As those who work in nutraceutical product development can tell you, creating a new, custom supplement is rarely a smooth ride. Invariably unforeseen events and issues present themselves and can challenge a project’s timelines and goals. But with enough experience and expertise, those inevitable bumps in the road can be effectively managed and sometimes even turned into advantages.
Choosing Your Nutraceutical Innovation Partner
According to Jon Weisgal, Senior VP of Market Development for Vitaquest, one of the best ways to tell if your innovation partner has the necessary experience and expertise is to find out what their track record is. A good nutraceutical product development partner should be able to give you the cycle time of your custom supplement, along with their rate of new products developed (i.e. how many per year). If the cycle time has an unusually wide range or they don’t develop many new products each year, their ability to navigate uncertainty could be a concern.
What number of marketable formulations should you want to see from your innovation and manufacturing partner? Jon happily describes the 700 or more new products that Vitaquest develops each year as the key metric demonstrating that Vitaquest has what it takes to manage uncertainties and still deliver great products that create value for customers and consumers.
Keeping Up with Change Management
However, even with the strongest nutraceutical manufacturer in the industry, the unexpected can strike. The supplement industry is no stranger to changing tides, from sourcing shortages to fluctuating costs. However, the key is having an innovation partner who can expect the unexpected.
When something happens to challenge a project’s timeline or other goals, Vitaquest has the experience to know how to pivot and fashion trade-off’s that don’t compromise those goals. How?
- Through an ongoing search for ingredient partners to give our customers the widest selection available.
- By keeping a close eye on sustainability, fair labor practices, and traceability.
- With regular audits of FDA and cGMP compliance and the ability to pivot when regulations change.
- With world-class manufacturing facilities that support climate-controlled needs, organic production, and more.
- By employing scientists with a wealth of generational knowledge and experience in nutraceutical development.
Vitaquest’s strong supplier relationships help when raw material delays could jeopardize a timeline. And our expertise with various product formats and packaging options helps when last-minute consumer feedback shows a need for a refresh.
So, if you are looking to work with a supplement manufacturer who knows how to expect the unexpected and still deliver great new products, contact us today.
