How to start a food supplement brand in the EU: steps, costs and timeline

The short version: 12 steps to your own supplement brand

Your own brand means the product is sold under your name and you are responsible for the information on it. These are the steps, roughly in the order most businesses take them:

Steps 3, 8 and 9 can run in parallel with the product and label work. Each step is explained below.

Who is responsible for a private label supplement?

You are. Under EU food law, the business under whose name or business name a food is marketed is responsible for the food information (Art. 8(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011). With private label, that is the brand owner, not the manufacturer.

• The manufacturer is responsible for the stages it controls (Art. 17 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002) and must not supply food that it knows or presumes to be non-compliant (Art. 8(3) of Regulation 1169/2011).
• If the brand owner is not established in the EU, the importer into the EU market is responsible (Art. 8(1)).
• In our terms, we are responsible for the product matching the agreed formula. The label, claims, advertising and notification are the brand owner’s responsibility. See our delivery and payment terms.

What should you decide before setting up the company?

Four things: what you will sell, in which form, through which channels and in which countries. They decide how many products you start with, how many labels and notifications you need, and therefore your budget.

With ready-made formulas you can start with a few products that complement each other, from 25 units each, and extend the range based on what sells. Browse by form: liposomal supplements, mushroom tinctures, tablets, capsules and powders.

How do you set up the company and VAT?

You need a business that can trade, usually a sole trader or a limited company. Legal forms, fees and processing times are national, so check with your business register or an accountant.

• Example: Slovakia. A limited company (s.r.o.) needs share capital of at least €5,000, the court fee for registration is €220 and the entry is made within 2 working days of filing (as at 17 October 2026).
• Buying from another EU country. Give your supplier your VAT number. Supplies to businesses with a valid EU VAT number in another member state are generally VAT-exempt (reverse charge); we state this on the invoice. Your accountant will tell you how to account for VAT on such purchases in your country.
• Selling to consumers in other EU countries. Once your distance sales of goods to consumers in other EU countries exceed the EU-wide threshold of €10,000 a year, VAT is generally due in the customer’s country. The One Stop Shop (OSS) lets you declare and pay that VAT through one member state.

More on buying across borders is in Sourcing supplements from another EU country. How VAT affects your margin is explained in Supplement profit margin.

Do you need to register as a food business operator?

Yes. Every food business operator must notify the competent authority of each establishment under its control that carries out any stage of production, processing or distribution of food, so that it can be registered (Art. 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004). Selling food supplements under your own brand is a food business, even if a manufacturer makes the products for you.

• Which authority depends on the country. In some countries it is the food safety authority, in others the public health authority.
• Online only, no warehouse. In Slovakia, the public health authority states that anyone who wants to sell food supplements must register with the regional public health authority (RÚVZ), even without a shop or warehouse. Registration there is free.
• Czechia. Food businesses notify the start of their activity to the regional inspectorate of the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (SZPI).
• Where. Registration is tied to your establishment. The Slovak authority, for example, states that an operator without a seat in Slovakia registers in its home member state.

Register before you start trading and report changes and closure. This registration of your business is different from the notification of each product, which is described below.

Ready-made private label or a custom formula?

If you want to start quickly with a small quantity, choose private label: a ready-made formula with your label. A custom formula gives you your own composition and possible exclusivity, but it needs development and a larger volume.

A detailed comparison is in Private label vs white label. How we work is described on the Private label and Contract manufacturing pages.

Questions to ask any manufacturer:

1. What is the minimum order per product, and can products be combined?
2. What is the price per unit at your quantity, and what is included (label, label texts, shipping)?
3. Can they provide label texts for your market?
4. Will they prepare the documents for notification in your country?
5. How long is it from label approval to dispatch, and what are the payment terms?
6. Is the formula exclusive, or do other brands sell it too?
7. Do they deliver to your country, and how are shipping costs set?

How do you check the formula against EU and national rules?

Before you order, check that every ingredient, in that form and amount, may be sold in a food supplement in each country where you sell. Some rules are the same across the EU; others are national.

