What makes an ordinary office employee, after an eight-hour working day, exhausted and tired, run to a fitness club or yoga class? The answer to this question would seem obvious... Everyone wants to be beautiful, healthy and strives to stay young as long as possible. For some, playing sports is an opportunity to maintain health. For others, it is nothing more than a fashion trend. In pursuit of beauty and youth, a person is ready to spend hours in the gym. And in between workouts, take special medications - protein shakes, supplements or vitamins to achieve better results.

Every year the industry sports nutrition is growing rapidly, giving rise to a countless stream of clients - professional athletes and amateurs. Only the lazy would not want to build a business on this. True, there are pitfalls here too. The site told readers what a newbie should pay attention to when starting a business. Anastasia Gorelova. A couple of years ago, she and her partners founded sports nutrition store "Olympus". Now the company is developing successfully, and famous Russian athletes are becoming its clients.

- Before you opened your business, were you somehow connected with sports?

No. Neither I nor my partners were involved in sports professionally. But this is not necessary. You need to have a good understanding of dietetics, know the range, composition of products and the purpose of components. All this comes with experience. Of course, I had to study on my own, or by collaborating with professional athletes and coaches.

- Why then did you decide to start a business in the field of sports nutrition?

It's simple - I worked as an employee in a store for several years sports nutrition. At one point, I decided that I could run this business better, and went “free swimming”. Moreover, at that time this direction was new and still poorly developed.

- Has anything changed by now?

Of course, there are significantly more competitors. Moreover, now this market is almost completely saturated, so it will be very difficult for newcomers to survive. There is a tough price fight going on. And the one who wins gets a penny benefit.

In such conditions, you can survive only by constantly developing and expanding your range, or offering new products and services. And this requires a certain financial stability and a base of regular customers.

- Do you need a license to sell sports nutrition?

No, a sales license is not required.

- Where do you buy food and in what price segment do you work?

Food is purchased from official dealers in Russia. We try to sell products that are accessible to people with absolutely any income.

- Do you prefer Russian or foreign manufacturers?

Imported food is much better in quality than Russian food. The fact is that the foreign market and production are much older than ours. As a result, foreigners encounter practically no obstacles in the form of domestic products.

Although there is an exception to this rule. This Aktiformula company from Krasnodar. They introduced their products to the market recently, but have already managed to gain a foothold in the segment between the cheapest food from neighboring countries and the more expensive - imported, but of better quality.

- Do you turn to third-party specialists, for example, nutritionists?

For now we can handle it ourselves. There are no specialists in this area in Chelyabinsk. Often, doctors, although well versed in dietetics, have little idea of ​​what sports nutrition is. Although in other cities there are already private medical practices. They deal with issues dietetics and make up the patient’s diet taking into account sports nutrition. But so far these are isolated cases.

- Do you cooperate with sports organizations?

We work with sports organizations. But more often with the athletes themselves. Such expenses are practically not provided for in the budget.

We work more closely with fitness clubs. We supply food to fitness bars and offer discounts to their clients.

- How is product sales organized?

On our this moment one offline store in the center of Chelyabinsk. The online store also operates successfully with free shipping to any point in the city.

- Are there famous athletes among your clients?

Among our clients are world champion in kettlebell lifting Ivan Denisov, strongman and showman Dmitry Kononets, Igor Podelko and Evgeny Gulyaev.

- What advice do you have for those who want to build their own business in sports nutrition?

I’d better tell you where you definitely shouldn’t start a business. You should not start a business without knowing all its features thoroughly and without having competitive advantages. Many people think that by reducing the price as much as possible and working practically at a loss, they can win over clients to their side.

But this is a dead-end path: anyone can reduce the price, but in the end, the one who has a more impressive financial “airbag” and a wider customer base. And this will clearly not be a newcomer.

Ekaterina Gonova

Sports nutrition as a business is fashionable and interesting. We will describe the profitability of such a project and reviews of entrepreneurs involved in selling special products for professionals.

Today, a healthy lifestyle and exercise in fitness clubs have become very popular, as people want to take care of their body and beautiful appearance. Thousands of men and women try to eat wisely, and those who visit sports facilities know about the benefits of special nutritional supplements. Therefore, building a business on such a hobby is a very promising idea.

