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OK...Here's the article that I refered to in another thread.Written by Darren Mead who as you may or may not know used to work with/for (depending on who you ask) Met-Rx among other high profile supplement companies.This was written a few years back and was first printed in Trevor Smith's (RIP) GEAR U.Z.R. magazine.....
AN INSIDE LOOK AT HOW THE SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY REALLY WORKS
by Darren Meade
You've been getting ripped off,fucked-over and done with no lube right in front of your face.
Maybe it didn't dawn on you, or maybe it did,those Ferrari's,$500,000.00 give aways and luxury vacations are payed for by us.What kind of quality can be going into those products? They can afford their own magazines and give away half a million in prizes and all for using their stuff.Then,of course, they have to pay the employees that work for them.Wonder how they do it? I'm going to tell you.
And just who am I to be saying all this? What's my background? My angle? Simple really. I've either been a partner or consulted with ,the three major supplement companies in sports nutrition.Oh, did I say partner? Exactly.Did I take part in these scams I'm going to tell you about? No. Instead, I left these wanna-be businessmen/bodybuilders and took three years off from the industry.Because some of these companies had me sign confidentiality agreements (gee, think they have anything to hide?) I can't go into a lot of detail,I can,however, refer you to an article written in the Orange County Register on the front page of the business section and you can draw your own conclusion. One last thing before we get started. I began bodybuilding as a bantamweight and eventually won the IFBB North American Middleweight title. Like you, I'm a hardcore bodybuilder and when my partners wanted to screw you over to make more money for themselves....that's when I had a problem.
Do you know how these companies formulate products? If you were like me, you believed they simply designed the products first (i.e. 80 grams of protein, 4 grams of carbs,etc.,etc.) and then they arrive at the price you pay at your local gym or store. WRONG!!
This is how they do it. Most companies go to a manufacturer "recipe house".When they get there they have an outline of a product and they tell that manufacturer they only want to pay $6.00 per 2.2 lb. can or pack. (Sorry guys, $6.00 is the max most companies pay and I'll tell you why later.)
Now these "recipe houses" are interesting places.Say you want whey protein isolate in you product. This "recipe house" will have whey protein isolate vats marked A,B,C and D or 1,2,3 or 4, the point being, there's four blends. Now the first one is 100% pure isolate, the second one is 95% pure, the third one 75% pure and the fourth only 65% pure. Well, at $6.00 cost, they cannot afford A or B. They have to pay for all those six page ads next month and afford to drive their Lamborginis, so you get blend C in your product. I hope all those fillers won't give you gas and make you feel bloated.This process of choosing blends continues on throughout the products development.That means your protein content, carbohydrate content, vitamns and minerals have all been lessened to make their profit margins.
Wanna know something even sicker? Once these guys develop any reputation at all and bring in the new suits and accountants, they will sit in a board meeting and show a projection of profits by dropping the price of the COGS (Cost Of Goods Sold) if they simply dropped from blend C to D. Ever wonder why a product you've been using suddenly gives you gas or smells and tastes different? Blend D has arrived in your supplement/total nutrient product.
These big companies feel they can get away with it because they have developed a reputation of quality by then and they figure as long as they tell you it's fine and bombard you with ad after ad, you'll ignore your instincts and believe them,even though you're racing to the bathroom to avoid shitting your pants. How messed up is that? You make the owners and employees of these companies multi-millionaires, and, in turn, they betray your trust by cheapening the very product you buy.
Ever notice how these companies then try to distance themselves from bodybuilding and take a more "mainstream" approach? Yeah,we (the bodybuilders), were good enough to make them rich (it was our hard, chiseled physiques that people noticed when we were out in public and asked, "How can I look like that?" or, "What should I do?") and when we mention we use Brand X and now Brand X has a new customer, do we get thanked? No! We get some cheap-ass blend put into our products instead!
Now, before I ask you to help me show the rich boys where they can put Blend D, let me explain one more thing to you.
At the beginning of the article, I mentioned a $6.00 cost of most 2.2lb cannisters and 20 packs of MRPs. Let me explain the standard pricing equation in this industry. It's simple, really. The multiple used is between 6.5 and 7.5. This means you would take $6.00 and multiply it by 6.5 or 7.5 which gives you either a $39.00 Or $45.00 retail price. Do those sound familiar? That means you are paying between $39.00 and $45.00 for a product that might cost $6.00 to make and I stress the word MIGHT.
