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A Detailed Guide to Selling Supplements in Your Gym-02.1

Last updated: January-18,2023

A Detailed Guide to Selling Supplements in Your Gym

Today’s gyms and fitness centers not only provide their members the space and equipment to complete their workouts, but many of them now have certified dieticians and other professionals on staff who provide nutritional advice and dietary regimens that can help these folks achieve their health and wellness goals. The fact that gym-goers actively seek nutritional guidance has opened enormous business opportunities for gym owners and dietary supplement brand owners. While supplement brand owners gain a new outlet to showcase and sell their products, many gym owners are entering the fray and starting their own custom supplement line. Besides the obvious financial benefits, gyms and fitness centers can further reinforce their credibility from a nutritional standpoint.[i]

Of course, you can choose to ideate and manufacture these supplements yourself, but working with an experienced supplement manufacturer who can work with you every step of the way – from initial conceptualization of the product to the storage and shipment of your finished product – is the ideal route for a new brand owner to choose. What’s even better is finding a provider that can seamlessly offer you formulation, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, and fulfillment services all under one roof. Not only does this save you time and money, but it also allows you to bring your product to the market faster.

In this blog, we will help you understand how to start a supplement business as a gym owner, best practices for selling supplements in your gym, the dos and don’ts, and everything else you need to know to get started.

Offering a convenient and safe way to bridge dietary gaps, dietary supplements have witnessed an increase in popularity. Driven by rising health awareness, a growing geriatric population, and the need for a balanced diet, the global dietary supplements market is expected to touch USD 272.4 billion by 2028.

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The Advantages of Creating Your Supplement Line

Here are just some of the reasons why you should consider creating your own line of dietary supplements versus selling products produced by other brands:

  • As a dietary supplement brand owner, you will be able to come up with your own unique formula for the product. At the same time, you will also ensure that only the best quality ingredients go into creating the supplement. Thus, providing your customers with a premium product that is also backed by science. In addition, creating your own line of dietary supplements will cost you significantly less as compared to buying pre-existing supplements. You can also choose to contact an experienced supplement manufacturer who can help you every step of the way and give you advice on the dos and don’ts associated with creating a dietary supplement.
  • Since your customer base literally walks into your premises every day, you can ask them what types of products they’re looking for, what they typically use and like, and even what they steer clear of. Relay this feedback to your supplement manufacturer to create one or more products that meet your members' health and wellness needs.
  • Having your own supplement line gives you the freedom to offer different types of supplements like BCAAs, creatine, protein powders in a range of flavors you think your customers appreciate.
  • Owning your supplement brand gives you the edge in keeping pace with trending ingredients. You can research the latest supplement trends and deliver accordingly.
  • Because you have more control over your products, your brand and label can be consistent with your gym’s branding, which will open up a host of marketing and awareness opportunities for your brand.

How Can You Promote Your Supplement Business at Your Gym?

Unlike other businesses who have to spend a lot of money attracting customers, you have the advantage of potential customers walking into your establishment every day. The first-hand product feedback from your members gives you a unique competitive advantage over today’s leading brands, helping you stay agile and maintain a relevant product line. You can develop several innovative ways to create more opportunities to market your supplement products. Here are a few to start with:

Extend Customized Offers for Your Members

One of the easiest things to do is offer your supplements at a discount to your gym members. It will increase your brand recognition amongst your regular customers, besides helping with brand publicity through word of mouth. Everybody loves a discount. So, when the word gets around that your gym offers excellent training facilities and supplements (at discounted rates for members) to support their exercise regimen, it is sure to enhance your gym and brand reputation.

Create a Supplement Store

Another excellent way to promote your supplement brand is to open a supplement store at your gym. Normally, your gym customers will have to make a pit-stop to purchase supplements. But a supplement store on the premises will be a game-changer. So, not only are you creating immense customer satisfaction with your existing clientele, but this will be a surefire way of getting new customers!

Hire a Sports Nutritionist

With sports nutrition and health supplements, product selection and information are the most important factors that improve credibility. Even a novice customer will spot a lack of knowledge when the staff isn’t well-informed or experienced. So, you could hire a nutrition specialist who is enthusiastic about serving this market and give customers relevant information about this category.

Sell Products that Meet the FDA’s Requirements

The FDA stringently regulates finished dietary supplement products and dietary ingredients. They hold manufacturers and distributors of the nutritional supplements responsible for validating their product safety and labeling before marketing. FDA has the authority to act against any misbranded or adulterated dietary supplement product after it reaches the market.[ii]

As a brand owner, you need to strictly abide by the current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs). Your supplement label and packaging claims should be in line with the FDA regulations, and you should stay abreast with the updated FDA supplement label requirements. To emphasize just how crucial it is that your dietary supplement complies with the FDA regulations, we want to site the study conducted by the NSF that states almost 97% of dietary supplement consumers in the US hold the retailer responsible for the quality and safety of the product. This being said, as a brand owner yourself, you can take full responsibility for the quality of your product.

Create a Plan for Packing and Shipping Orders

In this industry, the supplement packaging and label design you choose is critical to your product's success (or failure).[iii] In our recent article, we have explained how the packaging and labeling of a product can affect its sales. Here we found that you have only 90 seconds to impress your customer with the packaging before moving on to the following product on the shelf.