• Vitamins and minerals. Only those listed in Annex I of Directive 2002/46/EC, in the forms listed in Annex II, may be used (Art. 4(1)).
• Maximum amounts. EU maximum amounts for vitamins and minerals have not yet been set, although Art. 5 of the Directive provides for them. The Commission’s initiative 12750 plans adoption in the first quarter of 2028. Some member states have national maximum amounts or guidance values; Slovakia and Czechia, for example, have no binding numerical limits for vitamins and minerals.
• Other substances. A few are restricted EU-wide under Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 1925/2006, for example green tea extracts (a daily portion of less than 800 mg EGCG) and monacolins from red yeast rice (less than 3 mg a day), both with mandatory warnings. Many countries also have national lists for plants and other substances. Czechia, for example, sets maximum daily amounts for selected plants and substances and prohibits others, including N-acetylcysteine (Decree No 58/2018 Coll., Annexes 1 and 2).
• Novel foods. A food not used for human consumption to a significant degree in the EU before 15 May 1997 needs EU authorisation (Regulation (EU) 2015/2283). As at 17 October 2026, NMN, CBD, Cordyceps militaris and mycelium powder of lion’s mane and reishi were unauthorised novel foods. Check the Novel Food Status Catalogue and the Union list before you develop a product, because the status changes.
• Food or medicine. At high doses, some substances can be treated as medicines. In 2025, for example, a Slovak regional public health authority banned an online shop’s melatonin supplements of 3–10 mg, stating that above 1 mg per serving the product was not a food supplement but a medicine.
• Mutual recognition. A product lawfully marketed in one member state can in principle be sold in another (Regulation (EU) 2019/515), but the country of destination may restrict it on justified grounds such as public health. National rules also apply where EU rules are missing (Art. 11(2) of Directive 2002/46/EC).

Rules for food supplements differ between EU countries, and some substances are restricted in some countries. Before you order, tell us where you plan to sell and we’ll advise you.

What must be on the label?

The label must be in a language required in the country of sale and show the mandatory particulars of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 and Directive 2002/46/EC. A member state may require one or more of the official EU languages on its territory, and a label may carry several languages (Art. 15).

• Name and supplement particulars: the name ‘food supplement’ in the national language, the categories of nutrients or substances, the recommended daily dose, three warnings, and the amount of each nutrient or substance per daily dose, with % NRV for vitamins and minerals.
• General particulars: ingredients with allergens highlighted, net quantity, best-before date, lot, storage conditions, and the name and address of the brand owner.
• Legibility: an x-height of at least 1.2 mm, or 0.9 mm if the largest surface of the pack is less than 80 cm².
• Not required: a nutrition declaration (energy, fat, carbohydrate) does not apply to food supplements (Art. 29(1)(a) of Regulation 1169/2011), and food labelling law does not require a barcode.

The full checklist, with the article for each item, is in Food supplement label requirements. How label printing works with us is on the Labels page.

How do you notify a food supplement?

In most EU countries, a food supplement must be notified to the competent national authority before it is placed on the market (Directive 2002/46/EC, Art. 10). Requirements differ by country. Under Art. 10, the notification consists of sending the authority a model of the label used for the product.

Two examples, as at 17 October 2026:

• Each country separately. A notification in one country does not cover another. Czechia, for example, requires notification for the Czech market even if the product is already notified in Slovakia.
• Each business. In Slovakia, every business that places the product on the market must notify it, even if another business has already notified the same product.
• Who. For private label, the notifying business is normally the brand owner.

An overview of national procedures is in Food supplement notification in the EU. The European Commission publishes a list of national competent authorities for food supplements (see sources).

What may you say about your products?

Only health claims authorised in the EU list (Regulation (EU) No 432/2012), under their conditions of use. Claims that a supplement prevents, treats or cures a disease are prohibited (Art. 7(3) of Regulation 1169/2011, Art. 6(2) of Directive 2002/46/EC).

• The rules apply to the label, your website, newsletters and social media posts, because these are all commercial communications (Art. 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006).
• ‘Better absorption’ or ‘higher bioavailability’ is not an authorised health claim. For liposomal products, describe the form factually, for example ‘magnesium in liposomal form’.
• A paid influencer post is advertising for your brand and must not hide its commercial intent.

The choice of claims is yours as the brand owner. The rules and the authorised wordings for common nutrients are in Health claims on food supplements and Liposomal supplements explained.

