Vitality Radio Podcast with Jared St. Clair
Aug 29, 2026 · 29 min · 12 segments
On this episode of Vitality Radio, Jared pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to run an independent supplement company. Vitality Nutrition is celebrating 49 years in business, but 2026 has…
So why does this independence actually matter? Why am I blabbing about it? Well, the industry is full of brands now that are backed by venture capital because there's a lot of money in this industry.
And if you see a lot of brands with major advertising budgets, you can pretty much assure they either are someone who is independently wealthy, which unfortunately I am not, or has some financial backing, which is very, very common.
And from everything I've seen, it can create some potholes in the road from a consumer standpoint, maybe more so than from the company standpoint, because it boils down to then the price, the sales volume, the margin, all of that being the most important thing.
I don't ever want the margin to be what dictates whether or not I come out with a product.
I don't ever want the pressure of somebody else telling me, hey, you got to make a product cheaper because we've got to make more money or you've got to charge a higher price because we've got to make more money.
I really try hard to just make the brand as accessible as possible while also giving you something unique and and potent and effective and that's what I do.
And I talked a lot about that actually in the Ultimate Vitality Multishow if you didn't already hear that.
So ultimately it boils down to this, I answer to you, that's it, that's the entire list.
Now staying independent comes with a real cost and I want you to understand what that is.
The average manufacturer in this industry does not really want to work with a company my size.
I don't have a facility where I have an encapsulation machine and a blender and a clean room and all that kind of stuff.
That's a multimillion dollar enterprise that I don't want to invest in and have not.
Most brands in this industry outsource their manufacturing side to what are called contract manufacturers.
It's fine as long as you trust your contract manufacturer, they have the right certifications and all that kind of stuff.
But generally speaking, the cost involved in manufacturing has a lot to do with volume.
You know, turning on the machine, filling it up with a powder, blending it first and then encapsulating it and then bottling it.
If you're making a thousand bottles, it's a lot more expensive on a per bottle basis.
So why does this independence actually matter? Why am I blabbing about it? Well, the industry is full of brands now that are backed by venture capital because there's a lot of money in this industry.
And if you see a lot of brands with major advertising budgets, you can pretty much assure they either are someone who is independently wealthy, which unfortunately I am not, or has some financial backing, which is very, very common.
And from everything I've seen, it can create some potholes in the road from a consumer standpoint, maybe more so than from the company standpoint, because it boils down to then the price, the sales volume, the margin, all of that being the most important thing.
I don't ever want the margin to be what dictates whether or not I come out with a product.
I don't ever want the pressure of somebody else telling me, hey, you got to make a product cheaper because we've got to make more money or you've got to charge a higher price because we've got to make more money.
I really try hard to just make the brand as accessible as possible while also giving you something unique and and potent and effective and that's what I do.
And I talked a lot about that actually in the Ultimate Vitality Multishow if you didn't already hear that.
So ultimately it boils down to this, I answer to you, that's it, that's the entire list.
Now staying independent comes with a real cost and I want you to understand what that is.
The average manufacturer in this industry does not really want to work with a company my size.
I don't have a facility where I have an encapsulation machine and a blender and a clean room and all that kind of stuff.
That's a multimillion dollar enterprise that I don't want to invest in and have not.
Most brands in this industry outsource their manufacturing side to what are called contract manufacturers.
It's fine as long as you trust your contract manufacturer, they have the right certifications and all that kind of stuff.
But generally speaking, the cost involved in manufacturing has a lot to do with volume.
You know, turning on the machine, filling it up with a powder, blending it first and then encapsulating it and then bottling it.
If you're making a thousand bottles, it's a lot more expensive on a per bottle basis.
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