Selling health supplements online is a popular business model due to its relatively low cost and potential to reach a high and diverse range of customers. The online supplement market is projected to exceed $349 billion by 2026, and vitamin supplements are currently the highest performers on the market. Factors contributing to the popularity of dietary supplements include an increased awareness of health issues, increases in obesity, and advertising pushes for more healthy lifestyles.
There are many options available for selling supplements online. If you’re already knowledgeable about supplements, perhaps from an online sports psychology degree, that’s a good start. You can always build your own website, or you can sell supplements on auction sites or through social media outlets. As popular as supplements are, they aren’t a roadmap to instant success on their own. You’ll need knowledge of the industry and your options to be successful. Here are some of your highest priority considerations.
Check Regulations
Dietary supplements have to be manufactured and advertised following approved FDA guidelines. If you’re planning on creating your own products, you’ll have to closely study ingredient guides, obtain proper licensing for manufacturing and selling, and be careful to label your products appropriately. Manufacturers and distributors are forbidden to market any products that are misbranded or labeled with false information, intentionally or otherwise.
The FDA will first issue a warning letter to any company that mislabels supplements or displays inaccurate information elsewhere, such as on their website. Companies have 15 days to respond to the letter and fix the errors before additional actions are taken, which include possibilities of injunctions, recalls, or seizures.
Plan Your Supply Chain
While creating your own products is perfectly possible, it’s often easier to work with a manufacturer, such as makersnutrition.com. This allows you to circumvent the need for licensing, and the manufacturer will also be responsible for following FDA guidelines. Makers Nutrition sells supplements for a wide range of needs from sports nutrition to CBD, and they come in several different forms. You can work out a fulfillment plan and an effective pricing structure with a supplier, or you can tackle everything on your own.
Suppliers will also generally provide solutions for your labeling and package design and can give you advice on storage and other topics. Working on your own can mean more profits, but you’ll lose out on convenience.
Work on SEO
Any online business needs to keep up their SEO efforts to be successful. There are some simple things you can do to attract more customers, such as advertising on social media or posting content in areas potential customers are likely to frequent. For example, if you’re selling vitamin supplements, it would make sense to post content on health blogs to show users how you can help.
It’s also a great idea to take advantage of local SEO. With a Google My Business profile, you’ll get a business listing in search result pages, and this lets you connect with customers via Google Maps and Google searches. If you have Google reviews, these will also be displayed, and positive customer reviews are among the best things you can have to influence new customers. Building a positive online presence is the best thing you can do for your business.
Offer Exceptional Customer Support
Creating a great customer experience is the best way to spread positive word of mouth and retain existing customers. This means your site should be optimized for convenience, and you should accept as many payment methods as you can while remaining PCI compliant.
You also need to be immediately reachable for any customer concerns. It’s even a good idea to contact existing customers to follow up with them on their purchases. This can help you stand out from the competition as a business that really cares about customer satisfaction.