Advice on meal replacement start-up - Business, Finances and Investing Forum

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Advice on meal replacement start-up

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03-21-2023 , 10:33 PM

amazinmets73

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 5,555

I'm interested in opening a powdered meal replacement (think Soylent, Huel, etc) start-up. I know the market is saturated, but I feel I have a unique idea that could potentially be successful. This will be my first foray into the business world and there are a few things that I'm seeking advice on.

1: I have a rough idea of what I want in regards to carbs, fat, protein and vitamins per serving. How do I go about creating a product? I'm assuming I should consult nutritionists?

2: How stringent are laws regarding quality control/food regulations, etc?

3: How much am I looking at for trademark/brand name, etc?

4: Are manufacturing premises required?

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03-24-2023 , 02:37 PM

John21

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,557

My advice would be to find out if your "unique idea" gets any traction in the market, first, lest you came up with a solution to a problem no one is interested in paying for. So I'd be thinking about branding, a presale landing page, editorial-style adverts, etc. to build a list and possibly get some pre-orders to test the market.

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03-24-2023 , 07:13 PM

BrianTheMick2

Long way to go and a short time to get there.

Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 19,410

Look up "contract nutritional supplement manufacturers" on Google. Read a bunch of stuff.

You might want to flesh out your idea for the product first by making and adjusting it at home. For instance, if you are planning on using pea protein, buy some pea protein and put it in a cup with whatever other ingredients you are also planning on using.

Then get enough people to like you online to make it worth getting a batch made for sale. Basically, be famous. Maybe marry a Kardashian or something. Alternatively, purchasing a few million dollars in advertising might work.

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03-24-2023 , 07:32 PM

OlafTheSnowman

journeyman

Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 373

First

Quote:

Originally Posted by John21

a presale landing page,.

then

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Originally Posted by BrianTheMick2

"contract nutritional supplement manufacturers"

This is the way

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03-26-2023 , 10:04 PM

rand

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 4,137

Quote:

Originally Posted by amazinmets73

I'm interested in opening a powdered meal replacement (think Soylent, Huel, etc) start-up. I know the market is saturated, but I feel I have a unique idea that could potentially be successful. This will be my first foray into the business world and there are a few things that I'm seeking advice on.

1: I have a rough idea of what I want in regards to carbs, fat, protein and vitamins per serving. How do I go about creating a product? I'm assuming I should consult nutritionists?

2: How stringent are laws regarding quality control/food regulations, etc?

3: How much am I looking at for trademark/brand name, etc?

4: Are manufacturing premises required?

You can apply for a trademark yourself. If you have lawyer do it for you it should not cost more than a few thousand dollars. You can bring this number down if you tell them to skip the research and just fill out the application. If the USPTO gives you an office action or other obstacle this number will go up. Good IP attorneys are hundreds of dollars an hour or more. If you have to fight with someone else about your trademark it could cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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03-31-2023 , 11:30 PM

rickroll

oddly catty

Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 22,480

first thing first just try to sell you product before it even exists

if you make sales then find a stopgap like repackaging an existing product and going forward develop your own actual product.

the hard part here isn't manufacturing - it's marketing and sales channels - you don't want to invest a bunch of money and time only to find out you can't sell the product

a common tactic for new startup ideas is literally create a fake version of the business just to see if people will buy the nonexistent product

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04-01-2023 , 04:46 AM

somigosaden

adept

Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 1,069

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickroll

if you make sales then find a stopgap like repackaging an existing product

Truly spoken like someone who's been working in China for too long.

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04-01-2023 , 06:45 AM

rickroll

oddly catty

Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 22,480

Quote:

Originally Posted by somigosaden

Truly spoken like someone who's been working in China for too long.

this is literally standard practice in the usa, truly spoken by someone ignorant of testing market fit before spending time and money to develop something nobody will buy

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04-01-2023 , 03:12 PM

wreckem713

old hand

Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 1,395

Quote:

Originally Posted by amazinmets73

Ask chatGPT to write you steps towards developing a business plan. If you want to be a business operator, it will be easier and lower risk to buy an existing business. I'm not going to be the guy to tell you can't do it though...Godspeed gl

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04-01-2023 , 11:15 PM

#10

somigosaden

adept

Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 1,069

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickroll

this is literally standard practice in the usa, truly spoken by someone ignorant of testing market fit before spending time and money to develop something nobody will buy

It was a joke. I don't pretend to know anything about this topic.

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04-03-2023 , 01:09 AM

#11

rickroll

oddly catty

Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 22,480

Quote:

Originally Posted by somigosaden

It was a joke. I don't pretend to know anything about this topic.

Sorry, for not recognizing you just messing with me, wouldn’t be the first time I made that mistake. I got that undertitle for good reason

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