While the FDA is meticulous about mentioning supplement identity statements, net content quantity, nutrition, ingredient labeling, and claims on supplement packaging, cramming so much information on the label can make it look crowded and unappealing. This is where a supplement manufacturer’s role comes in. They can help you customize your label to attract the customer without missing out on any essential information.

When it comes to packaging, there are several options to choose from, like blister packs, PET or glass bottles, stick packs, pouches, etc. When selecting a packaging option for your supplements, it helps to know that using functional and flexible packaging can offer your consumers much-needed convenience and puts you an edge over your competitors.

It is equally important to deliver your supplements to your customers on time, and a reliable vitamin and supplement order fulfillment service can help you with it.

Storing & Maintaining Inventory

It is prudent to keep an optimum inventory at hand for sudden demand spikes. You also need to determine where you're going to store your products and how you can pick & pack them as efficiently as possible.

Climate-controlled storage is an important aspect when it comes to vitamins and dietary supplements. The prime reason is the sensitivity of the supplement ingredients towards temperature and humidity, so a cGMP certified temperature-controlled warehouse is a must.

Once again, working with a supplement manufacturer that offers turnkey services like warehousing, and inventory management could be quite advantageous.

Do You Need a License to Sell Dietary Supplements?

Although you do not need any specific license to sell a dietary supplement as a brand owner, it is your responsibility to do your due diligence and ensure that the supplement manufacturer you choose follows all the cGMP guidelines for manufacturing, packaging, labeling, and storing your product. Failing to do so could result in catastrophic losses for your business as well as your customers.

Types of Nutritional Supplements You Can Sell in Your Gym

Supplements-You Can Sell in Your Gym

Multivitamins

The focus on health and fitness has led to a rise in nutritional supplement use, especially multivitamins. As a result, the nutritional supplement industry witnessed its highest growth in over two decades, with a 12.1% increase in 2020. With many people looking to support their health through supplements, this trajectory is expected to maintain its path.[iv]

Pre-workout Supplements

More people today are adopting some form of exercise to lead a healthy lifestyle. And, to increase strength and enhance performance while working out, these fitness enthusiasts use pre-workout supplements, driving the demand for these supplements. The global pre-workout supplements market size, valued at USD 12.6 billion in 2019, is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3% from 2020 to 2027.

Muscle Growth Supplements

Muscle growth supplements have become increasingly popular among consumers. Athletes and physically active adults also consume these supplements to realize better gains in muscle mass and strength and improve physical performance. The global protein supplements market size was valued at USD 18.91 billion in 2020. The increasing dependency on supplements to fulfill the daily nutritional requirements is expected to fuel the growth of these supplements.

Probiotic Supplements

The global probiotics market is projected to be valued at USD 61.1 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to reach USD 91.1 billion by 2026. This interest in probiotic supplements is due to the increasing awareness among people about their digestive and immune health.[v] 

Special Tips from NutraScience Labs on Selling Supplements at Your Gym

  • Grab opportunities like the gym’s anniversary or other special occasions to bring out special discounts and other incentives to promote nutritional supplements.
  • Answer gym members’ queries related to supplements on your website through blog posts.
  • Use the gym’s fitness marketing campaigns, such as weight management challenges to display your supplement range.
  • Consider having your gym logo and name on your supplement brand; it can help increase brand recognition.[vi] 

Conclusion

If you are a gym owner looking to sell supplements in your gym or become a brand owner, including high-quality supplements in your portfolio is central to your success in this endeavor. Once you have that sorted, there’s fulfilling the legalities, storing & maintaining inventory, and crafting a plan for packing and shipping orders. Don’t let the work involved hold you back; there is help and expertise available for you.

Gyms offer new supplement brand owners prominent business opportunities, and NutraScience Labs can help you make the most of it with our end-to-end supplement manufacturing services.

We are a leading supplement manufacturer in the United States. Our team is comprised of account managers, production assistants, formulators, certified food scientists, and other nutraceutical industry experts that possess more than 120 years of supplement manufacturing experience and have helped more than 2,300 brands located around the globe turn their idea into a reality.

For more information about our services and how we can help you create a custom dietary supplement product, call at 855-492-7388 or send us your request to receive a free nutraceutical manufacturing quote.


References:

[i] https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-get-local-gyms-to-carry-and-sell-my-dietary-supplements

[ii] https://www.nsf.org/news/americans-hold-retailers-responsible-quality-safety-products

[iii] https://www.nutrasciencelabs.com/blog/do-supplement-packaging-and-labeling-affect-revenue

[iv] https://www.shift4shop.com/sell-online/how-to-sell-nutritional-supplements-online.html

[v] https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/the-benefits-of-probiotics-and-prebiotics

[vi] https://uhurunetwork.com/fitness-marketing-10-creative-ideas/

 

November 22nd, 2021

About the Author:

 
Andrew Goldman

Andrew Goldman is the Vice President of Marketing for NutraScience Labs. In this role, he leverages his 15+ years of B2B inbound marketing experience to develop cutting edge strategies for our firm. A health and fitness enthusiast, Andrew and his team won the 2012 Stevie Award for Marketing Team of the Year. He is also a two-time Best In Biz Silver Award winner for Marketing Executive of the Year and has received other honors and accolades for his website design work.