With the vitamins and supplements industry growing very quickly, it makes sense for sellers to leverage the online marketplace and reach more consumers.
It doesn’t take a genius to quickly figure out that Amazon is the obvious e-commerce choice when it comes to selling.
But the platform has an extensive and painfully-detailed compliance checklist for selling dietary supplements.
So, how do you get past this gated category?
This quick guide will show you exactly how to sell supplements on Amazon without running into difficulties.
Selling Supplements on Amazon: What You Need to Know
No doubt, the health and personal care subcategory which dietary supplements fall into can be very lucrative.
But before you start thinking of implementing that unique Amazon strategy for your supplement brand, there are a few things you must understand.
First, your products must comply with all federal, state, and local laws. Amazon won’t permit you to sell any dietary supplement product that is banned by law.
Also, you must ensure that the products and your product listings comply with applicable Amazon policies.
Why are all these necessary?
Thing is, dietary supplements aren’t the same as apparel or any piece of furniture.
These are herbs, minerals, vitamins, fatty acids, amino acids, and other substances that humans ingest to supplement their diet.
In some cases, taking the wrong supplement can lead to a severe allergic reaction or some other negative consequences. Amazon isn’t ready to be dragged for any lawsuit due to any seller’s negligence. For this reason, the prerequisite for this category of products is usually strict.
However, there is a growing demand for this product category.
That means if you can learn how to sell supplements on Amazon, you won’t only solve a pressing need for many people, but you can also make a ton of profit, especially if you gain the coveted FBA Seller status.
Now, let’s see how to set up an Amazon Seller account and the requirements to sell dietary supplements on the platform.
Setting Up Amazon Seller Account
The first step to selling supplements on Amazon is signing up for a seller account. You can choose from an individual seller or professional seller account.
- Individual Seller Account: Amazon charges $0.99 for each item sold for sellers with this type of account. While this amount may not be high, it can add up very quickly if you have a high sales volume (of course, every seller would want a high sales volume!).
- Professional Seller Account: There is no flat rate per sale for this type of account. But sellers are charged a monthly fee of $39.99.
While both accounts are great, you need to sign up for a professional seller account if you plan to gain the FBA Seller status on Amazon.
Amazon Requirement for Selling Supplements
Amazon has several guidelines for selling products in this category.
And if you must maintain a good business relationship with Amazon, you’ll have to make sure you are compliant with the platform’s requirements.
The following are the requirement for supplements selling on Amazon’s platform. They are quite detailed and cover product packaging, labeling, and other requisites.
Although this section covers the most crucial requirements to keep an eye on when selling supplements on Amazon, it is not exhaustive.
Click here for a more comprehensive compliance checklist.
Prohibited Supplement Products on Amazon
Before we look at Amazon’s requirements for packaging and labeling supplement products, let’s start with a list of some supplements that aren’t permitted to be sold on the platform.
What’s the point of meeting every other requirement if your product is outlawed, to begin with, right?
So, it makes perfect sense to be sure that what you want to sell is acceptable before complying with other requirements.
You’ll have to find another e-commerce platform if you plan to market any of these products:
- 1 Minute Miracle products
- 7 Day Herbal Slim
- Alpha Male Plus
- Black Widow
- Chlorodehydromethyl testosterone
- Cold FX
- Deep Relief Ibuprofen & Levomenthol Gel
- Extreme Stack Fat Burner
- Flexile-Plus manufactured by Aspen
- Gat Fornatab
- Health Slimming Coffee
- iForce Nutrition manufactured products
- Jamaican Stone
- Kaboom Action Strips
- Li Long Mei Guo Mo Bang
- Magic for Men
- Magic Male Enhancer
- Nine Slim dietary supplements
- One Weight Loss Pill
- Paradise Suplemento Natural Ultra Plus capsules
- Quickslim-30
- RAPHA Vitamin B1
- Rapid Action Energize
- Six Spirit Pills (Liu Shen Wan)
- Slim Forte Slimming Capsules
- Testosterone Cream for Men
- Testosterone Cream for Women
- USA Gold Ant capsules
- Virility Max
- Walgreens “Finest Nutrition” Ginseng
- Xcellerator weight loss products
- Yellow bullet
- Zan-X Extra Relaxation
Keep in mind that this list of proscribed dietary supplements is by no means exhaustive. If anything, it is just the tip of the iceberg.
