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Almost every new brand picks a manufacturer by looking at two numbers: the minimum order quantity and the unit price. Both are figures any laboratory will give you over the phone in five minutes. The problem is that neither tells you what you actually need to know: what happens when it works. When the 500-unit order becomes 5,000, when a gym chain comes in, when a distributor asks for exclusivity in their country. That is where manufacturing relationships break, almost always for the same reason: the choice was made on the floor instead of the ceiling.
What is a supplement manufacturer’s industrial capacity?
Industrial capacity is the real maximum volume a manufacturer can produce in your format within a defined period, without degrading lead times or quality. It is not the MOQ (the minimum) and it is not the theoretical throughput of the machinery (which ignores every other client’s orders). The useful figure is available committable capacity: how many units the manufacturer can reserve for your brand over the next twelve months.
Almost nobody asks for it, and almost no manufacturer offers it unprompted. Asking for it in writing is a filter in itself: whoever measures it will give it to you; whoever improvises will change the subject.
The five figures to request in writing
- Plants and lines: how many facilities, and how many lines per format? A single powder line is a single point of failure.
- Installed capacity per format: kilos/month of powder, units/month of capsules, sachets or sticks — per format, not one aggregate number.
- Available committable capacity: of that total, how much can they reserve for you over the next 12 months.
- Repeat-order lead time: weeks from purchase order to delivery on a repeat run, not the first one. That is the lead time you will live with.
- Contingency plan: if a line goes down or an audit fails, is there another group plant your batch can move to, and what requalification does that require?
Note that none of the five is about price. A manufacturer can have the best price on the market and still be unable to follow you past year two.
Single laboratory vs. a plant inside an industrial group
Neither option is better in the abstract — it depends on the stage your brand is in. What you should not do is choose without knowing which of the two you are entering.
| Single laboratory | Plant inside an industrial group | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimums | Usually lower and negotiable | Stiffer, designed to scale |
| Contact | Direct, often with the owner | Structured, with an account manager |
| Production ceiling | Capped by their own lines | Extendable across group plants |
| Shutdown risk | Concentrated: one breakdown hits you fully | Spread across facilities |
| Peak-season lead times | Stretch when a large client comes in | More stable thanks to redundant capacity |
| Scaling 500 → 20,000 units | Usually means changing supplier | No requalification or re-notification |
| Certifications | One per facility | Verify plant by plant, never by brand |
That last row causes the most problems, and we cover it below: inside a group, certifications belong to each facility and each legal entity — not to the commercial name talking to you.
If you are on your first batch and still validating the product, a single laboratory with low minimums is probably the right call. If you already have distribution and see growth, choosing on the lowest minimum mortgages your second year. We go deeper into the wider criteria in how to choose a supplement manufacturer, and the concrete minimums per format are in minimum order quantities for supplements — that article covers the floor, this one the ceiling.
The Akumal case: what sits behind the Peligros plant
We are telling you to demand these figures, so we will start with ours.
Akumal Sport Nutrition is the sports nutrition company of Grupo Barosa, an industrial group based in Granada, Spain, founded in 2020 by Juan Pedro Pérez. The figures below are not ours: they were published by the Spanish daily Ideal, and they are the group’s as a whole, not Akumal’s on its own.
IDEAL
"La compañía de suplementos de Granada que factura doce millones de euros al año"
Read the full report in Ideal (Spanish) ↗These are the group’s figures according to that report:
- Over €12 million in annual group revenue
- 60 professionals on staff, close to 80 % women, many in senior positions
- Three specialised companies: Barosa Labs (Armilla, Granada), Akumal Sport Nutrition (Peligros, Granada) and Natucaps (Consuegra, Toledo)
- An in-house fulfilment centre
- Two international commercial offices: Shanghai and Dubai
Each company covers a different specialism: Barosa Labs develops and manufactures food and nutritional supplements, Natucaps focuses on encapsulation for the nutraceutical sector, and Akumal works exclusively on sports nutrition for fitness and wellness brands. That separation is deliberate — manufacturing protein for athletes and manufacturing a softgel nutraceutical involve different processes, controls and risks.
