What should a supplement brand check in a marketing agency contract?
A supplement brand should check ten things in a marketing agency contract: term and notice, scope, fees and ad-spend billing, ownership of the store, accounts, lists and creative, claim approval, adverse-event routing, data handling, reporting, performance terms, and termination and handover. For supplement brands, claim approval matters most, because one unapproved disease claim in an ad can become an FTC or FDA problem.
- Own every account: the domain, ecommerce store, Amazon seller account, ad accounts, email and SMS lists and subscription data should all sit in the brand's name.
- Put claim approval in writing: no ad, product page, email or influencer brief goes live until a named person at the brand signs it off.
- Route adverse events fast: if the agency runs comments, DMs or support inboxes, the contract should make it forward any health complaint to the brand the same business day.
- Never accept guaranteed ROAS or revenue, and make the handover list a schedule to the contract.
- Every practice welcome — retainers from $499/mo, Goals-Driven engagements, Performance-Linked Payout Models available.
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Which clauses in a supplement brand's marketing contract matter most?
Ten clauses carry most of the risk in a supplement brand's agency contract. They cover term, scope, money, ownership, claim approval, adverse-event routing, data, reporting, performance terms and exit. Check each against the table below. A clause that is missing is as much a problem as one that is badly written.
Supplement brands face exposures that a generic services contract ignores. Your product claims are regulated by both the FTC and the FDA. Your customer list, subscription base and marketplace listings are the business. Your agency may be the first to see a customer report a bad reaction. A good contract deals with all of that in plain words.
This page is a buyer's checklist, not legal advice. Have an attorney who knows FTC and FDA rules review the final contract before you sign it.
| Clause | What good looks like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Term and notice | Month-to-month, or a short first term with a written notice period | Long lock-in that auto-renews unless you cancel in a narrow window |
| Scope and deliverables | A monthly list: campaigns managed, ad creatives, product page edits, emails and SMS sends, content pieces, creator briefs, reports | "Full-funnel growth" with no named outputs |
| Fees and ad-spend billing | Separate lines for management fee, setup fee and ad budget; spend charged to your own ad accounts | One blended invoice where you cannot see what reached Google, Meta or Amazon |
| Ownership of assets | Brand owns domain, store, seller account, ad and analytics accounts, lists, creative, product photos and code | Agency opens the ad account, store or email platform in its own name |
| Claim approval | Written sign-off by a named brand person before anything goes live; agency drafts only from an approved claims list | Agency writes and launches copy on its own judgment |
| Adverse-event routing | Health complaints in comments, DMs, reviews or support forwarded to the brand the same business day | No mention of health complaints at all |
| Data handling | Named tools, access limits, a data-processing addendum, and a BAA where HIPAA applies | Customer data copied into the agency's own tools with no terms |
| Reporting | Set cadence; named metrics such as new-customer cost, repeat rate, subscription retention and contribution margin; live data access | Reports built on reach, clicks and platform-reported ROAS only |
| Performance terms | Agreed goals, how they are measured, and what happens if they are missed | Guaranteed ROAS, revenue or "page one" rankings |
| Termination, handover, IP and non-solicit | Written handover list and period; brand owns paid-for creative; narrow, mutual non-solicit | Handover "on request" for a fee, or the agency keeps rights to your creative |
Who should own the store, ad accounts, customer lists and creative?
The brand should own every account and file it pays for. That includes the domain, the ecommerce store, the Amazon seller account, Google Ads, the Meta business portfolio, analytics, the email and SMS platforms, the subscription app and every customer list. The agency should hold user or partner access, never sole ownership.
Supplement brands lose the most when lists and listings sit with the agency. An email list built under an agency login, or an Amazon listing created in an agency's account, can take months to recover. Some brands only learn this when they try to leave. Our guide to marketplace and DTC strategy explains why both channels need to stay in your hands.
Wording to look for
- "All accounts, domains, listings, customer data, content, creative and code created for the Client are the property of the Client."
- "Agency will be granted user or partner access. Ownership and billing remain with the Client."
- "Raw and edited photo and video files will be delivered to a Client-owned drive each month."
