$278.02 billion. That’s how much the global supplementary industry is expected to be by 2024.

From a supplement manufacturer’s standpoint, this is great news because it means business but it also brings one particular challenge: competition.

For marketers and advertisers, the idea of having too many options overwhelm consumers is not new. Instead of embracing variety, consumers will often reject them because they feel they have to spend too much time looking through them.

As a label and packaging expert, we understand this and our job is to help you create less noise in the market but still stand out. It’s not easy but by identifying some main factors, it is possible.

Read on to learn more about the labeling and packaging process so you can understand how to create the best label and packaging for your own products.

Labeling

When it comes to supplement labeling, there are several important factors that will make or break a label. Here are some key ones to keep in mind when you’re doing research for supplement manufacturing.

1. FDA Compliance

No matter how pretty or sharp the packaging of a supplement looks, none of it will matter if the words and facts on it aren’t correct. According to the FDA, all dietary supplement labels must contain a specific set of information. These include:

• Principle Display Panel (PDP)
• Supplement Facts
• Directions
• Claims or disclaims
• Warnings

While the FDA does provide a comprehensive guide of this on their website, choosing a label manufacturer who knows all of this information would save you a lot of time and hassle in trying to understand all of it yourself.

A knowledgeable manufacturer is also a fact checker to help you make sure your product labels are FDA compliant. This will not only save your company from hefty fines but also problems that can potentially jeopardize your company’s image and reputation.

2. Experience

While a generic label manufacturer will probably be able to do a decent job for you, we’d recommend investing in an experienced supplement label designer. They’ll know exactly what you need and how to stand out from the rest of the supplement products on the shelves.

And experienced supplement manufacturer will have seen hundreds of labels, know what works and what doesn’t, and how to align the look of your labels to your company mission.

Also, an experienced supplement manufacturer will know the ins and outs of the supplement business and speak the same language. They will know about third-party certifications, quality inspections, and more.

In the end, it’ll save you a lot of time in explaining supplement rules and terms.

3. Responsiveness

The next thing that makes a manufacturer exceptional is their responsiveness and collaboration. Are their designers taking the time to look at what you have already? Are they listening to your ideas or asking you for your company’s mission or model?

If you want your labels to stand out, the manufacturer will have to be able to help you identify something unique about your company. Maybe it’s a company story or the people who use it. Whatever it is, the designer should be able to help you make use of it. Otherwise, your labels will end up looking just like everyone else’s.

In addition, an exceptional manufacturer should also be able to tell you when they don’t think something is a good idea. After all, you’re paying them for their expertise and experience and they need to be able to tell you things you do not know.

Packaging

Think about a time when you purchased a product and the cap broke off easily, or when you dropped it once, it smashed open. How did that make you feel?

Undervalued and cheated perhaps? Those are two words that should never cross your customers’ minds.

Good product packaging should not only help your product stand out but also, it should be substantial, functional, and convenient to use.

1. Material

The most ubiquitous material for supplement packaging today is plastic. That’s because plastic is versatile, light, and sturdy. You can have hard plastic packaging like a bottle or film plastic packaging like “fin packaging.”

Glass is not used as often, but for certain supplements such as probiotics (which are sensitive to temperatures,) glass is a good idea.

Whichever material you decide to go with, it should show your customers that you’ve put thought into it. Don’t waste a good product by putting it in cheap or low-quality packaging. This will definitely put off your customers.

2. Uniqueness

Quick–name three of the most popular supplement brands you can think of! What did you come up with and why? Chances are it’s because their packaging stood out to you.

We are not suggesting for you to copy anyone’s packaging but what we are saying is to take a moment and think about the qualities that they have that made them memorable to you. Is it the color of the bottle or the brightly colored cap? Or maybe it’s the size or shape of the bottle or jar?

All packaging that stands out has to have a unique feature on them. An experienced packaging manufacturer should have conducted extensive market research to help you avoid blending in with everyone else.

3. Functionality

The last but not least most important factor to consider when choosing product packaging is functionality. It doesn’t matter how amazing a package looks if it’s awkward or inconvenient for the customer to use, they’ll hate it.

Even if a product takes a customer just two more seconds to open, it might cause the customers to reconsider buying your product. To ensure this doesn’t happen with your products, choose a packaging manufacturer who has product testers. They’ll be able to help you identify these flaws and correct them before they hit the shelves.

Label and Packaging Is an Investment

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” are great words to live by, however, it doesn’t apply in the packaging world. The truth is, consumers do judge products by their label and packaging.

You want to make sure your customers think of good things when they see your products.

At Biovation Labs, we can talk about packaging all day but if you can’t, contact us. We can help you take care of your supplemental label and packaging needs.