IS SELLING VITAMINS AND VEGAN RELATED PRODUCTS A GOOD IDEA?

[Tallmale]

Hi everyone,

I am thinking about launching a business selling Vitamin supplements and vegan type products and I just wondered if this is a good idea or is this market too competitive? And as a result will this be a difficult and expensive market to do well in?

I am thinking about having my own website to sell products directly to the public but also sell products on Ebay and Amazon. Clearly the margins are not huge with these products so I want to get some advice before going ahead with it.

Does anyone run a Vitamin type business or Vegan products business in England? Or a health product type business? Could you give me advice and your experience?

Many thanks

 

[fisicx]

Very competitive and difficult to get new customers. Doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea, you will just need to work very hard at your marketing.

 

[NickZ]

Where you wish to sell those Items to?
UK, US, EU? Are you aware that those countries have a lot of demands towards any product sold in their realm.

Where is your base anyway, are you in the UK just having the idea?

 

[Mark T Jones]

2 approaches you can take

1.do dedicated .market research

2. Test it live

Remember, crowded markets are only a problem for people who don't understand niches

 

[Tallmale]

Very competitive and difficult to get new customers. Doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea, you will just need to work very hard at your marketing.

Thanks I expect it to be difficult at first while I build up my customer list and I expect to invest in marketing to get website visitors and customers.

 

[Tallmale]

2 approaches you can take

1.do dedicated .market research

2. Test it live

Remember, crowded markets are only a problem for people who don't understand niches

Thanks thats great advice. I am definitely looking at niches and I believe that some of these niches would work well as the customers will be particularly motivated to buy health products.

 

[Tallmale]

Where you wish to sell those Items to?
UK, US, EU? Are you aware that those countries have a lot of demands towards any product sold in their realm.

Where is your base anyway, are you in the UK just having the idea?

I am in the United Kingdom. And yes I know that these countries have a lot of demands with regards to products sold in their location.

 

[RandyMarsh]

This is what I do for my business. The vegan market is oversaturated as, whilst there has been a huge surge in people turning vegan or being interested in vegan products, there has been an even greater surge in companies catering for the vegan market. Consequently there's been a big shake-out of vegan retailers, caterers and manufacturers. For example, nearly all of the restaurants in your home town now have vegan food on the menu. So, your local veggie/vegan restaurant has closed down because their customers have vastly more choice than they once had. Similarly for retail the supermarkets have an ever-changing array of interesting vegan food products so vegan businesses are having to compete with them.

Supplements and vitamins is still a strong market but you have to be happy selling snake oil to gullible customers. The vitamin and vegan crossover is not huge: most vegans these days aren't health fanatics and most health food faddists aren't vegan (there was a big trend amongst them recently for emu oil, for example)

 

[Tallmale]

This is what I do for my business. The vegan market is oversaturated as, whilst there has been a huge surge in people turning vegan or being interested in vegan products, there has been an even greater surge in companies catering for the vegan market. Consequently there's been a big shake-out of vegan retailers, caterers and manufacturers. For example, nearly all of the restaurants in your home town now have vegan food on the menu. So, your local veggie/vegan restaurant has closed down because their customers have vastly more choice than they once had. Similarly for retail the supermarkets have an ever-changing array of interesting vegan food products so vegan businesses are having to compete with them.

Supplements and vitamins is still a strong market but you have to be happy selling snake oil to gullible customers. The vitamin and vegan crossover is not huge: most vegans these days aren't health fanatics and most health food faddists aren't vegan (there was a big trend amongst them recently for emu oil, for example)

Hi Randy thanks for your feedback. Its always interesting to hear another persons point of view and experience. I dont think I will be selling many vegan products mainly supplements as I would have too many issues with storing vegan food products. But I can imagine how competitive this the vegan industry is and how much competition there is as well.

 

[maxx324]

as every business it has got advantages and disadvantages. We own a fee supplement brands and the beauty is when you have a good product, people will come back and you can build really good community of people. However, on the other hand customer acquisition cost can be very high

 

[fantheflames]

It's true - vegan products are competitive now, but I think with the right strategy you could make it work.

I'd conduct a thorough market research to identify opportunities which can help you differentiate your offerings from competition in different markets. Are you going to sell the same product, or adjust the product for different markets? There are many things you need to think about.

Perhaps focusing on the UK first might be the best route to take. I think selling through your own website is important, but opening up to platforms like Amazon and eBay too, can help you reach more potential customers.

So building a strong marketing plan from market research and focusing on how to retain customers from their first purchase would where I would be focusing on. Best of luck!