Private Label Supplements and Vitamins From China

Start with the selling market before choosing a formula

Whether you are an individual starting a brand, a small retailer or an established importer, specify where the product will be sold before accepting a manufacturer's ready-made formula. Review the requirements for each destination.

Request the complete formula, ingredient sources and chemical forms, amount per recommended daily portion, capsule or gummy composition, intended users, proposed claims and packaging artwork. Include carriers, coatings, flavours and processing aids rather than asking the factory only for the headline vitamins.

The UK example below shows how these checks work in practice. It is not a worldwide approval route. For supplier selection and purchasing detail, read sourcing vitamins from China.

What to request from a Chinese contract manufacturer

Request formulation proposals, samples, production records, ingredient specifications, batch analysis and packaging printed to approved artwork. Agree these as contractual deliverables and verify that the evidence covers the actual production site and ordered product.

Ask what any good manufacturing practice certificate, or GMP certificate, covers: issuing organisation, site, activities and validity. For US supply, FDA has specific supplement manufacturing requirements; a generic certificate should not be treated as proof that every applicable requirement has been met.

If the manufacturer prepares destination-specific artwork, identify who reviews and approves it. Neither a supplier's assurance nor a certificate replaces applicable ingredient authorisations, lawful claims or the responsible operator's legal duties.

UK worked example: food law, ingredients and responsibility

The Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003, as amended, operate alongside equivalent 2003 regulations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. General food law also applies. Distinguish Great Britain from Northern Ireland, where relevant EU food rules continue to apply under the Windsor Framework.

For Great Britain, check both the permitted vitamins and minerals and their permitted chemical forms against the current schedules to the Nutrition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, as amended. A familiar nutrient name does not establish that every source or form is permitted. Northern Ireland requires a separate check against the applicable EU lists.

Check novel-food status separately: a vitamin or mineral source, botanical extract or manufacturing process may raise an authorisation question. Where authorisation is required, establish whether an existing authorisation covers the exact ingredient, specifications and intended use before ordering.

Screen the full formula for prohibited or restricted substances and possible medicinal classification. Official guidance identifies Ephedra herb and its preparations, and Yohimbe bark and its preparations, as prohibited substances. It also states that kava-kava and foods containing it are banned from UK entry. These examples are not an exhaustive ingredient screen.

The food business operator, or FBO, must ensure the supplements it sells are safe and register the food business with the local authority. Importers are responsible for composition, safety and labelling. Prepacked food sold in Great Britain must carry the responsible business's name and a UK address; if that business is outside the UK, use the UK importer's name and address. Northern Ireland requires the corresponding Northern Ireland or EU business or importer details.

Prior label notification is different from food-business registration. Official UK guidance states that the UK does not request prior notification by submission of a supplement's label under the Food Supplements Directive. This does not remove novel-food authorisation or applicable import requirements.

UK worked example: labels and claims

For a supplement sold in England, the label must use the name 'food supplement', identify the categories of nutrients or substances characterising the product, or indicate their nature, and give the recommended daily portion. It must warn against exceeding that portion and state that supplements do not replace a varied diet and must be kept out of young children's reach.

Declare the amounts of nutrients or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect per recommended daily portion as average values based on the manufacturer's analysis. Use the prescribed vitamin and mineral units and required reference-value percentages. Supplement nutrient declarations follow their own rules; do not simply copy an ordinary food nutrition panel.

Check the general food particulars too: ingredients with relevant allergens emphasised, applicable quantity and date marking, lot identification where required, necessary storage and use instructions, and responsible business details. Review the final printed packaging, not only the design file.

In Great Britain, Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, as amended, governs nutrition and health claims. Nutrition claims must be permitted and meet their conditions; health claims must comply with the applicable authorisation rules, conditions and GB register. Review commercial websites and advertising as well as labels. Food must not claim or imply that it treats, prevents or cures disease.

Why a shipment can be held or refused

Do not equate customs clearance with permission to sell. Official import guidance identifies ingredient status, chemical contamination and animal-origin controls as relevant checks.

Before importing into Great Britain, investigate whether animal-derived ingredients trigger certification, approved-country or establishment requirements, or border checks. Check capsule material and contents separately; fish, dairy or other animal ingredients can affect the requirements. Check Northern Ireland's import requirements separately.

Before dispatch, have the broker reconcile the actual goods with the formula, invoice, packing list and required certificates. Confirm any applicable pre-notification and inspection arrangements. As a purchasing precaution, resolve missing ingredient evidence, conflicting batch reports and unfinished labels before releasing the shipment.

For China export requirements, ask your supplier and customs broker to confirm the requirements for the actual product and destination. Do not assume that a previous shipment to another country establishes the requirements for yours.

UK worked example: customs value and VAT

Under HMRC's transaction-value method, customs value starts with the price paid or payable for the relevant sale for export to the UK, with required adjustments. Include applicable transport and insurance to the UK border where not already included.

Import VAT valuation starts from customs value and adds applicable import duties, levies and other import charges, excluding VAT itself, plus relevant incidental expenses to the first UK destination. Include relevant expenses resulting from transport to a further UK destination known at importation. Avoid counting costs twice. Confirm classification and current tax treatment for the actual product rather than assuming a universal supplement duty or VAT rate.

If you sell in the US or EU

US — FDA does not approve dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness, or their labels, before sale. Applicable supplement manufacturing and labelling requirements still apply. Check food-facility registration and FDA prior-notice requirements, including applicable exemptions. CBP states that the importer of record remains responsible for correct entry documentation and applicable duties, taxes and fees even when using a broker. Check USTR's China Section 301 tariff actions and exclusions against the product classification; confirm all applicable import charges with your broker.

EU — the European Commission's Novel Food status Catalogue is non-binding and non-exhaustive. Check it alongside the Union list of authorised novel foods, including specifications, permitted uses and labelling conditions. Novel foods require pre-market authorisation. The Commission advises businesses to contact the relevant national authority about country-specific restrictions.

Turn the checks into a reviewable sourcing brief

Give Cambridge China Bridge your selling countries, proposed formula, packaging, order size and existing supplier evidence. Ask for a defined scope covering manufacturer checks, samples, evidence collection, inspection and coordination with your chosen compliance adviser and customs broker.

Use private label supplement sourcing for the production brief and factory verification for manufacturer checks. Keep formula legality and artwork approval as explicit responsibilities in the agreement.

Ask the written quote to specify which factory checks and goods inspections are included, and agree any third-party charges before commissioning the work.

Selling in the opposite direction needs a separate review: see exporting supplements, vitamins and minerals from the UK to China.