Features of sports nutrition trade

The relevance of opening your own store to sell sports nutrition is confirmed by the following facts:

1. Every year in our country the demand for such food additives is only increasing.
2. The main consumers remain young people aged 25-40 years, mainly men who play sports at a professional level.
3. For most of them, there is no need to explain and prove the benefits of sports nutrition, since fitness club visitors know this.
4. Most often, such business is carried out by people with some experience in taking these drugs and they have a good understanding of the range of products.

In Russian cities, every year the demand for sports nutrition and its consumption increases by 10%, which provides certain prospects for a novice businessman.

Paperwork

To open a sports nutrition store you need to register your activity. To do this, choose one of the forms:

• IP – individual entrepreneurship, is characterized by small financial investments, simple accounting and ease of organization, but at the same time the person is responsible for all his property.
• LLC is a legal entity that involves maintaining complex accounting and tax reporting, large investments, but such a company will have more confidence from suppliers and buyers.

It’s up to you to decide which form of doing business you choose. Each option has its pros and cons, but much depends on the expected scale of activity, sales volumes and the number of founders.

In addition to registering with tax service, you still need to obtain permits from Rospotrebnadzor, the sanitary-epidemiological station and the fire inspectorate. When purchasing a product, it is important to always ensure that there are quality certificates for each type of product. If your clients are professional athletes, then you will additionally need to be tested by the World Anti-Doping Organization.

Store format

There are two ways to start selling sports nutrition:

1. Through the Internet - by creating a website on which the entire range of products offered is located with detailed description. You can make delivery yourself within the region, using courier services or postal shipments. This method helps to significantly save on renting premises, its repairs and wages to employees.
2. Regular a store involves convenient placement of goods in full view of the client and ample opportunities for its sale, but only within the city.

Enterprising businessmen combine both directions and get increased profits in short time.

Store premises

Large areas are not needed to display the entire range of products. Install several racks for convenient placement of goods and place a stand for the seller and cash register. A separate warehouse for storage is also not required, because sports nutrition has a limited shelf life. It is better to purchase it in small quantities and immediately lay it out on the sales floor.

There is no need for any equipment or complex repairs to the premises. Here's what you should pay attention to Special attention, so this is the location of the store. Of course, you can open it on a crowded city street, rent part shopping center etc. But the best solution is to place it next to fitness clubs or even on their territory.

In order to save money, you can try to rent a small space in a sporting goods store or simply sell products through them. It also makes sense to collaborate with fitness trainers, gyms, and professional athletes directly.

Product range

The sports nutrition industry today offers a wide variety of specialized products. The main food additives in this area are:

• Proteins, that is, proteins, are the most popular group of products that help gain muscle mass.
• Vitamin complexes - designed to replenish the body with essential microelements, are especially needed when following a diet during weight loss.
• Creatine is responsible for the body's endurance and helps make workouts more intense and rewarding.
• Amino acids - restore muscles at the cellular level after physical activity.
• Fat burners – promote the breakdown of fats and release the necessary energy for exercise.
• Substances that help improve the condition of ligaments and joints, strengthen them and function properly.

In addition, there are also various energy bars, drinks, cocktails, combination mixtures and other products. It is important to be able to select the right combination of products for each client, depending on their needs, health status and goals.

Do not try to purchase large volumes of goods at once, because they cannot be kept on shelves for a long time, but must be used for their intended purpose in a short time. Therefore, focus on the most popular and in-demand varieties, and offer rare nutritional supplements in the form of an individual order from the catalog.

Their production technology is quite complex and is tested for quality and composition in specialized laboratories. You only need to sell products that are certified, comply with all standards and have passed anti-doping control. Pay attention to what the supplements are made from, whether they have a natural or synthetic base, etc. This often worries buyers when choosing a particular brand.

It is worth noting that professional athletes prefer expensive, but proven and popular foreign brands. Domestic manufacturers are distinguished by a low price, but also a slightly worse quality of the additive composition. Therefore, only beginners or amateurs purchase them.

Supplier search

Please note that purchasing products through wholesalers or distributors is not the most the best option. Because their conditions will not make it possible to set a favorable price for the goods for you. It is advisable to cooperate directly with sports nutrition manufacturers and make a markup of 70%. Then the product will not seem too expensive for the buyer, and the store owner will be able to make money.

Staff

Pay special attention to finding consultants for the store. They must meet the following requirements:

1. Have personal experience use of sports nutritional supplements and have a good understanding of the entire range of products offered.
2. Be sociable and pay attention to each visitor, politely answer questions, help choose the right product depending on the buyer’s needs.
3. Have a pleasant, attractive, sporty appearance. It should be clear from the person that he belongs to the same group of people as the store’s main customers.

