Forum Moderators: buckworks
Also, motivated by the pharmaceutical companies who don't like any competition, the FDA has really been targeting supplements. Look at the unjustified banning of ephedra, and what they are trying to do with kava, yohimbe, etc.
This isn't even to mention those litigious individuals out there who are just looking for some dietary supplement company to sue for injuring them.
What double-blind studies have been done to show that the substance has any effect and/or is harmless? And I don't mean on rats. And I also don't mean some bogus study of 25 people funded by the marketer of this stuff. Studies are there to protect not only the investors but the people who take the stuff.
Is it used in TCM? If so, at least you would have some indication it might be safe, but that didn't help the companies selling ephedra supplements.
What proof do you have that the substance is pure, outside of the marketer's say-so?
What proof do you have that good manufacturing procedures are followed in its manufacture?
If it is going to manufactured outside the US, are you aware that dietary supplements manufactured in a number of Asian countries can contain substances that are not regulated there but are regulated here, like antibiotics and benzodiazepines? Way to get your shipments seized.
Are you aware that sellers of dietary supplements must pay much higher fees to get their credit card payments processed? That's if they can find a processor.
Are you aware that the FDA has literally busted down the doors of some sellers of dietary supplements and has seized everything they own? Yes, just like the DEA does. Some of these businesspeople have never even been charged with anything, but the FDA does not return anything it seizes, including computers. You are SOL.
The dietary supplement industry is on the road to regulation, which will knock everything into a cocked hat. Maybe you think you can get your money out under the wire, and maybe you can. But you should learn about the industry first by joining some trade associations and reading the FDA site. That will give you a good sense of what is going on with it.
I'm not against the herbal industry. I'm for it, if nothing else because it gives pharmaceutical companies nightmares. But if you get into dietary supplements without knowing what you are doing, you are stepping into a hornets' nest.
I agree with some of what was said about the herbal supplement industry, but that can be said of many other industries.
About quality of herbs, there are testing laboratories that can test samples for a fee, so you don't have to buy your own equipments. There are also GMP-certification of manufacturers. People often compain that herbs manufactured overseas contain contaminants, but they don't know that supplements manufactured in the US almost always use the same raw materials produced overseas.
Like buying any business, you should do a lot of due diligence & background research.
The main question is competition - there's a lot of competition in the herbal industry. What distinguishes your product? How will you market it? Is it a "direct to consumer" business plan, or do will you sell to distributors/retailers? The approach is quite different.
Although the current diet pill, etc. rakes in bazillion dollars, they also spend a lot of money advertising them. Do you have that kind of money to invest? Etc.
Good luck!
