Your first time finding a manufacturing partner for your brand-new supplement brand can be daunting. No two manufacturers are alike, and it may take some time and careful research to find out who meets your needs best. No one can speak to this process better than The GHT Companies client, Tamara ZumMallen, L.Ac., an acupuncturist and fertility specialist in Los Angeles. When Tamara ZumMallen embarked on her journey to start her first supplement brand, she had never done anything like it before, but she was determined to create a line that supported her fertility work.
ZumMallen pioneered her field. “When I started, there was no best practice,” she says. She set out to gather and synthesize all of the research she could, earning a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine degree with a doctoral dissertation titled “The Effect of Acupuncture on In Vitro Fertilization Outcomes.” She estimates that in her twelve years of fertility work, she has helped bring at least 400 healthy babies to term.
The biggest hurdle she sees in making a pregnancy stick is often egg health, which is primarily determined by one thing: the mother’s nutrition. It was this key fact that inspired ZumMallen to create her own supplement line – one that addressed the exact concerns of her clients. “For about a decade, I took notes about what my discerning clientele wanted in supplements,” she says. “I wanted them to get exactly what they needed in nutrition and supplementation.” From there, the idea of Fertile Moon was born, but ZumMallen still had a lot of work to do to bring her idea to fruition. Read on to learn what key pointers helped her make the best manufacturing decision for her brand new supplement brand.
Know Your “Why”
There are hundreds of supplement lines for consumers to choose from and dozens of manufacturing partners willing to bring the next new line to market. In order for new lines to be successful, product line creators should know what purpose their line will serve and what will differentiate it from other options already on the market. In ZumMallen’s case, her “why” was her clients. “I knew exactly what I needed, and I wasn’t willing to stop short in getting that for them. Their feedback was honest and so beneficial in the early stages brainstorming ideas for what to carry in my office.”
Not only will defining your “why” help you make your supplement line successful once it is produced, but it will also keep you on track to finding the best partner for your brand.
Do Your Homework
Before you begin looking at manufacturers and their varied processes and benefits, you should have a general idea of what you’ll need to execute your vision, but that doesn’t mean that you have to have all the answers.
When she first set out to manufacture the products she needed for Fertile Moon, ZumMallen was a manufacturing novice. To help keep her meetings on track, she always came prepared with a list of questions she needed answers to – and stuck to it. “I’d start the call and say, ‘I realize that some of my questions are elementary,’ but I would ask them anyway,” ZumMallen says. She knew that it was important to understand the ins and out of the partner she would ultimately choose to work with, and she didn’t want to cut any corners in her research phase.
Having a list of questions prepared will not only make your initial meeting go smoothly, but it will also ensure you don’t miss any important information, ultimately giving you a better foundation for comparing your options when you’re ready to make a choice.
Ask for Their Best Sales Pitch
Have your checklist ready, but don’t feel like you have to do all of the heavy lifting. At the end of the day, you’re searching for a partner who can help you make your idea a reality. “Ask them, ‘Is there anything I’m missing?’ and let them tell you what they can do for you,” ZumMallen says. The right partner will be able to explain in detail what benefits they can bring to the table if you work with them.
Go With Your Gut
In her quest for the perfect manufacturing partner, ZumMallen interviewed dozens of potential manufacturers across the country but was hard-pressed to find someone that met her needs and made her feel comfortable about the process – until she spoke with the Health Specialties Manufacturing arm of The GHT Companies. “They answered all of my questions,” she says. “There were no obstacles in the first phone call.” Ultimately, it was the can-do attitude and heart behind The GHT Companies that convinced ZumMallen that we were the partner for her.
“Being a newcomer in the industry, I needed a pro. I needed a pro with a pro team,” she says. “GHT was lightyears ahead of every company I interviewed, not only with their ease in procuring the raw materials I needed but with their meticulous customer service and willingness to work with a novice such as myself.”
Looking for a manufacturing partner to bring your supplement idea to life? The GHT Companies has all of the research, science, and marketing resources you need to make your launch successful.
Contact us today about bringing your product ideas to life.
