Eskil's Progress Thread: Starting a Supplement Business from Scratch

[Gymjunkie]

Awesome thread! Super inspiring! How are things these days?

 

[TJPB]

Nice work Eskil. Question on Amazon Fulfillment....can you use this service but not list products for sale on Amazon.com? I've been reading up on their site about the service but haven't found a concrete answer.

I was hoping to outsource order fulfillment to Amazon directly off my site......without listing anything for sale on Amazon.com. My gut tells me they don't allow this.

 

[Gymjunkie]

My orders are still slowly increasing on Amazon, with zero promotion running at the moment. I am also near getting sold out soon and will need to re-order more bottles. The last few months I have left it on autopilot with FBA because I needed to complete the preparations for my invention launch (which will be a Kickstarter).

That's amazing that you get sales without much work now. I'm jealous

Did you break even already with total expenses for supplement already?

 

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[Mbc]

Nice work Eskil. Question on Amazon Fulfillment....can you use this service but not list products for sale on Amazon.com? I've been reading up on their site about the service but haven't found a concrete answer.

I was hoping to outsource order fulfillment to Amazon directly off my site......without listing anything for sale on Amazon.com. My gut tells me they don't allow this.

I'm curious why you wouldn't want your product listed on Amazon anyway?
How can you be sure that you're not losing a sale from Amazon? I mean how do you know that a customer who would've bought it on Amazon would now find your product on your website or wherever it is?

I get you're giving Amazon a commission but it's still more sales isn't it?

 

[HD_edacity]

remember to watch out for the regulations set by health Canada, much more strict then the u.s

 

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[youngtrep]

Last week I finally received my new batch of bottles. They're ready to get sent off to Amazon FBA, but I will keep some for self-fulfillment until I can fully automate the sales off of Amazon and especially the monthly rebilled-orders. The #1 goal going forward will be to convert every sale into a recurring customer.

I know it is a bit late now, but for future reference my labels are 6.5" x 2.5" white bopp, high gloss and I pay 40 cents each.

 

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[camcam]

Any chance of seeing a link to the products? Wouldn't mind giving them a try myself.

 

[1milclub]

Deleted. It was not supposed to be be posted. Sorry Eskil - did not realize the access level to others.

 

[ericj]

Wondering... are you running amazon sponsored ads?

I have not tried that, and was on the fence about buying them. Do you have any experience with buying the ad space? Thanks

 

[ericj]

Here's your problem. Your product is the exact same as every other on the market.

That is true, it is a saturated market. Though, I did pick a particular product that had just became available at the time, and it was a hot item for others! Not so much for me though..

 

[camcam]

That is true, it is a saturated market. Though, I did pick a particular product that had just became available at the time, and it was a hot item for others! Not so much for me though..

It's not that saturated. Best of making your own formula, private label in this industry = disaster

 

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[Deon]

Hey @Eskil, I just checked your product on Amazon. I don't know how you got away with making those claims on the label without writing that whole "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to treat, cure, etc, etc"

I would suggest you change that ASAP, or the FDA will come down on you hard. Can shut down your brand, and even cause some legal problems.

 

[ericj]

@ericj Have you tried creating a FB page related to your market? I would create a page on the market you are getting into - weight loss, anti-aging, bodybuilding, etc...Promote the page with content (not your product) to get followers and run a few FB ads to get a community. After you have 500-1000 likes then introduce your product and give them a promo code to get the product for $1.

If you are selling on Amazon this will help boost your sellers ranking down the line, also boosting your organic sales. After the promo is over and people have received their order follow-up with them. Ask if they would like a discount for future orders (who says no to this) and if they would be willing to leave a review.

BOOM! Boosted sellers ranking and got a few reviews. If you do this with Amazon sells you should be able to move that product.

I have not done this. I did create a FB page for the product itself, but did not try a community page which is a great idea. Im going to look into doing this now. Thanks!

 

[kadream]

# If you ship via FBA you can't add a flyer / brochure to the shipping box and I can't see any other way of converting the amazon buyers into your own funnel

Why do you say that ? Is it forbidden by Amazon ? I know it's forbidden to give your Website in the messages (email-like) communications between you and your customers on Amazon but adding a flyer to the item is not permitted ? Can you provide your information source ?

