Manufacturing Supplements for Professional Dancers

If your private label supplement brand is oriented mostly around sports nutrition, bone and joint, or mental health, then ask yourself who you are marketing to. Is it an exclusive group? Are dancers included in that mix? Today, we are sharing how widening your consumer base to include professional dancers could invite much more business. AND we are sharing exactly which types of supplements these dancers need most. 

Supplementation vs. substitution

With dance training comes the common but outdated method of eating less to trim the waistline. This way of living is not only unsustainable, but also outright unhealthy. Maintaining a well-balanced diet, exercising an appropriate amount, and supplementing where necessary is much better for one’s overall wellbeing than practically starving oneself. Dancers especially must pay attention to how far they push themselves, and what they are relying most on. While we are about to discuss products that are beneficial for dancers, remember that the suggestion of supplementation mustn’t replace the word substitution. Vitamins and minerals are to be consumed in addition to, not instead of, nutrient dense foods eaten daily. This is something you can spread awareness about through your brand’s website and marketing material, including your product packaging.

Which nutrients do dancers need? 

While food should be the #1 source for the above, sometimes dancers need extra help, or they follow a vegan diet which omits some important vitamins and minerals like: 

Micronutrients:

• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E
• B Vitamins
• Calcium
• Iron
• Zinc 

Macronutrients:

• Protein
• Carbohydrates 
• Fat (omega-3 fatty acids in particular) 

Your private label dietary supplements can incorporate the above to help vegans, dancers, and vegan dancers obtain all of their recommended daily intakes.

What a vegan diet may lack

Here are five nutrients that are either difficult or impossible to attain in adequate amounts from plant foods alone. 

1. Vitamin B12: Almost exclusively derived from animal-source foods such as meat, dairy, eggs, and fish, this water-soluble nutrient heavily impacts the development of red blood cells, as well as the maintenance of healthy nerves and proper brain function. Vegans who do not supplement with high-quality capsules, tablets, softgels, gummies, or powders become vulnerable to symptoms and conditions including weakness, fatigue, neurological disorders, psychiatric disorders, and impaired cognitive function.

2. Vitamin D3: An essential nutrient with many important functions that is more efficient at raising blood levels than the plant form of Vitamin D, D2. While Vitamin D does not have to come from the sun, if one does not go outside often enough, or lives far from the equator, their Vitamin D levels could slope. If one follows a strict vegan diet, then their levels could really slope, as the best sources of D3 are fatty fish and egg yolks.

3. Heme Iron: A type of iron found only in meat, especially red meat, heme iron is much better absorbed than non-heme iron, which is commonly found in plant foods. Heme iron also improves absorption of non-heme iron from those plant foods, making it a pretty substantial nutrient for all humans. Vegans don’t get that content through meat, so taking a heme iron tablet might be the way to go for them. 

4. Carnosine: An antioxidant concentrated in the muscles and brain, carnosine is vital for muscle function, and high levels of it are connected to reduced muscle fatigue and improved physical performance. Carnosine is only found in animal-based foods, but dietary sources of beta-alanine can contribute significantly to levels of carnosine in muscles. The thing is that main dietary sources of beta-alanine are meat, poultry, and fish—so vegans still miss out. Luckily, you can offer a vegan friendly beta-alanine supplement to help boost carnosine levels in the body. This can easily be offered in a custom preworkout powder that can be manufactured in an FDA-registered, GMP facility, which we have!

5. DHA: Docosahexaenoic Acid is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is crucial for normal brain development and function. DHA is in fatty fish and fish oil, but is also present in microalgae, making it a terrific derivative for vegan supplementation. If people do not get sufficient amounts of DHA, then their mental health and cognitive function are eventually in jeopardy.

State of mind

Speaking of mental health, your dancing customers could enjoy supplements that have been linked to mood regularity and help calm their nerves and mind—say, the night before a big recital. Just as pro footballers need something to ease their pre-game jitters, dancers need a safe product to put them at ease so they can focus on their craft. Ashwagandha, valerian root, and chamomile are all great ingredients to manufacture that are also vegan friendly. 

Manufacturing Vegan Multivitamins

A viable option to help active dancers stay up on their nutrient game would be to manufacture a high-quality multivitamin. They can be vegetarian or vegan, and Makers Nutrition can be the facilitator of their production. Since multis do not comprise the intact fibers and biochemical markers that whole fruits and vegetables provide, your dancing customers will still want to make sure they are eating plenty of those fruits and vegetables. However, we can help manufacture, package, and delivery multivitamins that fill in the nutritional gaps perhaps missed. These can be exactly what your customers need, and your customers can enjoy what they are taking because of our advanced flavor systems.

Common dance injuries

Many underestimate the pressure dancers put on themselves and the work it takes to make the cut. This can affect their eating habits, physical wellbeing, and their mental wellbeing. Here are some issues they face physically:

• Knee injuries
• Hip injuries: snapping hip syndrome, labral tears, hip flexor tendonitis, hip bursitis, hip impingement, and sacroiliac joint dysfunction
• Stress fractures: tibia, metatarsals, sesamoids, and lumbar spine 

Manufacturing mobility

Even your non-vegan customers doing everything they can to keep up with nutrition may face issues with movement. After years of hard physical routines and constant strain on muscles and ligaments, seasoned dancers need something that eases the joint pain they now experience. The same could go for your other athletic customers. Baseball, soccer, lacrosse—these athletes are most likely feeling the aches and pains. Your private label bone and joint supplements can be the answer. This is not to say that they will treat their arthritic conditions, but your products could absolutely lessen the load your customers carry each day. Make it easier for them to get up each day, and move easier with chondroitin, methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), and glucosamine, which have all been linked to better mobility and less pain.

Private label supplements in demand

Be it an already unhealthy diet, vegan eating, or too much practice, pro dancers could be at a high risk of their health declining. Over time, wear and tear occurs, peeling away at the cartilage that cushions bones and joints. After years of exercise and constant, repetitive movement, dancers face arthritis, hip problems, and more. Studies have shown that dancing five hours or more a day could lead to an increased risk of stress fractures and other injuries. With the spread of awareness and by private label manufacturing a bone and joint tablet, multivitamin gummy, or other type of innovative dietary supplement for dancers, you could grow sales AND help professional dancers upkeep their skill and perhaps find the aftereffect of years performing a little less painful and a little more manageable. 

Click here to learn why Makers Nutrition is your ideal one-stop shop private label supplement manufacturing partner. Then, give us a call to get your next supplement moving!