supplements will set you up for long term success.

If your supplements are poor quality and don’t deliver on results, you’re going to have a tough time getting repeat buyers. Plus, poor reviews from dissatisfied customers will deter new customers from buying. Not to mention having to deal with returns and refunds.

To make sure your supplements are good quality, be sure to work with supplement manufacturers that are FDA registered and cGMP compliant. CGMP means current good manufacturing practices – it basically means the manufacturer is up to par with current standards and is doing things to ensure the safety and quality of the product.

In addition, make sure that you can access the certificate of analysis for the supplements you will be selling. The certificate of analysis will allow you to ensure that the supplements contain the ingredients that they’re supposed to have in the right amounts.

Even if you’re drop shipping and you feel like you’re just the middleman, you’re still responsible for the quality of the supplements. You can learn more about drop shipping supplements here.

2. Offer Great Order Fulfillment

Another key to building a successful online supplement business is having a good order fulfillment system. Shipping is a massive part of the online shopping experience and Amazon has trained shoppers to expect fast and reliable shipping.

Good order fulfillment is just another way to reinforce to your customer that they made the right choice by buying from you. Delayed shipping can leave customers wondering if you’re a legitimate company at all and you might not get a second chance to make things up to them.

Allowing for a smooth returns process will also add to the customer experience as well. Again, a poor order fulfillment process can cause customers to question your legitimacy.

This is just another reason why building your supplement company using drop shipping can be helpful. You don’t have to spend time and money setting up an order fulfillment process because the drop shipping company will do that for you. Do your research on how reliable the drop shipper is though. You don’t want to hand off order fulfillment only to find out it’s not being handled correctly.

3. Sell Your Supplements on the Right Platforms

Another must have for successful online supplement companies is a good platform to sell your supplements. It doesn’t matter how good your supplements are, or if your order fulfillment is amazing, if people aren’t finding you or have a hard time purchasing, none of that matters.

There are a lot of ways to sell your supplements online but there are three selling platforms that stand out among the rest: Amazon, eBay and your own website. Each one has pros and cons so it’s really your choice as far as which platforms you want to sell on.

You can learn more about all three here.

Whatever you choose make sure that it makes sense for your product and that it’s built out nicely. You want customers to have an easy and simple buying process so giving them good information and content will make that process easier. Include multiple good quality images and clear descriptions.

If you’re selling on your own website there’s obviously a lot more control over your website but this can be good and bad. Obviously it’s good because you can brand the website however you want for a custom look and feel but at the same time it leaves room to mess things up and confuse customers if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Shopify is a good out of the box option that is easy to set up and difficult to mess up.

4. Develop Branding That Stands Out

In order to set your supplement company up for success you need good branding. Your branding sets the tone for your marketing and will help you differentiate yourself from the competition.

With private label supplements you can create labels that are unique and one of a kind. Creating a consistent look and feel across your labels, website and other marketing materials will help your brand look professional and put together.

It’s practically unheard of that a company will let you private label supplements for drop shipping making it difficult to develop your own brand. With On Demand Fulfillment, however, you can do just that which allows you to build a brand and take advantage of the drop shipping business model.

But keep in mind that branding goes beyond your label and logo. Your brand is the impression you leave on a customer. This is everything from your website to your customer service. Your brand should be reflected in every part of your company.

5. Implement SEO Best Practices

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of optimizing your website so that it shows up in search engines like Google. Basic SEO practices like keyword research and on-page optimization is useful for both websites and product listings on marketplaces like Amazon or eBay as well. SEO is crucial for helping to increase your organic traffic. Why pay for traffic when you can get organic traffic for free by investing a little time and effort into your SEO? The above video is a great place to start with simple steps you can take today!

The Takeaway

Drop shipping is a great way to start a successful supplement company whether you want to stick to drop shipping or take your company to the next level. Whatever you decide there are a few things that will help create a solid foundation for future success.

  1. Supplements
  2. Order fulfillment
  3. Selling platforms
  4. Branding
  5. SEO best practices

With these four things in mind you can build an amazing supplement company!