6 min read
Some companies that sell supplement manufacturing don't run a plant: they take your order and place it with another manufacturer. That isn't always bad, but you should know who actually makes your product. These checks use public records and questions any real manufacturer can answer.
Researched against our directory of 195 makers, maker-published documents and official sources. Last reviewed October 2026. Figures change, so confirm with the maker before budgeting.
A broker adds a margin on top of the plant's price, and you may never learn which facility made your batch. That makes it harder to check the plant's GMP status, to resolve a failed batch, and to keep production consistent if the broker switches plants. A broker can still be useful for formulation or sourcing help; the problem is not knowing.
Ask for the street address of every site that will blend, encapsulate or fill, and bottle your product. A manufacturer names its own plant. Answers like “our partner facilities” or “we work with several GMP plants” mean someone else makes it. Then ask who owns the equipment for your format: an encapsulation line, a gummy depositor or a softgel machine.
NSF publishes the facilities it has registered for GMP, with their addresses, in its online listings. If the company claims NSF GMP registration, search for the company and check that the listed address matches the plant it named. For organic claims, search the USDA Organic Integrity Database. Compare NSF-certified makers in this directory.
Supplement facilities must register with the FDA, but the FDA does not issue a certificate of registration and does not recognise certificates sold by private firms. A framed “FDA certificate” proves nothing about who makes your product. Registration is also not an approval or an inspection result.
Search the FDA Data Dashboard for inspections and the FDA's warning letter database under the legal name of the plant the company named. A real manufacturer's inspection history is its own. If the records only exist under another company's name, that company is the one making your product.
Ask for a visit or a live video walkthrough of the production line that will run your format, not a marketing video. Ask to see batch records for a past run, with confidential customer details blacked out. A broker usually can't arrange either without the real plant's cooperation.
Profiles here list the formats each maker states it runs, links to the public registry record where one exists, and the result of a check of FDA recall records. Start with capsule, gummy or powder makers, then run the checks above on your shortlist before you request a quote.
Ask for the address of the plant that will make your product, check it in a public registry such as NSF's GMP listings, check FDA inspection and warning letter records under that plant's legal name, and ask to see the production line.
Not always. A broker can help with formulation or sourcing. The risk is not knowing which plant makes your product, which makes quality problems harder to trace and fix. Ask the broker to name the plant in your contract.
No. Supplement facilities must register with the FDA, but the FDA does not issue registration certificates and does not recognise certificates sold by private firms.
The manufacturing site and notice before any change, the specifications the product must meet, a batch Certificate of Analysis per lot, and who pays if a batch fails.