Dietary supplements are extremely popular with a booming market. In fact, approximately 75 percent of adults in the US say that they’ve taken some type of supplement in the past year. The most popular supplements by far are vitamins/minerals. Even so, it’s impossible to ignore the market potential for specialty, herbal, and nutrition supplements that are part of many people’s daily lives.
Dietary supplement customers are typically looking to fill some sort of health-related need, so if you’re already knowledgeable about fitness and health topics, then you’re in a great position to open a supplement store. It won’t be an easy road, however, and there are some important things you’ll need to understand to get started.
Make a Business Plan
As with any business, you’ll need to write a business plan to get your ideas together and make the initial steps easier. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a formal document, but it should at least organize the basics.
You’ll have to decide what products you actually want to sell, which may affect how many regulations you’ll have to follow. Naturally, you’ll need a name for your store, and you’ll need to register it with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to sell your products. It’s important to calculate the cost of your initial inventory to give yourself a better idea of how to price products.
It’s also crucial to choose a good location for your business. Generally speaking, you’ll want a well-traveled area where customers can easily reach you, although you may skip this step if you’re planning to only sell online. Lastly, regardless of whether you have a physical storefront or online-only, you’ll need to at least purchase liability insurance to protect your business. With the basics out of the way, you can start focusing on some finer details.
Find a Manufacturer
Finding a trustworthy manufacturer will be one of the biggest steps in this entire process. Whether you’re making your own formulas or selling already proven products, you’ll need a manufacturer to make and ship your supplements. You can find reputable options online, such as makersnutrition.com, who will care about your products and do their best for your business.
If you’re simply purchasing already tested products from your manufacturer and reselling them, then you can actually trust your manufacturer to take care of all FDA regulations. If you’re having your manufacturer mix your own products, then you’ll be responsible for providing the final formula, as well as any necessary testing. You can also be held responsible for any mistakes like mislabeling or breaking any other good practices.
Advertise
People can’t buy products they don’t know about, so you’ll need to advertise effectively. At the least, you’ll need a website for your brand that is optimized for all devices, and you’ll need to spread awareness on social media. To bring in more local customers, you can create a Google My Business profile so your business will show in local searches and you can connect with customers more easily. The profile is free, and most benefits still apply even for purely online storefronts.
It’s also a great idea to create content for your business, such as blog posts on fitness sites. Take advantage of online photo storage to spread images of your business and products, and make videos about them to reach as many people as possible.
Keep Updated
Starting your business is just the first step. If you want to increase profits and expand, you’ll need to keep up with the latest trends and adapt to your industry. Check with local fitness stores to see what kinds of products they’re using, and see if you can fill in any gaps. Also, make sure you’re keeping up with other content creators as you produce content for your own business to ensure you stay up to date.