When you sign up to the free MHS client portal, you get nine short discovery videos. Together they cover what we used to explain in a one-hour discovery meeting, and more. You don't need to watch them all. Start with the intro, then watch the ones that match your product.
This page says what each video covers, so you know where to go first. Prices aren't on this page. They're in the videos and in the terms of service in your portal, which are kept current.
How the portal itself works is covered in how onboarding works at MHS.
Which videos to watch
| If you… | Watch |
|---|---|
| are starting from an idea | Intro → Formulation → Samples |
| already have a formulation | Intro → Samples |
| want a gummy | Intro → Gummies → Samples |
| want single-serve powder packs | Intro → Sachets |
| need a brand, label or packaging | Graphics |
| plan to sell online | Shopify → 3PL |
| want to test an idea yourself first | Forge |
1. Discovery intro — start here
How we bill, the three ways to start (Production Review & Pricing, Formulation, custom gummy development), how samples and other fees work, and how pricing works. It's the longest video, and it ends with advice you might not expect from a manufacturer: start with a smaller first order. Two to three hundred units instead of five hundred, with the rest of the budget going into marketing. A first order is for learning about your market. Break even and you've done well.
2. Formulation
What a formulation actually is: the exact form and amount per serve of every material, matched to packaging and documented for production. An ingredient list, even a detailed one, is a brief, not a formulation.
- Simple Formulation takes an estimated 6–8 weeks.
- Advanced Formulation takes an estimated 10–14 weeks. It is required for products aimed at children, the elderly, pregnant or breastfeeding women, or anyone with a clinical presentation.
- IP: the formulation and its documentation transfer to you once paid in full. They are never reused for another client.
- Separate services: flavour development and samples are not part of either formulation service.
3. Product development and samples
A formulation tells you what goes in. Only a sample tells you how it tastes, mixes and feels. Samples are made by our food technologists in Brisbane, with production materials. You book their time plus the materials used, rather than buying a sample off a shelf.
- Typical sample run times: powder 2–4 hours, gummy about 4 hours, liquid 2–3 hours.
- How many samples: some clients move forward after one, others have had close to ten. Each change is billed for the hours it takes.
- Feedback: a structured form asks how each attribute tastes now and where you want it.
4. Gummies
Custom gummy development is its own entry point, because the format shapes the formulation. Heat, texture, setting time and how much active a gummy can carry all change what's possible. Most gummy formulations can't be confirmed until they've been sampled.
- Production orders: from 100 units.
- Pilot run: 20–50 units can be made on the full production line to check final quality. They're packed in generic pouches and are not for retail sale.
- Curing: gelatine gummies are typically ready the next day. Pectin gummies cure for 3–5 days.
For the technical side, read what makes a gummy supplement technically feasible.
5. Sachets — from January 2027
In-house powder sachet packing starts in January 2027. This video explains how it will work.
- Fill range: 5 g to 50 g, with 20 g and 50 g as the standard sizes.
- Minimum order: 2,000 sachets, with a lead time of about 8 weeks.
- Do the sums: 2,000 sachets at 10 g a serve is only 20 kg of powder.
- Not every powder works in a sachet. Sticky, hygroscopic or very fine powders can fill unevenly, set solid or weaken the seal. A new powder needs a sample run first.
6. Graphics
Why your manufacturer is a good place to design your label: our designers work from your actual formulation and container. There are four services: Brand Kit, Product Label, Custom Packaging and Product Digital Assets.
- Included design time: each service includes 10 hours of design.
- Order of work: brand kit first, then a finalised formulation and a chosen container, then the label. Change the formula after the label is designed and it means extra design hours.
- Claims: the claims on a label are the brand owner's responsibility.
More in supplement packaging and labelling: what founders must decide.
7. Shopify
We build your store alongside product development, in your own Shopify account, so it stays yours. It covers up to 5 products and 2 collections, with analytics and Search Console connected.
The build runs in seven gated steps. It takes about 10 business days once the readiness check passes; allow 4–6 weeks from the first call to launch. The step that decides your launch date is readiness: your copy, photos and policies. Start writing early.
8. Forge rapid prototypes
Forge kits let you answer the cheap questions before paying for the expensive ones: does it taste right, does it mix, does the dose fit a serve? You need a clean kitchen bench and a good scale.
- The kits: eleven base kits across five categories, made to order in Brisbane by our production team. Allow about 28 days.
- Ordering: online, with no meeting or quote.
- A prototype isn't a product. It's roughly 60% of a commercial product, and not for sale.
9. 3PL fulfilment
When it's a few orders a day, fulfilment starts to take over your week. Because your stock is made here, a finished production run goes straight into our warehouse in south-east Queensland. There's no second freight bill.
- Orders: Shopify and Amazon orders flow in automatically.
- Tracking: every batch is tracked by lot and best-before date.
- Pricing structure: each shipment has one price, set by packed weight. It covers pick, pack, packaging and postage, with no weekly storage rent.
- Not handled: refrigerated goods, and hazardous or non-food items.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. They're in the free client portal, and signing up doesn't commit you to anything.
No. Watch the intro, then the ones that match your product.
In the videos and the terms of service in your portal.
MHS manufactures food-type supplements under FSANZ food standards, not TGA-listed therapeutic goods.