What matters most to a brand evaluating manufacturers right now is what comes next: Akumal’s new plant in Peligros starts operating in September 2026, doubling production capacity and, according to the same report, placing Akumal among the first facilities in Spain audited for anti-doping assurance for athletes. The group also has a second 3,000 m² facility planned in Santa Fe to expand food supplement capacity.
You can see the group at barosalabs.com.
Why this matters if you are a US or non-EU brand
If you are evaluating European manufacturing against Asia, capacity and auditability are usually where the decision is actually made — not unit price.
- You can audit the plant. A facility two hours from a European airport can be visited, and its GMP or anti-doping certificates verified directly with the issuing body.
- The product is born EU-compliant. Formulated and labelled against Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 for health claims and (EU) 1169/2011 for labelling from day one — no reformulation to enter the single market. We cover this in health claims and EU supplement labelling.
- Lead times in weeks, not months. No ocean freight, no customs clearance for sales inside the EU, and a repeat-order cycle you can actually plan campaigns around.
- “Made in EU” is a selling argument in most European retail channels, and increasingly in the US premium segment.
How to verify all of it yourself
None of the above should be taken on trust. All of it is checkable, and mostly free:
- Annual accounts at the commercial registry. Every Spanish company files accounts, showing revenue, headcount and trend. If a manufacturer quotes a group figure, check which legal entity it belongs to: the group consolidated total is not the same as the subsidiary that will make your product.
- The certificate as a PDF, with the holder’s name. Ask for the document, not the claim. Check holder, issuing body, scope, plant address and validity.
- Visit the plant. A manufacturer who will not show you where your product will be made is telling you something. Look at whether the lines are running and how zones are separated.
- Ask for a reference in your format and volume — a client you can actually speak to, not a website testimonial.
- Run a pilot order before the large one. Measure the real repeat lead time, not the promised one.
What we do
Akumal manufactures sports nutrition exclusively, inside an industrial group with three plants — which lets us take a brand from its first batch to volumes that would normally force a change of supplier. We work with companies only: brands, distributors, gym chains and entrepreneurs who need a manufacturer able to grow with them.
If you are evaluating manufacturers, ask us for these five figures in writing and compare them with anyone else’s. Start with contract manufacturing or with private label if you prefer to build on formulas that are already developed, and meet the team and facilities on our about us page.
Request a quote and we will come back with formats, minimums, lead times and the capacity available for your project.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether a supplement manufacturer can keep up when my brand grows?
Ask for three verifiable figures in writing: the number of plants and production lines, installed capacity per format (kilos or units per month of powder, capsules and sticks), and the lead time on a repeat order rather than on the first production run. A manufacturer who only answers with their minimum order quantity is describing their floor, not their ceiling. Ask as well whether they belong to an industrial group with additional plants: that determines whether they can absorb a demand spike without you having to change supplier.
What is the difference between a small laboratory and a manufacturer backed by an industrial group?
A small laboratory usually offers lower minimums and direct contact with decision makers, but it concentrates risk: one breakdown, one audit or another client's demand spike can delay your batch. A manufacturer integrated into a group with several plants spreads that risk and lets you scale from hundreds to tens of thousands of units without requalifying the supplier, revalidating the formula or re-notifying the product to the health authority.
Why does it matter whose name is on the GMP certificate?
Because GMP certification is issued for specific premises and a specific legal entity, never for a commercial brand. If you manufacture through a group, what matters is that the plant where your batch is produced is certified and that batch traceability documents it. Always request the certificate showing the holder, the issuing body and the validity date, and check that the address matches the plant where your product will actually be made.
Why manufacture sports supplements in the EU instead of Asia?
Three reasons that usually outweigh unit price. First, regulatory alignment: a product made in the EU is formulated and labelled against Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 and (EU) 1169/2011 from the start, so it does not need reformulating to enter the single market. Second, lead time and logistics: weeks instead of months, no ocean freight and no customs clearance for EU sales. Third, auditability: you can visit the plant, and anti-doping and GMP audits are verifiable with the issuing body.
What is an anti-doping assurance audit and when do I need one?
It is an audit of the manufacturing process aimed at preventing cross-contamination with substances on the World Anti-Doping Agency list. You need it if your product targets competitive, federated or professional athletes: a contamination positive is the athlete's responsibility, which is why clubs and federations increasingly require products made in plants audited for this risk. If your market is recreational fitness only it is not essential, but it remains a strong commercial argument.