Download for free as a sample.

Marketing strategy

Since such a business is closely related to in a healthy way life, then advertising should be aimed at sports, weight loss, and maintaining health. Place advertisements in fitness clubs, on forums where athletes gather, register in relevant communities and groups, and establish contacts with trainers.

Today, promotions such as free goods for posting a post on a page, various bonuses, and holiday discounts are very popular. discount cards regular customers. In order to attract clients, you can offer additional products to sports nutrition kits in the form of catalogs, training courses, etc.

Take the time to design your own website, where you can calmly study information about the composition and action of the products offered, and place an order online or by phone.

Another effective marketing move is to become a sponsor of any sporting competition. You will give souvenirs to the participants, certificates for the purchase of goods to the winners, and at the same time you will receive a large audience of potential buyers.

Financial part

To determine whether it is profitable or not to start a project selling sports nutrition, it is advisable to draw up a store business plan with calculations in advance. This will give visual information about profitability and rate of return on investment.

If you hire staff for trading, then you will have to add monthly costs wages. The level of profit is influenced by many factors - the number of customers, the range offered, pricing policy, the cost of purchasing goods from suppliers, etc.

According to average estimates, the full payback of the business occurs within six months, but with a competent approach and a good location of the store, you can count on shorter periods. In any case, the profitability level does not fall below 25-30%.

Video: how is sports nutrition produced in Europe?

Sports nutrition is a pretty interesting business idea. And not only because this market is not yet developed in Russia and is not overpopulated with competitors, but also because of its low cost. You can open a sports nutrition store with a relatively small amount of money.

But, nevertheless, with all the above advantages, the profitability of a sports nutrition store is in question. First of all, due to the limited circle of potential clients.

The problem can be solved by using the following tips:

1. Choose the right place. Sports and recreation centers, gyms, sports clubs, fitness centers - this is where you will find your target audience. You can open your own store nearby, negotiate with the administration of the establishments, giving them a percentage of sales, or even do without an offline representative office altogether by opening your own online store and promoting it.
2. Find the right suppliers. Suppliers should provide you with a good wholesale price, such that you can make a markup of 50% or more (this is the norm for sports nutrition). If you sell at a minimum markup, you won’t increase the store’s profitability. Although we should never forget about the quality of the products.
3. Choose the hottest products. If you have a limited budget, you should trade only the hottest products. For a sports nutrition store, these are primarily creatine and proteins, products for joints and ligaments, fat burners, gainers, vitamins and minerals. Over time, based on demand, the list of goods can be adjusted.
4. Promote your product. Any successful businessman knows that advertising is an integral part of every successful enterprise. Use every possible means to communicate your offer to target audience– announcements in places where athletes gather (not necessarily offline, these can be thematic sites or groups in in social networks), promotions, consultations.

What do people think

When you talk about a markup of 50% or more, you probably mean working with our eastern suppliers, in particular China, right? You have to be very careful here, since Chinese salespeople have earned a reputation for being very unreliable. The next point is clients. There are also many pitfalls here, primarily related to the fickleness of fashion trends in this area and the various tasks facing athletes. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that many of the sports nutrition offered in other countries may be illegal in our country, even in our small town there have already been cases of closure sports store because of problems like this.

Well, in general, the article is useful, this is roughly how I saw myself working with this new and, in general, quite profitable area of ​​our market!

Anton, it’s correct that no permissions are required. In essence, this is the same food, enriched with substances and components necessary for a particular athlete. But as for “figuring it out for yourself,” this is certainly true, since there are plenty of unscrupulous suppliers on this market, which is generally new for Russia!

For me, the very phrase “sports nutrition” is associated with something harmful to health. And there are many like me, so you will still need to somehow convince that your diet is oh, how healthy.

Starover, Sports nutrition is not initially positioned as a medicine, it only helps solve some of the problems facing athletes more effectively and in a shorter time. Regarding their real effectiveness, this is, of course, correctly noted, because everything that is harmless can be allowed into domestic markets. Whether this will be beneficial is a big question.

This is not grocery store, but the product is for a narrow circle of people, athletes and those who go to such a store will know very well why they are going.
And as for the fact that many people think that this is harmful, of course yes, but these are usually people who don’t understand anything and they don’t need it.
“Protein is a chemical and it’s not worth a damn.”

