Why the way you supply matters
A supplement recommendation is one part of a plan you build with a client, alongside food, sleep, movement and stress load. You choose a form, a dose and a brand for reasons: composition, tolerance, quality standards, budget. If the client then buys something roughly similar from a general retailer, the plan they follow is no longer quite the plan you wrote.
That makes supply a practice question rather than a sales question. A good set-up gets the right product to the client quickly, keeps the price clear and leaves your time for consultations. Recommending products is an established part of nutritional therapy and naturopathy, and the UK professional codes treat it as such: they ask you to act in the client's best interests and to be open about any financial interest. Once your model is clear, both are straightforward.
The four models
1. Buy stock and resell it
You open a trade account with a brand or a wholesaler, buy at trade price, keep stock in your clinic and sell to clients at the price you set. Cytoplan's practitioner terms, for example, state that trade prices are calculated by discounting approximately 40% of the retail price net of VAT, and that practitioners can buy goods to hold as stock for resale to clients. In the Netherlands and Belgium, Varuvo, a supplier to health professionals, advertises purchase prices up to 35% below the consumer advised price and next-day delivery in both countries.
What it gives you: the client leaves with the products in hand, and you control the price.
What it asks: cash tied up in stock, expiry dates to watch, storage, payment handling and VAT. In the UK, HMRC treats vitamin and mineral supplements as standard-rated (VAT Notice 701/14, section 4.2), and VAT registration becomes compulsory once taxable turnover over the previous 12 months goes above £90,000. In Ireland, Revenue sets the registration threshold at €42,500 for persons supplying services only and €85,000 for persons supplying goods, or goods and services where at least 90% of turnover comes from goods. Product sales add to your turnover, so a busy shelf can change your VAT position.
2. Buy, and let the supplier ship to the client
A variant of the first model removes the shelf. You still buy and resell, but the supplier delivers your order straight to the client. Varuvo's client ordering service works this way: you enter the client's address as the delivery address, the invoice stays in your name, and you hold no stock.
What it gives you: no storage and no expired stock, with control of the price you charge.
What it asks: you remain the seller, so you still invoice the client, handle payment and carry the VAT position that goes with product sales.
3. A practitioner account with each brand
Many professional brands run practitioner accounts. You are verified first (Cytoplan asks for a governing body and/or insurance certificate), then you send recommendations, and the client orders from the brand using a code that links them to you. Cytoplan publishes its terms in full: commission of up to 33% on linked client orders, which you can pass on in part or in full as a client discount, a 35% discount on a client's first order with your code, and a basket-sharing feature to send a recommendation directly. The same terms forbid publishing discount codes on public-facing media.
What it gives you: no stock, no payment handling, delivery straight to the client, and, with brands such as Cytoplan, practitioner resources and CPD.
What it asks: one account, one code and one order per brand. If your plan uses three brands, your client places three orders, receives three parcels and may pay three delivery charges, and you reconcile three commission statements.
4. A multi-brand online dispensary or platform
An online dispensary brings many brands into one catalogue. You recommend from it, the client orders once and the dispensary delivers.
What it gives you: multi-brand plans in a single order, no stock and no payment handling.
What it asks: you depend on the platform's catalogue and its delivery area, and on its own rules for codes, discounts and verification.
The main platforms work as follows.
The Natural Dispensary (UK). A family-owned business based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, it describes its mission as making it easy for practitioners to suggest the supplements and foods they think will best support their clients, and for clients to buy everything they need under one roof. Its registration form offers three account types (client, qualified practitioner, student practitioner) and asks clients for the name of their referring practitioner or a registration code provided by the practitioner.
YourHealthBasket (UK). Its practitioner portal lets you send orders directly to clients or share a tailored basket for the client to order themselves, without holding stock. Its practitioner terms describe commission paid through a practitioner code, at rates that may vary by product, brand and category, with payouts in GBP and the option to offer clients a discount. Codes may only be shared with genuine clients, never on coupon or discount sites.
Fullscript (US and Canada). A North American platform. Accounts are free for providers and their patients, and practitioners set their own dispensing margins within Fullscript's guidelines; a no-profit option gives patients a 10% discount instead. Its help centre states that dispensaries serve patients in the US and Canada only. A practitioner based in Europe can therefore use it for clients living in those two countries, not for clients at home.
Simplycure (France, Belgium, Luxembourg). A multi-brand platform listing over 4,500 products from more than 250 laboratories. The practitioner sends a recommendation link and the client orders the whole recommendation in one basket. The practitioner sets a commission of up to 20% on each product, with the same cap across all brands, and keeps it or turns it into a client discount. Its terms require a health degree recognised in Belgium or France.
The models and platforms side by side
The comparison table is at the end of this article.
What your professional body and the advertising rules expect
None of these models is a compliance problem in itself. What the rules ask is transparency with the client and care in what you write publicly about products.
Declaring a financial interest in the UK
The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) Code of Conduct, Ethics and Performance, section C.6, says that you must act in your clients' best interests, and that this includes "any products that you recommend clients should use and, if you sell the products yourself, the amount you charge for them". It adds that you should tell clients about your involvement or interest in "an organisation that sells the products you are recommending". Section B.3 lists "the financial implications of the recommended care" among the information usually shared with clients. BANT has adopted the CNHC Code in its own guidelines, and its Professional Practice Handbook, reserved for members, builds on it.
In practice this takes one line in your terms of engagement: you may receive a commission or margin on products you recommend, and the client is free to buy the same product elsewhere. Transparency also protects the trust that makes a recommendation worth following.
