UK Supplement Startup Comprehensive Checklist

1) Strategy and Business Setup

Decide how you will compete, then set up the legal shell and admin that supports scale.

• Choose model: White label, Custom, or HybridDecision

  Validate with budget, timeline, and target positioning.
• Incorporate company, appoint directors, set PSC register

  Companies House digital filing, keep statutory registers current.
• Open business bank account, set accounting software

  Enable multi-currency if importing; map COGS accounts and inventory.
• Register for VAT if applicable

  Consider voluntary registration for input recovery if capex heavy.
• Secure trade mark for brand name and key logos

  Assess classes for nutraceuticals, retail, and online services.
• Obtain GS1 barcodes for retail and marketplace readiness

  Plan GTIN allocation per SKU and pack size.
• Product liability and public liability insurance

  Ensure worldwide cover if shipping internationally.

2) Market Research and Validation

Prove demand before you commit inventory. Use mixed methods to reduce bias.

• Define your micro-niche and competing alternatives

  List top 5 competitors, their claims, pricing, and reviews.
• Customer interviews (10–20) with structured script

  Probe pains, outcomes, willingness to pay, channel preferences.
• Survey for quant signals (n ≥ 100 if possible)

  Test message and price points, rank benefits.
• Amazon intelligence review

  Mine 1-star reviews, Q&A, price ranges, frequently bought together.
• Social listening across Reddit, FB groups, IG/TikTok, YouTube

  Capture language customers use. Save quotes.
• Pre-orders or deposits to validate willingness to pay

  Clear refund policy, claims-safe copy on landing page.

3) UK Compliance

Supplements are regulated as foods in Great Britain. Build to food law and ASA standards.

• Register as a food business with local authority (≥28 days before trading)
• Maintain a food safety management system based on HACCP
• Traceability one step back and forward, plus a written withdrawal/recall plan
• Claims check: use only GB Nutrition & Health Claims Register authorised claims

  Flex wording only if consumer meaning is unchanged and the nutrient is named.
• Avoid medicinal claims that imply prevention or treatment of disease
• Novel foods screen for each active and excipient

  If novel, secure FSA authorisation before sale in GB.
• Advertising compliance under ASA/CAP Codes

  General health claims must sit with a specific authorised claim.

4) Manufacturing and Quality

Choose partners who can pass retailer scrutiny and scale with you.

• Select manufacturers with BRCGS Food Safety or other GFSI-recognised certification
• Confirm documented HACCP, allergen controls, change control, deviation management
• Negotiate MOQs, lead times, capacity buffers, and pricing tiers
• Specifications and CoAs per batch, retention samples policy
• Testing plan: actives, micro, heavy metals; prefer UKAS-accredited labs when applicable
• Artwork review workflow that includes regulatory sign-off before print
• Site visit or audit checklist completed

5) Packaging, Labelling, and Artwork

Design for trust, shelf impact, and legal compliance.

• Front-of-pack: clear product name, "Food supplement", net quantity
• Back/side-of-pack: ingredients with allergens emphasised, usage directions, warnings
• Nutrient table for substances with physiological effect, include %NRV where relevant
• FBO name and GB contact address for GB market
• Batch/lot, best before, storage conditions, country of origin where required
• GS1 barcodes allocated and verified
• Claims cross-checked against GB NHC register and CAP Code guidance

6) Finance and Legal

Build the money model and protections that prevent unpleasant surprises.

• 12–18 month cash flow with inventory and ad spend mapped
• Unit economics model by SKU, include marketplace fees and card processing
• Contracts: manufacturing, NDAs, quality agreement, service SLAs
• Trade mark filing and monitoring
• Insurance: product liability, public liability, cyber where relevant
• Set up payroll, pensions, and freelancer agreements if hiring

7) Go-to-Market and Growth

Acquire customers responsibly and learn quickly.

• D2C stack: ecommerce platform, payments, analytics, consent, email/SMS
• Performance plan: creative testing, budgets, CAC guardrails
• Owned audience: email flows, welcome, abandon, post-purchase, winback
• Influence/PR: credible creators, practitioner outreach, press angles
• Partnerships: gyms, health stores, affiliates with claims-safe briefs
• Retail readiness: sell-in deck, velocity targets, trade terms

8) Operations and Fulfilment

Deliver fast, handle returns gracefully, and protect margin.

• 3PL or in-house fulfilment decision, SLAs defined
• Shipping matrix and packaging tests for damage and leakage
• Returns/refunds SOP, shelf-life and FEFO policy
• Inventory control, stock checks, expiry monitoring
• Customer service macros and response time targets

9) Launch, Metrics, and Scale

Stage-gate your growth. Upgrade only when signals are real.

• Soft launch: 50–100 customers, reviews collected, product feedback loop
• Key metrics tracked: CAC, CVR, AOV, 30/60/90-day repeat, contribution margin
• Scale plan: increase budgets on winners, pause losers, add SKUs from data
• Subscription and loyalty programmes after retention baseline
• European expansion checklist if exporting to EU markets

10) Risk Management

Write it down and rehearse it once. It pays for itself.

• Supply chain backup: secondary manufacturer and packaging supplier
• Ad account contingency and channel diversity
• Cash stress tests: CAC at 2×, delay in receivables, freight surcharges
• Recall simulation and consumer notice templates
• Data and privacy compliance for ecommerce stack

Appendix: Quick References

Use authoritative sources when checking claims and labels. Examples include: GB Nutrition & Health Claims Register, ASA/CAP guidance on food claims, MHRA borderline medicines guidance, FSA guidance on food supplements, local authority food business registration pages, HACCP resources, UKAS-accredited labs, GS1, Companies House, and the UK trade mark service.