Looking to start a fitness supplement brand that stands the test of time?
Supplements are HOT right now. Whether it be gym enthusiasts tracking macros or high-performance athletes looking for an edge… Someone out there is searching for products to fit their needs.
Sales are booming. There’s room for new brands to enter the market.
But there’s a problem:
Starting a supplement business is more than picking a container of protein powder and sticking a label on it. You need to worry about things like compliance, peptide fraud protection and getting your payments processed.
That last part is important — if your payments get shut down you’ll never grow your business.
What you’ll discover:
- Why The Fitness Supplement Market Is Booming
- How Peptide Fraud Can Sink Your Business
- 6 Actionable Steps To Start A Supplement Brand
- How To Keep Your Revenue Safe
Why The Fitness Supplement Market Is Booming
Supplements are a huge industry that only keeps growing.
In fact, Grand View Research predicts the global sports nutrition market reached over $71 Billion in sales by 2025 alone. By 2033 they estimate it will grow to $138 Billion. That’s BILLION with a B.
More and more people are investing money into their health. Whether it’s looking for pre-workout supplements to push through that last set or post-workout meals to fuel muscle recovery… Buyers are spending money on fitness supplements.
With popularity comes risk though.
Fraudulent orders and counterfeit products have been a major problem in the supplement industry. Implementing peptide fraud protection should be step one for any supplement business planning to carry peptides. The peptide industry is constantly targeted by bad actors looking to take advantage of online businesses. Without a secure peptide merchant account, fraudulent chargebacks can rip right through your revenue before you have a chance to grow your business.
Got it?
Lets dig into this “fraud problem” most merchants don’t talk about.
Peptide Fraud Is The Supplement Industry’s Dirty Little Secret
It’s something most people don’t think about when starting a supplement business…
There’s a MASSIVE quality control and fraud problem in the supplement industry. ConsumerLab.com, an independent testing company, found problems with over 20% of dietary supplements purchased in the United States and Canada. This includes problems with labels, wrong ingredients, contamination, etc.
Peptide specific products have an even bigger problem.
Peptides are unique because they exist in a weird grey area with regulation. They often get sold as “research only” and regular payment processors like Stripe, PayPal, and Square often freeze or shut down peptide businesses overnight.
Not only do you have to worry about bad customer reviews when fraudulent orders happen, but also your entire payment ecosystem can come crashing down.
Three common ways supplement businesses lose money to fraud:
- Counterfeit Products being sold under your brand name
- Chargebacks from fraudsters ordering products then disputing the charges
- Payment Processor Freezes on your account for receiving “high-risk” transactions
If you don’t take peptide fraud protection seriously when starting your supplement business, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket.
There’s no telling when fraudsters can find your store and make fraudulent orders. Planning for these events BEFORE they happen will save your business in the long run.
Protecting your revenue begins when you’re first starting up. Let’s go over some steps to starting a supplement business properly.
6 Steps To Starting A Fitness Supplement Business
Congrats on taking the first step to starting a supplement business. Below are some guidelines that helped other successful supplement businesses get off the ground.
1. Find Your Fit
Decide who you’re going to market to. Are you selling pre-workout supplements for people who need that extra boost? Are you helping bodybuilders bulk up? Do you make everyday shakes and vitamins people can use to maintain health?
Pick your niche, research the competition and own it. This will be the foundation you build your brand upon.
2. Curate Your Products
Find a trusted manufacturer who follows current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). This should be your NUMBER ONE priority. If your products aren’t high quality nothing else matters.
Once you find a reliable manufacturer you can decide what specific products you want to sell. Start off with your core products and grow from there.
Don’t forget to make sure your products are compliant with FDA regulations and contain accurate labels.
3. Setup Secured Payments For Supplement Sales
Welcome to the part where most new supplement businesses get hung up.
If you’re going to be selling peptides or any type of product that falls into the “high-risk” category you will not be able to use traditional payment processors. That means no Stripe, PayPal, Square, etc.
Before you start advertising your new business or launching your store you need to make sure you have a high-risk merchant account that can accept online payments.
Here’s what you should look for in a supplement merchant account:
- Ability to prevent chargebacks
- Dedicated fraud analysis
- Experience with supplement businesses
- Dedicated peptide payment processing (if you’re selling peptides)
- Stable payments that won’t freeze your funds
Taking the time to find a payment processor that can handle online payments for supplements will save you a ton of headaches down the road.
4. Build Your Online Store
This is where you’ll be selling your products so you want it to look good.
Make sure your website is fast, compliant with basic CMS policies and has secure payment integration.
Having a strong SEO foundation here will also help your store gain traction. Site speed, proper on-page SEO for product pages/categories and blog posts are all factors in ranking your site higher in search engines.
5. Plan Your Content
Content marketing is king. One of the best ways to gain organic traffic is to create blog posts that your target audience is searching for.
By consistently publishing quality content you’ll start to climb up the search engine ranks which means more visibility for your brand.
Another benefit of publishing helpful content is backlinks. Quality content naturally gains backlinks which help your website rank higher.
It’s a cycle. The more you put into your content, the better your brand will perform organically.
6. Invest In Brand Safety
This goes hand in hand with accepting payments for peptides.
You don’t want someone else selling counterfeit versions of your products. Or even worse… Someone passing off fake products as the real deal.
Implement brand safety services that alert you when your products are being sold on unauthorized websites. Consistent brand checks and authentication on your packaging can also help prevent counterfeit sales.
Bringing It All Together
There’s a lot to think about when starting a fitness supplement business but don’t let it discourage you.
By taking care of the right things at the beginning, you’re setting yourself up for success down the road.
Remember, laying a solid foundation with your brand will always beat trying to build a business “fast”.
Take your time, do it right and your supplement brand will thank you later.