(Cont.....)
AN INSIDE LOOK AT HOW THE SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY REALLY WORKS
by Darren Meade
You've been getting ripped off,fucked-over and done with no lube right in front of your face.
Maybe it didn't dawn on you, or maybe it did,those Ferrari's,$500,000.00 give aways and luxury vacations are payed for by us.What kind of quality can be going into those products? They can afford their own magazines and give away half a million in prizes and all for using their stuff.Then,of course, they have to pay the employees that work for them.Wonder how they do it? I'm going to tell you.
And just who am I to be saying all this? What's my background? My angle? Simple really. I've either been a partner or consulted with ,the three major supplement companies in sports nutrition.Oh, did I say partner? Exactly.Did I take part in these scams I'm going to tell you about? No. Instead, I left these wanna-be businessmen/bodybuilders and took three years off from the industry.Because some of these companies had me sign confidentiality agreements (gee, think they have anything to hide?) I can't go into a lot of detail,I can,however, refer you to an article written in the Orange County Register on the front page of the business section and you can draw your own conclusion. One last thing before we get started. I began bodybuilding as a bantamweight and eventually won the IFBB North American Middleweight title. Like you, I'm a hardcore bodybuilder and when my partners wanted to screw you over to make more money for themselves....that's when I had a problem.
Do you know how these companies formulate products? If you were like me, you believed they simply designed the products first (i.e. 80 grams of protein, 4 grams of carbs,etc.,etc.) and then they arrive at the price you pay at your local gym or store. WRONG!!
This is how they do it. Most companies go to a manufacturer "recipe house".When they get there they have an outline of a product and they tell that manufacturer they only want to pay $6.00 per 2.2 lb. can or pack. (Sorry guys, $6.00 is the max most companies pay and I'll tell you why later.)
Now these "recipe houses" are interesting places.Say you want whey protein isolate in you product. This "recipe house" will have whey protein isolate vats marked A,B,C and D or 1,2,3 or 4, the point being, there's four blends. Now the first one is 100% pure isolate, the second one is 95% pure, the third one 75% pure and the fourth only 65% pure. Well, at $6.00 cost, they cannot afford A or B. They have to pay for all those six page ads next month and afford to drive their Lamborginis, so you get blend C in your product. I hope all those fillers won't give you gas and make you feel bloated.This process of choosing blends continues on throughout the products development.That means your protein content, carbohydrate content, vitamns and minerals have all been lessened to make their profit margins.
Wanna know something even sicker? Once these guys develop any reputation at all and bring in the new suits and accountants, they will sit in a board meeting and show a projection of profits by dropping the price of the COGS (Cost Of Goods Sold) if they simply dropped from blend C to D. Ever wonder why a product you've been using suddenly gives you gas or smells and tastes different? Blend D has arrived in your supplement/total nutrient product.
These big companies feel they can get away with it because they have developed a reputation of quality by then and they figure as long as they tell you it's fine and bombard you with ad after ad, you'll ignore your instincts and believe them,even though you're racing to the bathroom to avoid shitting your pants. How messed up is that? You make the owners and employees of these companies multi-millionaires, and, in turn, they betray your trust by cheapening the very product you buy.
Ever notice how these companies then try to distance themselves from bodybuilding and take a more "mainstream" approach? Yeah,we (the bodybuilders), were good enough to make them rich (it was our hard, chiseled physiques that people noticed when we were out in public and asked, "How can I look like that?" or, "What should I do?") and when we mention we use Brand X and now Brand X has a new customer, do we get thanked? No! We get some cheap-ass blend put into our products instead!
Now, before I ask you to help me show the rich boys where they can put Blend D, let me explain one more thing to you.
At the beginning of the article, I mentioned a $6.00 cost of most 2.2lb cannisters and 20 packs of MRPs. Let me explain the standard pricing equation in this industry. It's simple, really. The multiple used is between 6.5 and 7.5. This means you would take $6.00 and multiply it by 6.5 or 7.5 which gives you either a $39.00 Or $45.00 retail price. Do those sound familiar? That means you are paying between $39.00 and $45.00 for a product that might cost $6.00 to make and I stress the word MIGHT.
(Cont.....)
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