Thank you very much.

 

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[BeGreat]

@ericj Hey Eric. Are you still making moves in the supplement industry? Any valuable lessons learned along your way??

Best of luck.

 

[CrispySmurf]

Great write up! I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this! I hope all is well. I wouldn't mind an update though I realize you are laser focused on your other product.

 

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[Guest12120]

@Eskil how many products do you have right now? I was thinking about selling on Shopify but I feel you need a good number of products for this to make sense.
Do you do any media buying?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Greyson F]

I don't mean to dig this topic up from the grave, @Eskil , but I have questions concerning your back-end, non-Amazon sales funnel.

My plan all along was to sell via other channels as well and so I have set up a conversion-funnel now which is ready for Google Adwords. I will first target a subset of my product's market, and I have customized my landing page to tailor specifically to those people's needs.

Are leads to the landing page coming independently from Adwords, or is there a connection or path you're making for Amazon buyers? What landing page SaaS do you use?

Further, I have set up an auto-responder to anyone who just orders a single-sale - to encourage them to save money next month by getting the first bottle free - and then to voluntarily join my auto-shipment program. The goal of course here is to get as many customers into a recurring billing cycle as possible.

How do you do all of this without breaking any of Amazon's terms? They seem to be very strict about keeping buyers on Amazon. I've been trying to find better ways to build customer relationships without pissing Amazon off.

The #1 goal going forward will be to convert every sale into a recurring customer

I'm really interesting in learning more about the process behind this. I'm looking for the gold nugget. Could you share your thoughts.

This thread has helped me tremendously! I've spent 12 long, grueling months on preparing a custom NDI formulation to hit market, and its been a lot of bumps. This thread is helping me tie together the knowledge I'm lacking.

Next step is to take action!

 

[LightHouse]

You have the perfect timing. Just got off the phone with my partner, and we made some major decisions in the direction of our supplement line so that we can get our damn brand on Amazon.

Thank you so much @LightHouse for the slap in the face. I WISH YOU WOULD SLAP ME HARDER (Not masochistic I swear).

Supplements? You are going to need all the hoping and praying in the world...

You should have been at the summit, listening to the amz panel. @roc pilon asked about starting and expanding supps and we had a very good discussion.

Either way, your next two weeks should only have the steps to get your first sale and nothing else really, even if it's an in person sale to the most ideal customers you can find for your product.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Greyson F]

Supplements? You are going to need all the hoping and praying in the world...

You should have been at the summit, listening to the amz panel. @roc pilon asked about starting and expanding supps and we had a very good discussion.

Either way, your next two weeks should only have the steps to get your first sale and nothing else really, even if it's an in person sale to the most ideal customers you can find for your product.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

I really want to go to the next one. I've been trying to get to the Summit for awhile, but I'm only now becoming "of age" for these events.

I'm on it. Mind if I PM you once I land that first one?

 

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[Sequential]

Eskil, do you sell in / ship to the UK?

Does your product contain K2? K2 Mk4 causes issues for me (burst blood vessels and causes DVT) though it might have been the brand.

Thanks

 

[Eskil]

Eskil, do you sell in / ship to the UK?

Does your product contain K2? K2 Mk4 causes issues for me (burst blood vessels and causes DVT) though it might have been the brand.

Thanks

No I am not selling this outside the UK. I know several European countries are pretty strict with regulations when it comes to supplements, but every barrier to entry could also be an opportunity. And no my product doesn't contain K2.

 

[Sequential]

Sorry I mean do you sell this in the UK? Aka can I buy some? I asked about K2 as it bursts blood vessels for me, sadly.

 

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[Captain Jack]

Alright, the time has come! This will be my progress thread for a new Fastlane business I am starting – a nutritional supplement product/business. I will do my best to post here with updates on what I am doing. Hopefully this can become another thread that others can learn from (whether they are getting into the supplement business or not), and perhaps I can get your guys’ thoughts and inputs here on some things along the way.