- "Creator and influencer content licenses will name the Client as licensee, with usage periods stated."
Creator content needs its own terms
Influencer videos are often licensed, not owned. The contract should say who signs the creator agreement, how long you can use each video in ads, and whether whitelisting access ends when the agency leaves. If the agency signs creators in its own name, your best-performing ads may stop the day you part ways.
How should claim approval and substantiation be written into the contract?
The contract should say that the agency drafts from an approved claims list, and that a named person at the brand signs off every ad, product page, email, landing page and creator brief before it runs. It should also say the agency will not add new health claims, before-and-after promises or disease language without written approval.
Supplements may make structure/function claims under DSHEA, but not claims to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Those claims need the FDA disclaimer, and the brand must notify FDA within 30 days of first marketing them, under 21 CFR § 101.93. The FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance expects health claims to rest on competent and reliable scientific evidence, generally randomized controlled trials in people. A clever headline does not change that.
Claim terms to include
- A claims list, owned by the brand, that ties each approved claim to its substantiation file.
- A written approval step, with a named approver and a turnaround time.
- A ban on disease claims in ads, comments, replies and creator scripts.
- Clear disclosure rules for creators and affiliates, in line with the FTC Endorsement Guides.
- No fake, bought or insider reviews, in line with the FTC rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, which took effect in October 2024.
- A takedown clause: the agency removes any flagged content within an agreed time.
Adverse events are a contract issue too
Under 21 U.S.C. § 379aa-1, the brand named on the label must send serious adverse event reports to FDA no later than 15 business days after receiving them, and keep records for six years. If your agency moderates comments, DMs or reviews, it may be the first to see one. The contract should make it forward any health complaint to the brand the same business day, without replying with medical advice. Our guide to FTC and FDA supplement advertising rules covers the claim rules in more depth.
How should fees, ad spend and performance terms be set?
Write fees as three lines: a fixed management fee, any one-time setup fee, and the ad budget. Ad spend should be charged to the brand inside its own Google, Meta and Amazon accounts. If the agency takes a percentage of spend or revenue, the contract should state the minimum, the cap and the exact data source used to calculate it.
Agency retainers in the US commonly range widely, from a few hundred to many thousands of dollars a month, depending on scope and ad spend. The figure matters less than whether each dollar can be traced. At Ichelon Consulting US, retainers start from $499/month and are custom-scoped, with ad spend billed separately in accounts the client owns. Our nutraceutical agency cost guide explains the main pricing models.
Money questions to settle in writing
- Is the fee fixed, a percentage of spend, a percentage of revenue, or a mix?
- Which revenue counts: DTC only, Amazon too, gross or net of refunds and discounts?
- Who pays for creator fees, product samples, shoot days and stock footage?
- Who approves discounts and subscription offers, and who carries their cost?
- When can fees rise, and how much notice must the agency give?
Performance terms that are fair
Fair terms name a goal, the data source and a review date. A goal might be new-customer cost on the DTC store, measured in your own analytics. Guaranteed ROAS or revenue is a red flag, because an agency cannot control product, pricing, stock or seasonality. Ichelon Consulting US runs Goals-Driven engagements: monthly goals agreed with the client and tracked live, with a report every Monday. Performance-Linked Payout Models are available where the data is clean enough to measure.
What data and privacy terms should a supplement brand ask for?
Ask for a data-processing addendum that names every tool the agency will use, who can access customer data, where it is stored and how it is deleted at exit. Most supplement brands are not HIPAA covered entities, but state consumer health data laws and the FTC still apply to health-related data. A BAA belongs in the contract where HIPAA applies.
Health-related purchase data is sensitive even outside HIPAA. Washington's My Health My Data Act protects consumer health data that falls outside HIPAA, requires consent before it is collected or shared in many cases, and can be enforced by the Attorney General and through private lawsuits. A sleep, fertility or weight-support purchase can reveal health information. Ask your attorney whether your products and customers bring you into scope.
Data terms to include
- A list of pixels, tags and server-side tools, and what product or quiz data each one sends.
- No health-quiz answers or condition-specific data passed to ad platforms without legal sign-off.
