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Getting your supplement or vitamin manufactured can be a tricky undertaking. Who should you trust, and how can you ensure you’re not overspending on the services?
Our team at Bactolac Pharmaceutical will cover why contract manufacturing is so great, how it works and why you should consider using a contracted service.
Contract manufacturing is when a third party handles the production of your product, supplement or any component that is used in the final product. Contract manufacturing can take a lot of different forms, and the scope of these services largely depends on how much outsourcing you’d like to do for your product.
As a very simple example, consider a bottle filled with supplements. Instead of building the bottle in-house and then filling it with your supplements, you can utilize contract manufacturing to:
Contract manufacturers can also include additional in-house add-on services such as product testing, development, formula enhancement or taste testing.
The two manufacturing styles seem similar, but private label and contract manufacturing have a few major differences. Private label manufacturing is also done by a third party, but this option takes most of the control out of your hands. Instead, it’s the manufacturer that decides the final quality, all the specifications and potentially even the recipe.
In contract manufacturing, the decisions rest with you and your team. While, it may come across as an increased responsibility, it’s in fact more control (which is a great thing for any medical company).
The best supplement makers can be thought of as a manufacturing partner, whereas a private label company is simply giving you the final product that you wanted.
In general, contract manufacturing can be used across multiple different industries, such as when Boeing outsources the manufacturing of a fuselage. However, contract manufacturing as we describe it typically revolves around the medical, pharmaceutical, food and nutraceutical industries.
Why do so many people choose contract manufacturing for their supplements and vitamins? There are numerous reasons. In general, contract manufacturing is a faster, less-expensive option. Consider the following benefits of contract manufacturing:
Easier to Scale Production
With a full-service manufacturing team in your corner, it’s much easier to scale production through contract manufacturing. To do the same enhancement in-house or through a private label manufacturer would require upgrades to systems and larger facilities — in other words, a lot more time and money.
Products Are Higher-Quality
Largely the biggest benefit you’ll notice is the increase in quality. Since contract manufacturers are your partner, you specify the quality that you need your vitamins, supplements and dietary products to be.
With private label operations, there’s no telling what the final quality will be. Their team will decide what’s necessary, based on their own thoughts and opinions. Contract manufacturing brings you into the decision-making that surrounds your product.
Faster Time to Market
Since contract manufacturers handle the process internally and work closely with your team, you’ll usually experience a faster time to market. This is a big deal when it comes to selling new supplements — if you get on shelves before your competitors, then you’ll take a larger market share and make more money.
This is only possible with a supplement maker you employ for contract manufacturing. Private label companies can take longer as they try to formulate the product in-house with no urgency.
A Better Share of Information
Another reason why contract manufacturing is so great is the sharing of information between the contractor’s team and your team. The best vitamin makers to partner with will tell you all about the test results, the ingredients that go into each vitamin and how the product was made.
This level of transparency is not present with private label manufacturers. They’re going to deliver a product with very minimal notes on what it is, and they likely won’t disclose how it’s made or specific ingredients that went into the batch.
Contract manufacturing is often the less expensive, faster, more trustworthy way to manufacture your vitamins or supplements. Our team at Bactolac has been making high-quality supplements for companies just like yours. We use in-house ingredients and offer full-scale product testing, taste testing, and formula refinement. Reach out today to learn how our highly certified team can help.