To be sure that the supplement products you plan to sell on Amazon are not outlawed, check out a more comprehensive list here.
You can go ahead and comply with the requirements below if you are sure your products are approved for sale on Amazon.
Supplement Packaging
- Make sure the supplements are sealed and are in the manufacturer’s original packaging.
- The supplements must be new and not in used condition.
- The product serial number, matrix code, lot number, and other identifying codes must be clearly visible on the manufacturer’s packaging.
Supplement Labeling
- All supplement labeling must be done in English language and must show the name, total quantity, ingredients, name and address of the distributor or manufacturer, and supplement facts panel.
- Statements claiming that the supplements treat, cure, or prevent diseases in humans must not be included unless approved by the FDA.
- Labels on the supplement must not claim that they are FDA approved or use the FDA logo.
Detail Page
- The dietary supplement detail page must show the name of the product, ingredient list, total quantity of the product, and an image of the ingredient list as shown on the product label.
- The detail page must not include names of diseases in the keywords.
- The FDA logo must appear anywhere on the details page.
Products and Ingredients
- The dietary supplements must not include FDA-prohibited ingredients.
- The supplements must not be included on any FDA recall or safety alert list.
- Controlled substances cannot be part of the ingredients.
Gaining FBA Seller Status
Here’s one last but crucial step for merchants who want to learn how to sell supplements on Amazon and become highly profitable.
Consider pursuing the Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) Seller endorsement. This process requires going through Amazon’s special approval process for selling gated dietary supplement products.
If you are approved, you will be able to offer Prime Shipping options for your buyers. That means people who order your products can get them within one to two days. This can significantly boost your sales.
Here’s how to gain the FBA Seller status:
Sign Up for a Professional Seller Account
You can’t gain the FBA Seller status with an individual seller account. You must sign up for a professional seller account first.
If you already have this account type, it must have a clean record for Amazon to approve your request.
Submit a Wholesaler or Manufacturer’s Invoice
Upload a copy of the involve you got when you purchased the product. This will confirm that your supplies are from a reputable manufacturer or wholesaler.
Make sure the invoice shows that you purchased at least 10 or more units of the supplements, and it is not more than 180 days from the date you are applying to Amazon.
Also, the name on the invoice should match your Amazon account name and also show the name and address of the supplier.
Submit Photos of the Product
Next, submit photos of all sides of the product. All you need are photos of only one supplement product from the manufacturer or wholesaler. It should be the exact product on the invoice you submit.
Make sure you take the photos yourself, and not images you pulled from the internet. The photos should clearly show the product name, manufacturer’s name, trademark, and model number.
Provide Additional Documentation
To complete the FBA Seller status application, you need to submit the following documents to Amazon:
- Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Certificate
- Certificate of Analysis (COA)
- 510(K) Premarket Notification
- Screenshot of FDA registration
Don’t worry too much if you don’t have some of the documents readily available. You can get in touch with the wholesaler or manufacturer of the supplement through their website to get the required documents.
Conclusion
The supplements market is a rapidly growing segment and can be very profitable, especially if you market them on the world’s largest retailer. But all that can only be possible if you know how to sell supplements on Amazon.
First, you must comply with the platform’s extensive dietary supplements requirement. It might seem like an uphill climb at first, but once you get the hang of it, it can be quite exciting.
Plus, you can enjoy more benefits and see considerable business growth if you gain the FBA status.
In other words, it will all be worth the effort.
Reference Articles