What you can say about a product
Whatever the supply model, the rules on claims follow the product. In the UK, section 15 of the CAP Code sets the rules for marketing communications about food supplements; if you promote products on your website, social channels or newsletter, it is worth reading before you write. Only authorised health claims on the applicable register may be used (rules 15.1.1 and 15.7). Claims that a food prevents, treats or cures human disease are not allowed (rule 15.6.2), nor are health claims that refer to the recommendation of an individual health professional (rule 15.6.3). The CNHC Code, section C.4, adds that your advertising must use only factual and verifiable information.
In the EU, the same principles come from Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. Article 10(1) prohibits health claims unless they are authorised and included in the list annexed to Regulation (EU) 432/2012, and Article 12(c) rules out claims that refer to the recommendations of individual doctors or health professionals. Great Britain retained this regulation after Brexit and now keeps its own register, separate from the EU register.
Codes and discounts
Several platforms set rules of their own. Cytoplan does not permit discount codes on public-facing media, and YourHealthBasket's terms rule out sharing a practitioner code on coupon, cashback or deal sites. If you like to publish offers, check each provider's terms before you post.
How to choose for your practice
Start from how you work rather than from the platforms.
- Mostly in person, a small and stable range: a shelf or a supplier that ships to the client can work well, provided you budget for stock and keep an eye on your VAT turnover.
- Mostly online, clients spread across a country: a dispensary or platform that delivers directly saves you every parcel.
- Loyal to one or two brands: their practitioner accounts are often the simplest route, with education included.
- Plans that combine several brands: a multi-brand dispensary means one order and one delivery for the client.
- Clients in more than one country: check the published delivery area first. It is the criterion that rules out the most options. If your professional body or insurer sets conditions on selling products, check those too.
What this means for you
Pick the model that fits the way you practise, not the one a brand happens to offer first. If you hold stock, budget the cash and watch your VAT turnover. If you use a platform, confirm that it delivers to the country where your clients live before you build your workflow around it. Write one clear sentence about commission into your terms of engagement and keep your discount codes inside your client relationship. Done this way, recommending supplements strengthens your plans and your clients' trust.
Key points
- There are four supply models: own stock, buy and let the supplier ship to the client, practitioner accounts with brands, and multi-brand online dispensaries or platforms.
- Holding stock means cash, storage, payment handling and VAT; in the UK, vitamin and mineral supplements are standard-rated and registration applies above £90,000 of taxable turnover.
- Country coverage differs: Fullscript serves patients in the US and Canada only, Varuvo delivers in the Netherlands and Belgium, Simplycure works in France, Belgium and Luxembourg.
- The CNHC Code, adopted by BANT, asks you to tell clients about your interest in an organisation that sells the products you recommend.
- Health claims must be authorised: CAP Code section 15 in the UK, Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 in the EU, and neither allows claims based on an individual health professional's recommendation.
If you practise in France, Belgium or Luxembourg, Simplycure lets you recommend supplements from more than 250 laboratories without holding stock or handling payments: the client orders the whole recommendation in one basket and is delivered directly, and the platform is free for practitioners. More than 15,000 practitioners use it. Create a free practitioner account.
This article is informational and does not replace legal, tax, accounting or professional conduct advice. Platform terms, commission rates and delivery areas change; check them with each provider before you commit. The author is not a healthcare professional; this article covers practice organisation and the regulatory framework, not clinical content. Simplycure is one of the platforms described.
Sources
- Fullscript help centre, "Dispensary setup for international providers". https://support.fullscript.com/articles/dispensary-setup-for-international-practitioners (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Fullscript, account pricing. https://fullscript.com/pricing (accessed 8 October 2026)
- The Natural Dispensary, home page and registration form. https://naturaldispensary.co.uk/ ; https://naturaldispensary.co.uk/register (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Integrative and Personalised Medicine Congress, exhibitor page "The Natural Dispensary". https://www.ipmcongress.com/exhibitors/the-natural-dispensary-1 (accessed 8 October 2026)
- YourHealthBasket, virtual dispensary and practitioner portal. https://yourhealthbasket.co.uk/virtual-dispensary/ (accessed 8 October 2026)
- YourHealthBasket, practitioner terms and conditions and practitioner registration. https://yourhealthbasket.co.uk/practitioner-terms-conditions/ ; https://yourhealthbasket.co.uk/practitioner/ (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Cytoplan, supporting our practitioners. https://www.cytoplan.co.uk/supporting-our-practitioners (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Cytoplan, trade practitioner standard account terms and conditions. https://www.cytoplan.co.uk/practitioner/terms-conditions (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Varuvo, home page. https://www.varuvo.nl/ (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Varuvo, client ordering service. https://www.varuvo.nl/bestelservice-voor-clienten (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Simplycure, home page, pricing and terms of use. https://www.simplycure.com/en ; https://www.simplycure.com/en/pricing ; https://www.simplycure.com/en/conditions-generales (accessed 8 October 2026)
- CNHC, Code of Conduct, Ethics and Performance (effective 1 June 2014, updated May 2024), sections B.3, C.4 and C.6. https://cnhc.org.uk/assets/code-of-conduct-ethics-and-performance (accessed 8 October 2026)
- BANT, about the Professional Practice Handbook and Panel. https://bant.org.uk/bant-professional-practice-handbook/about-the-professional-practice-handbook-panel/ (accessed 8 October 2026)
- ASA and CAP, CAP Code section 15, food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims. https://www.asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_section/15.html (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods, Articles 10 and 12. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32006R1924 ; https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2006/1924/article/12 (accessed 8 October 2026)
- HMRC, Food products and VAT (VAT Notice 701/14), section 4.2. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/food-products-and-vat-notice-70114 (accessed 8 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, register for VAT. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat (accessed 8 October 2026)
- Revenue, VAT thresholds. https://www.revenue.ie/en/vat/vat-registration/who-should-register-for-vat/vat-thresholds.aspx (accessed 8 October 2026)