Packaging: what is extended producer responsibility (EPR)?

As a brand owner who places packaged products on the market, you are usually the ‘producer’ for packaging purposes. That means registering with the national producer register and paying for the collection and recycling of your packaging, usually through a producer responsibility organisation (PRO).

• EU rules. The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) applies from 12 August 2026. Some of its obligations apply later.
• Register in each country. Under the PPWR, producers register in each member state where they first make packaged products available (Art. 44(2)). A PRO can do this for you. Selling packaged products directly to end users in another member state can also make you a producer there.
• National systems still differ. Registers, fees and reporting are run nationally. In Slovakia, for example, the brand owner is a packaging producer under the Waste Act and must register before placing products on the market.

Ask a PRO in your country which obligations apply to you and what the fees are.

Do you need a trade mark and barcodes?

You do not need a trade mark to sell, but it protects the name you invest in. File before you print labels and spend money on your shop and advertising. Barcodes are not required by food labelling law, but retailers and marketplaces commonly ask for them.

• EU trade mark (EUIPO): €850 for one class when filed online, €50 for the second class and €150 for each further class (Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, Annex I). Food supplements fall under class 5 of the Nice Classification.
• National trade mark: cheaper if you sell in one country only; fees are set by each national office.
• Barcodes (EAN/GTIN): get them from the GS1 organisation in your country, so that the numbers are registered to your company. Fees depend on the country and your turnover.

More in Trade mark for a supplement brand.

What applies when you sell online and through shops?

The channel is your choice; the product information rules are the same everywhere. For online sales, all mandatory label information except the best-before date must be available before the purchase is concluded, and all of it on delivery (Art. 14 of Regulation 1169/2011).

• Right of withdrawal. Consumers buying online generally have 14 days to withdraw (Directive 2011/83/EU). There is an exception for sealed goods that are not suitable for return for health protection or hygiene reasons once unsealed (Art. 16(e)). In our reading, an unopened supplement can be returned, while one with a broken seal usually cannot.
• Controls. Authorities may order products online without identifying themselves and use them as official samples (Art. 36 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625).

How much does it cost to start?

The largest cost is usually the stock, which you calculate from the price list. Official fees depend on the country: some steps are free, others cost tens or hundreds of euros.

Start-up costs for three scenarios (excl. VAT):

How to calculate the stock: units of one product × unit price in its tier (25–49, 50–99, 100–249, 250–999 units; 1,000+ by individual quote). Unit prices excl. VAT are in the price list and with each product in the catalogue. Orders are paid in full in advance, so plan your cash accordingly. To see what you earn at your retail price, use the margin calculator.

Fees in the table: Slovak notification fee as at 17 October 2026; EU trade mark fee under Regulation (EU) 2017/1001. Fees in other countries differ, so check them with the relevant authority.

How long does it take before you can sell?

The official steps are usually short. We dispatch finished products with your label usually within 3–5 working days of receiving the label artwork, if the product is in stock. The overall timeline is set mainly by your brand and label design and by national procedures.

How we can help

You run the company, the brand and the sales; we supply the product under your brand, with the documents you need.

• Ready-made formulas from 25 units per product; products can be combined. Manufacturing is in Slovakia.
• Public prices per unit excl. VAT in tiers of 25–49, 50–99, 100–249 and 250–999 units; 1,000+ by individual quote.
• Label texts in selected languages, a 1:1 size template and a guide for your designer. You supply the artwork; we check the PDF and send a proof.
• Label printing and application (optional) at €0.30 per unit with no setup fee; we also supply products without a label.
• Dispatch usually within 3–5 working days of receiving the label artwork, if the product is in stock. Payment 100% in advance.
• Delivery: we deliver across the EU. Shipping costs are always confirmed before payment.
• Notification: in most EU countries, a food supplement must be notified to the competent national authority before it is placed on the market (Directive 2002/46/EC, Art. 10). Requirements differ by country. We’ll advise you and prepare the documents.
• Custom manufacturing: liquid and liposomal roughly from 100 l, tablets and capsules roughly from 30,000 tablets or capsules, powders roughly from 100 kg.

Browse the catalogue and price list, work out your margin in the calculator, or send us an enquiry. Answers to common questions are in the FAQ.