Anton, the problem here is not only in relation to customers, but also in the vulnerability of products from all sorts of inspections and “test purchases”. It is precisely because there are no uniform standards in sports nutrition that this confusion arises. But as a result, stores close and entrepreneurs go bankrupt.

I can add two points: choosing a supplier and promotion.

• need to find. Because in partner stores the conditions are not very favorable, unless you play on percentages. The prices there are already marked up, yours can be from 10 to 60%. But the price is high, it’s not a fact that they will buy it. And no one will order from China. Quality comes first;
• if there is a product and you can put a normal promotion - promotion is not a problem. Thematic groups on VKontakte. It's going great. Not even really famous brands. In addition, once a month (for starters) or once a week (for a more or less promoted store) you can do a draw - 6 kg of a can of Synta as a gift for reposting.

For some reason, I have no doubt about the profitability of a sports nutrition store. And I support prolisk with his advice. You can also create a website or forum where local bodybuilders can hang out. There, it is unobtrusive to recommend certain products. It would be useful to create a “consultation” section so that people can consult a nutritionist about a particular diet.

Polina, in my city with a population of 100 thousand people, there are only about ten “jocks” left. And they, apparently, are too lazy to even create their own forum: I haven’t seen anything like this on the RuNet. Of course, those who are involved in fitness, swimming and even football can buy such food, but it will be quite difficult to convince them that they need to eat in a special way!

Ostrovitjanin, I agree with you. Opening a sports nutrition store in a not-so-sporting area of ​​the population is stupid. But there is one “but” here too. Sports nutrition is not just about protein supplements. In our block there are a couple of sports nutrition stores that sell vitamins, dietary supplements, and some cocktails. I myself prefer to buy my vitamins in these stores rather than in a pharmacy. Once I ran into a couple of jocks in a store who came in just to have a cocktail after a workout. I can see this store from the balcony and athletic young people always hang out there. Hence, by the way, the opinion about profitability.

Now you understand how the dispute differs from the discussion on our forum. 😉 You and I have come to a common denominator. And how mistaken are those who believe that it is in dispute that truth is born!

Regarding the profitability of a sports nutrition store, I was thinking along the lines of “ healthy eating" The doctor recently prescribed me Coenzyme Q-10. In all pharmacies these pills are from some dubious manufacturers. This is understandable - distributors supply what is cheaper. And only in a sports nutrition store I found what I needed. Moreover, the seller recommended 2 more drugs for better absorption of coenzyme. The pharmacists were “out of the loop”, can you imagine! And this guy knows almost everything about vitamins and dietary supplements. Just some kind of miracles.

I support. And one more piece of advice. No need to chase high prices. That is, you should not “soar” a more expensive product. It’s better to say something like this: “We have this drug - Pusidron. Its price is 1000 rubles. He's the best. Here good quality. There is also MegaDRON, but it costs 6,000. But you know, this is only a brand, they do not differ in quality.”

And be sure to mention the cheap options and why you shouldn’t take them: “There are proteins from Atlant, Buronon, and Kartoshkon. They cost 500 rubles each, but then it’s better to just drink milk. They will not give any result. There are also packaged proteins - but who knows what's in there, right? For this reason, I can recommend Pusidron and similar in quality and price - Andron, Glutanchik, Kachek-Malysh.”

The main thing is to mention expensive and cheap products, and note why you are advising exactly what you are advising.

I have not seen such stores in my city, which means there is little competition here. I know many guys and girls who actively play sports and order sports nutrition from online stores.

Price markup of 50%?? It seems to me that at this rate people will start looking for such goods on the Internet on suppliers’ websites where the goods can be bought much cheaper. Of course, I understand that this is possible and the norm for a store, but it still sounds too cool

karines, it’s not so cool if the average trade markup is at least 80%! Sports nutrition is still the “elite”, the “top layer”, so to speak, of goods for everyday consumption; there may be only a dozen points in the city where this product can be bought. Therefore, I think that a 50% markup is even a minuscule amount; by selling sports nutrition with such a profit, you are selling it at a “discount”. And, mind you, even during a crisis, not many people dump in this area: yes, the number of sports nutrition consumers has decreased, but the “fans” remain, and at their expense, presumably, the lost profit from departed customers will now be compensated!

Soon such stores will become more popular. People actively began to exercise and monitor their diet. Therefore, if you have the means, why not open just such a store.

With this legal form You can open a business with partners, for which it is not suitable.

