Knowing your target market and competition will help you formulate a competitive product that will hit the ground running. You can design your product and even choose which feature you would like to focus on to position it well in the market. 

While it is important to know your competition, it is more important to gain access to your target market and get them buying your product. 

Tip 2: Choosing your supplement manufacturer

Your supplement manufacturer can help you make your product more marketable based on its formulation. They can help you with the processes involved. There are several things you should consider while choosing a manufacturer.

1 – make sure you choose a reputable manufacturer who is known for their quality. They should know their product well enough to answer questions in a timely manner and be able to provide you with evidence or any information regarding the process that you need. Look for reviews on the manufacturer. 

2 – Choose a manufacturer who is NSF compliant. Make sure to verify this before you sign a contract with them. 

3 – Choosing the cheapest manufacturer could mean sacrificing quality. Make sure you choose the best quality for the best price. 

4 – Check to see if your manufacturer provides everything from manufacturing to testing, packaging, labeling, and distribution. This means you can get everything processed through them making your life easier. 

Tip 3 – Working with your manufacturer

1 – Ask a lot of questions! Make sure you know everything possible about the process of developing your product. You can also ask about their experience, certifications, specifications, and testing. Check about the quality of their ingredients, their quality control, and quality assurance. Find out about their order quantities and graphic designers for the product. 

2 – Your manufacturer should want to work with you to make a great product. This means not just saying yes to everything you say. They should provide feedback even if it is an opposing view to make sure that your product meets standards and is delivering on its claims. 

Tip 4 – Optimizing Marketing angles

It is important to pinpoint the key features that will make your product stand out from the competition and make it appealing to your market. Once you have identified these features you can work backward to make sure your product delivers. 

This means going a step ahead in comparison to your competition and not just providing a similar product. This could mean working with the formulation in great detail. A good manufacturer should help you with whatever you need in terms of product development. 

Not all supplements will bring in money. The very first step before you start your own brand is to identify a product that has a market and is trending. An example of a market would be groups or individuals who are trying to lose weight, gain muscle, improve brain function or improve their nutritional intake/overcome the deficiency. 

Tip 2: Choose a market and define its needs

When you choose a product, the market it caters to should be clear. It is important to define all the needs of that market in order to cater to them. It is not why you think your product is important, it is why they think the product is important. A few questions to help you define your market are below

1 – Who is my customer? What do my customers have in common?

2 – Why does my customer need this product? What need does the product fill in the market?

3 – Can my product meet the needs of my customers? What are the obstacles?

4 – Where do my customers shop? Can I sell through these channels? What are the social media/informational outlets used by my customers?

Tip 3  – Know your competition

You need to set yourself apart from your competition. The key is convincing your customer that you have something that other brands don’t have. It isn’t enough to be similar to the competition. There are several factors to consider

1 – Price – know your competitor’s price for the products. You might want to price at a lower point. If you decide to do this, make sure you still have a profit that allows you to succeed.

2 – Your competitors target customer – it is important to know who your competitor is targeting. When looking at target consumers, you may be able to broaden the market for your target consumers in comparison to your competition by doing proper research.

3 – Marketing – know which tools your competitor uses to reach its target customers. You can find new ways to introduce your product in order to gain a customer and stand out from the competition.

4 – Claims – what do they claim their product can do? Do they have disclaimers? How is your product different? By adding claims that your competition does not have, you can set yourself apart. This may involve making changes in product development and can be costly. 

Tip 4 – Planning your customer acquisition strategy

Acquiring your customer can be done through various outlets such as

• Pay-per-click
• Blogging
• Media buying
• Setting up your brick and mortar store
• Direct sales
• Starting your website
• Selling your supplements on e-commerce platforms like Amazon
• Trade shows

Using several of these might also be useful. It is important to be a step ahead of the competition in acquiring customers and their marketing strategies.