Guide
Questions to Ask a Supplement Manufacturer Before Placing Your First Order
Use this list in your first calls. It separates manufacturers that are ready to scale you from manufacturers that will not survive your first retail audit.
- Certifications and facility disclosure
- Documentation per batch
- Regulatory fluency in destination markets
- Scale path and continuity
GMP certified productionHACCP compliant processISO 9001:2015 certifiedEU regulatory frameworkVegan, halal, kosher options on request
What to ask — and why it matters
Manufacturers reveal themselves in the first three questions. The quality of their answers — not the warmth of their pitch — tells you whether they can scale you.
Certification and facility
- Which certifications does your production facility hold?
- Can you share a sample Certificate of Analysis?
- How is batch traceability maintained?
Regulatory
- How do you scope claim frameworks per destination market?
- How do you handle labelling changes when I expand markets?
Operational
- What does a realistic first-run timeline look like for my volume?
- How does your MOQ scale if I want to grow the same SKU?
- What documentation will I receive per batch, by default?
Frequently asked questions
Should I ask for references?+
Yes — but weight operational answers above references. References can be cherry-picked; operational detail cannot.
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