Howdy folks!

As part of an ongoing endeavor to position myself as more of an asset to businesses in the natural products industry, allow me to humbly announce the newest business service in the Health Kismet Toolkit:

Manufacturer matchmaking.

You can view the page here:  http://consulting.healthkismet.com/get-a-quote-for-your-dietary-supplement/

Why This?  Why Now?

One of the most common complaints I hear from companies, both old and new, is that it’s difficult to find a manufacturer that’s a good fit.  It takes a while to get on board, many of them don’t get back to you, and of course order minimums are higher than you’d like.

For many the foray into dietary supplement manufacturing is an underwhelming and frustrating process.  Most manufacturers are pretty good at putting stuff in bottles, but pretty bad at customer service and marketing.  Their budgets are so wrapped up in their machines and regulatory compliance that there’s not much leftover for all that “soft” stuff like a support staff or a client rep.

So manufacturers are usually limited to the big companies already on their radar and don’t have the surface area or capacity to regularly on-board new ones.

Adding to the problem are the economics of new customers.  The’re tough.  It’s hard to make the numbers work for three reasons:

• Manufacturing is inherently based on volume due to its high overhead.  Most new entrants to the market want to get started with runs that are as small as possible, making their business less valuable to the manufacturer.
• 70% of new customers don’t come back for a second run, making their lifetime customer value significantly less than existing ones.
• The majority of new formulas are unquotable because they’re either unsourcable or far too expensive for their budget.  Without knowing the details of the supply chain it’s hard to know what drives up costs, and small details can sometimes drive up order minimums way higher than you’d want.  Taking the time to accurately quote the formulas from new customers often isn’t a wise use of time for this reason.

These drawbacks are pretty damning, but new customers have one saving grace working in their favor:  there are a lot more of them than existing ones.  Probably by a factor of at least 10:1.  So it’s a pain in the ass to deal with new customers, but dangerous to turn your back on them.

The manufacturer matchmaking service is meant to help tie the knot between the two parties.

I’m using my industry connections and expertise to allow manufacturers to outsource their customer acquisition to me, and allowing new entrants into the market to get curated quotes and feedback based on their project’s needs.

How It Works

The process is simple:

• Download and fill out the quote form on the website.
• Fill out and submit the questionnaire.
• Someone will get back to you via e-mail with initial thoughts and concerns, and give you a quick Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down about whether or not it’s quotable.
• If we can get past the last point, I’ll go ahead and submit it to qualifying manufacturers to get prices for you.

Questions

Here are questions that frequently come up:

Does It Cost Anything?  

No, it costs nothing for you.  If you’re wondering why I do it at all, I’m charging the manufacturers.

They’re paying me to do this for them, which allows me to appropriately monetize my  time with potential customers even if they’re not directly compensating me.

This is the only way it can be done, IMO.  Most new entrants prioritize cash above all else and aren’t willing to pay out of pocket for help even if they’d like it.

9 out of 10 formulas don’t go anywhere and I’d be unable to afford the time spent with anyone without some form of regular compensation.  So not having this arrangement would be tantamount to not having it exist at all.

What Kinds of Products Can I Get Quotes On?

Anything that qualifies as a dietary supplement.  This includes tablets, capsules, capsugels, powders, stick packs, sachets, and certain beverages.

What Are The Order Minimums?

There are no hard and fast minimums, but here are rough guides on what type of volume will typically be available for most types of products:

Powders: 500-1,000 bottles

Capsules & Tablets:  500-1,000 bottles

Stick packs & sachets:  10,000

Beverages:  10,000 (it’s high, I know)

This doesn’t mean every single formula will be possible at these volumes.  Some simple ones might be able to get done for less, and specialty ones might require a good bit more, but this is a rough guideline for what you’ll need to get started.

This is by far the stickiest issue that’s popped up so far.  There’s a vast ocean of people who have a project they’d be willing to start if they can get initial volumes low enough, but it’s basically up to the discretion of the manufacturer with regards to how low they’re willing to go and that varies from company to company.

So it all depends.

It’s best to proceed on the assumption that the higher your order volumes are, the easier it’ll be to get a competitive quote.

How Long Does It Take To Get Quotes?

5 business days is the goal, but it’ll vary depending on manufacturer availability and complexity of the project.

 This project has only formally been around for 2 weeks and the response has been very positive so far.  I think this is a real pain-point lots of people have and I’m happy to be able to help y’all get from point A to point B.

Have a nice day!