Let me first clarify what I am going to be doing. When I say “nutritional supplement business” I mean that I will develop first one, and eventually more, nutritional supplement products under my own brand. The brand will be focused on general health – in the life-extension, general health improvement, anti-aging, multi-vitamin market. But instead of trying to be another cookie-cutter A,B,C,D,E multivitamin, my first product will approach this with a slight twist…

The product will be a 100% all-natural, nutritional supplement – and not “yet another multivitamin”. It will contain 7 main active ingredients and one or two supporting ingredients for increased efficiency.

The seven active ingredients are a powerful pack of already widely known, true and tested ingredients that all have been proven to actually improve overall health in various different ways. These ingredients are already selling well in the supplement market today – but usually sold separately under generic brands.
My USP is that I offer these altogether in one convenient, daily dose.

Ingredient #1
Anti-aging / Heart health and cardiovascular benefits / May slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
It is also believed to reduce inflammation, and to give your immune system a healthy boost.

Ingredient #2
The strongest anti-oxidant found in nature. Anti-aging / Promotes heart health and cardiovascular benefits / Believed to inhibit or slow certain forms of cancer.

Ingredient #3
Heart health / Blood pressure / Anti-aging / Parkinsons disease, and more. Widely known for its positive effects in the human cardiovascular system. This ingredient is actually an enzyme that already exists in our bodies - but deteriorates as we get older. Maintaining stable levels of this ingredient has proven to be a great way of keeping your body healthy longer.

Ingredient #4
Anti-aging / Lowers cholesterol / Lowers bacterial growth / Reduces arthritic and digestive inflammation / Skin health. This ingredient has been used in Eastern traditional food and medicine for over 1000 years. There is no doubting this ingredient’s many benefits, and a daily intake of it may contribute to your health in more than one way.

Ingredient #5
Anti-aging / Heart health / Immune strength. This ingredient has been clinically proven in studies to directly benefit heart health. It is also an essential nutrient that the cells in our bodies depend on in order to extend their own natural lifespan.

Ingredient #6
Blood pressure regulator / Anti-aging / Clinically proven weightloss aid / Bone mass increase / Nerve damage repair (Parkinson's disease).

Ingredient #7
Diabetes and blood sugar aid / Blood pressure regulator / Lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, while increasing HDL (good) cholesterol / Increase lean body mass

This Fastlane business fulfills all the N.E.C.T.S commandments:

Need: The supplement industry is a $30 Billion+ industry in the U.S. alone, and is grown steadily. With increased private health-insurance and medical care costs, people are seeking their own ways to do preventive care through vitamins, supplements, diet, and exercise. Now, before I go full steam ahead with this first product – my first test will be to verify that the market actually NEEDS and wants my formula. Because I know that as useful as the product may seem in theory – only the market can tell me for sure. So my first big step now is to set up a presell page to collect leads, and also to get a very small batch manufactured for cheap that I can send out to the first buyers for some feedback, after they have tested it.

Entry: Even though in theory, “anyone” can have a supplement made – it still takes significant work, determination, and some financial investment to research the production of a nutritional supplement and get it off the ground properly to market. I have already spent a few months doing research for my ingredients to find the right combinations, market needs, benefits, correct daily dosages of each, etc.

Control: I will be almost entirely in control of every aspect of this business. The only thing somewhat out of my control would be depending on manufacturer’s for the actual production – but my ingredients are common enough to where if one manufacturer were to fail on delivery – there are plenty of other manufacturer’s to choose from.

Scale: The Need also delivers the Scale here. I will start out with direct online sales, but my goal is to enter retail chains when I have reached a comfortable sales volume level online.

Time: There is definitely high enough margins here for me to automate this business. I will be mostly in control to start, but the plan of course is to gradually outsource every element of the business – from customer support, distribution, sales, and eventually management.

Wish me luck guys...

Hi Eskil.

I have an idea for a supplement that is fairly simple, but I have not been able to find these specific ingredients together.

I was wondering if you could recommend a supplement development company (basically, someone to formulate this supplement out of my required ingredients) or if you have any tips on how to find a legitimate company that does this.

Any advice that you can provide will be more than appreciated!

 

[Captain Jack]

Awesome! Thanks!

 

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