- Email and SMS sent only to people with documented consent, with opt-outs honored. Email must follow the CAN-SPAM Act.
- Subscription checkout and cancellation copy approved by the brand, because federal law requires clear terms, express consent and a simple way to cancel recurring charges.
- Deletion or return of all customer data within an agreed period after the contract ends.
Ichelon Consulting US signs a Business Associate Agreement with every US client and sets up HIPAA-aware tracking by default, which suits brands that sell through practitioners or clinics.
What should termination, handover and non-solicit terms say?
Termination terms should give either side the right to leave on written notice, with a fixed handover period and a handover list attached as a schedule. Handover should not carry an extra fee. Non-solicit terms should be mutual, narrow and time-limited. You should keep full rights to the creative, copy and code you paid for.
A supplement brand's handover list
- Owner access to the store, domain, DNS and hosting.
- Admin access to Google Ads, Meta, Amazon advertising, analytics and tag manager, with the agency removed after handover.
- Exports of email and SMS lists, flows, templates and consent records.
- The claims list, approval log and any substantiation notes the agency holds.
- All creative files, creator agreements and usage-right dates.
- A log of open adverse-event or complaint threads passed to the brand.
- Campaign notes, naming conventions and a list of active tests.
Plan the exit before you sign, not after. Our first 90 days with a new supplement agency page shows how a good onboarding sets up clean ownership from day one. If you want a second view of a contract you have been sent, you can book a call with the US team, or start at our supplement and D2C health brand marketing page.
Related pages from the US team
Supplement & D2C Health Brand Marketing
How Ichelon Consulting US plans and runs supplement brand marketing.
Supplement brand marketing agency RFP template
A copy-ready brief for comparing agency proposals.
First 90 days with a supplement marketing agency
What a good agency onboarding should deliver.
FTC and FDA rules for supplement advertising
The claim rules every contract should reflect.
Every practice welcome — Goals-Driven engagements from $499/mo
We benchmark your last 90 days, agree monthly goals with you, and track them live on Ichelon Agency OS with a report every Monday. Performance-Linked Payout Models are available. Our US leadership is based in Dallas, and strategy calls run in US business hours.
Common questions
Should a supplement brand's marketing contract be month-to-month?
Month-to-month, or a short first term followed by month-to-month, is usually safest for a supplement brand. A brief initial term can be fair when the agency builds a store, a creative library or a subscription flow upfront. Avoid long lock-ins that auto-renew unless you cancel in a narrow window, and make sure the notice period is in writing.
Who should own a supplement brand's Amazon seller account and email list?
The supplement brand should own its Amazon seller account, its ecommerce store, its email and SMS platforms and every customer list. The agency should be added as a user with limited permissions. If an agency opened any of these in its own name, move ownership to the brand before signing a new contract, because recovering lists and listings later can take months.
Who is responsible for supplement ad claims, the brand or the agency?
Both can face risk, but the brand should control every claim. A good contract says the agency drafts only from a brand-owned claims list and that a named brand person approves every ad, page, email and creator brief. Health claims need competent and reliable scientific evidence under FTC guidance, and disease claims are off-limits for supplements.
What should an agency do if a customer reports a side effect in the comments?
The agency should forward the report to the brand the same business day and avoid giving medical advice in reply. Federal law requires the brand named on a supplement's label to send serious adverse event reports to FDA within 15 business days of receiving them. The contract should spell out this routing step for comments, DMs, reviews and support inboxes.
Does a supplement brand need a BAA with its marketing agency?
Most supplement brands are not HIPAA covered entities, so a Business Associate Agreement is often not legally required. It becomes relevant when a brand works with practitioners or clinics on patient data. Every brand should still have a data-processing addendum, because state consumer health data laws and the FTC cover health-related data outside HIPAA. Confirm your position with counsel.
A note on this guide: it explains marketing practice, not legal advice. Rules on privacy, advertising and insurance change and vary by state, so confirm anything compliance-related with your own counsel.
Reviewing a supplement marketing contract?
Book a call with Ichelon Consulting US. We will walk through ownership, claim approval and data terms with you, and show how our Goals-Driven engagements are written.