Supplement Industry Supply Chain is in Massive Trouble With No Light at the End of the Tunnel

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the supplement industry supply chain situation will get much worse, over at least the next 6 months, before it gets better. I know that’s a bit of an ominous introductory statement, but you don’t consume my content to be fed bullshit positive fake news. It’s been about four to five months since I gave a proper update on the supplement industry supply chain situation. I recently took part in a SupplySide 365 webinar panel discussion with Mark Glazier (CEO/Founder of NutraBio) that surrounded the supply chain situation, outlook for the future, and strategies to manage it in the immediate term. I wanted to use this piece of content to summarize some of that information that was provided in the webinar, but also expand on it with as much up-to-date insights and information as possible. This is an unprecedented moment in recent business history. As Mark Glazier said in the webinar “if you combine all the supply chain problems from my last 25 years of experience owning a supplement brand that manufacturers its entire product line, it wouldn’t even come close to what I’ve faced this year.” Even though my 12 years of experience as a strategist in the supplement industry pales in comparison, I echo Mark’s thoughts 100%. There’s A LOT of information on this topic and I’m going to do my best to keep it organized in a manner that’s part informational and part actionable.  Topics Covered Include: What are the ingredients being impacted? What's being impacted beyond ingredients (packaging, etc.)? What's going on in China? How long will the Chinese supply constraints exist? What's going on with international ocean freight? American logistical bottlenecks What can supplement companies do, if anything, to improve the situation?  Why all the cost increases will hurt the consumer? Explain the possible price limits and category we will see break first? Explain if this situation ripens the market for inferior quality and/or adulteration? Discuss business death in the industry At the end of the podcast, I'll explain "ideas to consider going forward" in the supplement industry. These include; more communication between brands and supply side, creation of a decentralized B2B inventory tagging system and marketplace, and why we need to diversify away from China now.  Supplement Industry Supply Chain Situation Update #1 = https://youtu.be/bkFz-iaUDu4 FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS LINKEDIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaschallmba TWITTER - https://www.twitter.com/joshua_schall INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/joshua_schall FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/jschallconsulting MEDIUM - https://www.medium.com/@joshuaschall