Building a Structured Quality System to Enable a Zero-Finding NSF Certification Audit

The Client

A leading private-label manufacturer providing formulation, manufacturing and fulfillment services to diverse brands across a multitude of consumer products.

The Challenge

As our client prepared to divest its dietary supplement division, leadership knew standing out in a crowded, highly scrutinized market would require more than solid financials. In an industry often challenged by inconsistent oversight and limited regulations, buyers would be looking for clear, credible signals that the business operated at the highest standard of quality and compliance. To elevate the value of the sale and instill confidence among prospective buyers, the client wanted to earn a NSF/ANSI 455‑2 Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification for dietary supplements. This independently verified credential would serve as a powerful differentiator, reinforcing the organization’s commitment to operational excellence and rigorous quality standards.

The organization had previously undergone an NSF audit and received several major findings, primarily due to gaps in its quality management system. With their internal teams understaffed, they had limited bandwidth to correct the issues needed to prepare for a successful future audit. Without addressing these issues, the client risked failing another audit — jeopardizing the timeline of the sale of the supplement side of their business and potentially diminishing the overall value of the business.

Successfully preparing for and passing the audit would allow the organization to display the NSF certification mark, strengthen trust with consumers and buyers alike, and position the business line for successful sale.

The Actalent Solution

Actalent was selected as a partner due to its proven experience in quality management and audit readiness. Actalent proposed bringing in two experienced quality auditors to lead the effort and guide the client through every step of the process.

Actalent’s team conducted an initial on‑site and document review to identify gaps and assess overall readiness. From there, they worked closely with the client to build a quality management system from the ground up. This included writing standard operating procedures, establishing consistent workflows and ensuring good manufacturing practices were met. Actalent also provided strong project management, using trackers and weekly check‑ins to monitor progress, make adjustments and stay on schedule under a tight timeline.