How to find a supplement manufacturer, and what stays your job

This is for founders who want a contract manufacturer to make a dietary supplement they will sell under their own label: capsules, tablets, powders, gummies. The short answer: hiring a manufacturer does not hand off your responsibility for the product, so choose a plant whose records you can see and whose quality system you can check. Then match the plant to your dosage form and send each one the same brief. Our directory lists 274 co-packers under supplements, in 32 states, as of October 27, 2026. This guide shows what the FDA says stays with you, what the plants publish about their lines and minimums, and what to ask them.

Step 1: know what stays your job

The FDA says that under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, manufacturers and distributors "are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing." It also says it regulates dietary supplements "under a different set of regulations than those covering 'conventional' foods and drug products." So first be sure your product is a dietary supplement and not a conventional food, because that decides which rules your plant follows.

The supplement manufacturing rule, 21 CFR part 111, applies "if you manufacture, package, label, or hold a dietary supplement." The FDA's compliance guide for small businesses then walks through who is responsible when work is contracted out. Its third example fits most new brands:

A distributor who contracts with a manufacturer to manufacture a dietary supplement, which the distributor then distributes under its own label, has an obligation to know what and how manufacturing activities are performed so that the distributor can make decisions related to whether the packaged and labeled product conforms to its established specifications and whether to approve and release the product for distribution.

In plain words: you decide whether each batch is released, so you need to know how it was made. The same guide adds that "manufacturers, packers, and distributors whose names appear on the label of dietary supplements marketed in the United States are required to submit to FDA any report received of a serious adverse event." Your name on the label brings that duty with it.

This is why the questions in Step 5 ask for records, not promises. For what your own business must do, read the guide in full and confirm with a regulatory consultant or attorney; it depends on what your business does.

Step 2: match the plant to your dosage form

Of the 274 supplement listings, 136 have been read from the company's own website. Among those 136, the number whose processes or services name each form or method:

Read it as a floor: most plant websites leave things out, so ask anyone close. Gummies show the gap most clearly. Only 3 of the 136 name gummies in their processes or services, so expect a short list. Our product pages list the certified co-packers whose records name each form: capsules and softgels (83), protein powders (70), and gummies (37). The Fit Check shows which listings name the product and process you enter.

Step 3: know the minimums before you call

Only 6 of the 274 supplement listings mention a minimum order on their own website. Here is each one, in the company's words, as recorded in our directory:

Element Bars makes bars, not capsules or powders; our directory files it under supplements because its listing mentions protein. The spread is the lesson: from 500 bottles to 200,000 pieces, and some with no number at all. Put your own first run in the same unit before you compare.

Examplea gummy taken 2 a day, sold 60 to a bottle, is a 30 day supply. A run of 200,000 pieces fills about 3,333 bottles of 60.

Our post on real co-packer minimums converts more published minimums, and the cost calculator turns a quote into a cost per bottle.

Step 4: look where the plants are

Visiting the plant before you sign is the best way to see its quality system for yourself. The states with the most supplement listings:

Of the 274, 270 are USDA organic certified and 4 are not. If you plan an organic supplement, our guide to finding an organic co-packer covers what your own brand may need.

Step 5: send the same brief, then ask these questions

Send every plant the same brief: the dosage form, the serving size and count per bottle, the ingredients you plan to use (not your exact formula), the package, and the size of your first run. Our request for quote template has the fields.

Then, on the first call:

1. Have you made this dosage form before, at this serving size?
2. How do you show you follow 21 CFR part 111, and may I see your latest inspection or audit results?
3. Will I get the batch record and test results for each of my batches before I release it?
4. How do you confirm the identity of each ingredient you receive?
5. What is your minimum per run, in finished bottles or pouches, and is there a trial run size?
6. Who buys the ingredients, bottles, and labels, and who holds them between runs?

More questions, by stage, are in our guide to questions to ask a co-packer.

What to do next

If you would rather not email a dozen plants, get matched free: tell us the form and the size of your first run, and we ask the co-packers that fit. We never share your formula.

Sources

• Dietary Supplements, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, content current as of October 1, 2024, read October 26, 2026.
• 21 CFR 111.1, Who is subject to this part?, eCFR, read October 26, 2026.
• Small Entity Compliance Guide: Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations for Dietary Supplements, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, December 2010, read October 26, 2026.
• CoPacker Index directory: counts for the supplements category, its state pages and product pages, and the processes and minimums recorded from each company's own website, from blog_numbers.py, run October 27, 2026.