ty, a “distributed by” or “manufac-
tured for” product can be as high
quality as any made in-house.
The Pharmacist Says: I
remember once when I was in
the private-label powdered-
protein manufacturing
business. I went calling on a
relatively well-known
company with a line of
powdered protein supplements.
I asked for the opportunity to
bid on making their product for
them. When I returned and sat
Page 67
The Willner Window Product Reference Catalog, Summer 2014
since 1911
• Willner Chemists •
the nutritional supplement professionals
DaVinci Labs
factored into the cost. If a product is
too cheap, one has to question
whether these steps might not have
been taken.
“Distributed By” or
“Manufactured For”
You can tell if a company manu-
facturers its own product or has it
made by looking at the product
label. If it is made by another com-
pany, the product will say “distrib-
uted by,” “manufactured for,” or
something similar above the compa-
ny name.
Does the fact that a company man-
ufactures its own product necessari-
ly signify it is of higher quality than
products that have been made by a
custom manufacturer? Not at all. It
is true that for a quality-oriented
company, it is easier to monitor all
aspects of quality if manufacturing
is done in-house. After all, you then
have full control over the formula-
tion, manufacturing, and packaging
processes. On the other hand, if you
are not a quality-oriented company,
it might be easier to cut corners,
cheat, lie, and deceive if you do not
have to involve others in the manu-
facturing and testing process. So as
you see, it is not where the product
is made that counts. It is, instead,
the integrity of the company that
matters.
Custom manufacturers are experts
in what they do. Some are honest
and some are not. This is true in all
industries. For a small or medium-
size company, an outside manufac-
turer may have equipment, expert-
ise, and capacity otherwise unavail-
able. Smaller companies may be
better off spending their money on
advertising and marketing, rather
than on buying tablet presses and
coating pans.
To ensure a quality product from
an outside manufacturer, two things
are necessary. First, the company
for whom the product is being made
must want a quality product and
must be willing to pay for it.
Second, it must be sufficiently
knowledgeable to know what to ask
for and look for when dealing with
the supplier. This is where many
problems arise because very often
nutritional companies are started up
by well-meaning entrepreneurs who
know a lot about marketing and
sales but little about manufacturing
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. . . continued on page 78
and quality control. They may not
have actually inspected the manu-
facturing facility. Would they know
what to look for if they did? They
may not have specified shelf-life
parameters and inquired as to how
the expiration date was determined.
Do they know what overages were
employed? Have they actually seen
the batch formula sheet and checked
the calculations? Have they dis-
cussed the amount of analytical
work required to be performed on
each batch of product?
If the appropriate parameters are
established by companies of integri-
. . . continued from page 36
The Best Supplements For Your Health:
Chapter 2: How to Choose The Right
Supplement
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