Individuals who are founders of an LLC should not be liable for its obligations with their own property - in case of problems, they only lose the contribution they made to the authorized capital.

There are other differences between individual entrepreneurs and LLCs related to the features and methods of management, lending and investing. To clarify complex issues and finally decide on the optimal organizational and legal form, you can consult a specialist.

Registration as an individual entrepreneur

If you are going to open one small shop and have no plans for further expansion, registration as an individual entrepreneur would be optimal. The application for registration can be downloaded on the Federal Tax Service website http://www.nalog.ru/cdn/form/4162994.pdf.

Choosing a tax system

Renting premises for a sports nutrition store

Sports nutrition is a fairly compact product. Showcases for its placement will not take up much space, and, therefore, The store area may be quite small.To start with30 sq.m. is enough. m.retail space.

For a city with a population of one million, the rent for such premises, which includes payment utilities, can be about 60 thousand rubles.

Two good location options for a sports nutrition store

• a place with high traffic - for example, near the metro;
• a point next to a large fitness club or close to a sporting goods and sports equipment store - that is, a place where regulars often visit gyms and other athletes.

It is also possible in the same room with a fitness club, combined with its fitness bar - that is, a place where athletes can drop in before, after, or even in the middle of a workout to rest a little, relax and drink a cup or two of protein, gainer or energy drink.

After the rental agreement for the premises has been concluded, you need to go through necessary approval procedures with the SES, Gospozharnadzdor and the city administration.

Shop equipment

If you still don’t intend to combine a store with a fitness bar, you won’t need to purchase any special equipment. It will be enough to purchase:

• racks and shelves;
• video surveillance if the store operates on a self-service system;
• cash machine.

Purchase of a starting batch of goods

The purchase of the initial batch of goods is the main expense item. To purchase a minimum batch from wholesalers you will need about 15,000 rubles, and the minimum amount that it is advisable to spend on this is near200,000 rub. This money is already enough to create a good assortment - the more goods, the greater the turnover.

Most consumers prefer products from foreign brands, such as German Multipower and Weider. It is considered to be of higher quality and more effective than sports nutrition from domestic manufacturers, and research shows that this opinion is completely true.

At the same time, the products Russian companies there is an important advantage - low price. For this reason, it is often preferred by beginner athletes and simply athletes who want to save money. When selecting an assortment, regional characteristics should also be taken into account: as a rule, the preferences of athletes in different cities and regions differ.

It should also be taken into account that sports nutrition must have state registration, which confirms its safety and compliance with the technical regulations of the Customs Union TR CU 021/2011.

Store staff

The best sales consultants will be people who play sports themselves and, therefore, are well versed in sports nutrition. Good sellers who can give the visitor competent advice on any issue - this is the main condition for successful trading.

Anotherimportant point -Thisappearance sellers.

If they look athletic and fit, and the male salespeople also have good muscle mass, you can expect that customers will gain confidence both in them and in the store as a whole.

Business plan for a sports nutrition store

Sports nutrition in the form of a small point - for example, in a shopping center - will require 300-400 thousand rubles or more. The exact amount depends on the region.

The payback period is influenced by many factors, but on average, with proper organization of the business, you can achieve profit within six months.

If the business has already gained momentum, a good customer base has been developed, and contracts with suppliers have been concluded for good conditions,monthly sports nutrition area of ​​30 sq. m. may look like this:

• revenue 500,000 rubles;
• net profit 50,000 rub.

Nuances and possible problems when starting a business

Since sports nutrition is not an essential product, during a crisis its sales, as a rule, decrease significantly. Therefore, the difficult situation in the economy is This is not the best background for starting such a business.

On the other hand, it was noted above that the number of people who take training seriously is quite large and is constantly growing, so the sports nutrition market is very promising, and if you have a good plan, you can successfully enter it even in difficult crisis years.

Since the share of domestic products in the sports nutrition market is low and does not exceed 10-15%, in conditions of a low exchange rate of the national currency or large fluctuations in the exchange rate, procurement problems may arise that you must be able to cope with.

And in conclusion I would like to remind you of one simple thing: Many people think about creating their own business, but only a few decide to get down to business. Meanwhile, opening a sports nutrition store can be the very step that will allow you to stop working “for someone else” and lay a solid foundation for your financial well-being.

A well-thought-out action plan, good knowledge of the topic, perseverance and determination will definitely allow you to achieve success.

sports nutrition franchise, you can find out in the following new video: