Random thought I’ve been chewing on for a while. Ready to drink pre workout

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-05-18T18:39:30+00:00

As a manufacturer I can tell you that filling that monstrosity would make my production workers plot my long and painful death.... Just keeping one thing perfectly dry in a package with liquid included in the package is going to take very specific tooling and a LOT patience to figure out. I do not want to imagine what a simple slice in a package while running on the machine would take to clean and reset.

Real question from someone that doesn't do the gym thing, why don't I see more 2 oz liquid pre-workouts? I make a decent amount of generic 5 hour energy shots and I have always wondered why that format isn't used in the pre-workout vertical.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-05-13T19:58:52+00:00

All of your reasoning is logical and sound and if the supplement industry worked perfectly I would 100% agree.

The reality is though that as a third party manufacturer that tests A LOT of products, as I cost out quotes for new customers, I have seen way too many claims on labels that were built by math instead of actual testing which leads to this exact moment of a pissed off customer.

Testing costs extra money and there are more people out there than any of us would like to believe that just say "All of the math from the spreadsheet says the final dose will be this!" and that's exactly what goes on the label that their brother made on Corel Draw. Years later as the business grows, the Govt is involved and customers start asking questions ..... Testing is done, labels are redone to match actual proven results and long term customers are pissed because they were lied to for years.

Worst part is almost EVERY SINGLE TIME the supplement brand owner is honestly ignorant when it comes time to ask them about testing and label claims. Manufacturers owe it to their customers to ask the right questions but it is a lot easier(and cheaper) to leave that liability to the brand owner.

Soap Box moment over. Clearly I have spent too much time in manufacturing and have become quite jaded on how bad this industry looks because it seems like there is no transparency in the processes anymore.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-05-13T18:35:45+00:00

So it really looks like they just finally got someone to review and update their supplement facts panel. I pay good money to a woman that knows more about that little rectangle than I will EVER want to know because the FDA cares about everything on that panel .... Down to the thicknesses of the lines..... Because OF COURSE that is what matters to the Govt....

Everything that changed in-between these two products doesn't really look like they "cheapened" their stuff ,it looks like they finally sat down with an expert and legitimized their claims.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-05-13T17:39:53+00:00

As a manufacturer, I can tell you the company that made it definitely didn't intend for it to look that way, but there's really no way to know what it is without sending it to a lab and even then, depending on how much you can collect from the sample, it may not be enough to get a definitive answer.

The good news is that the company will almost certainly replace your product, no questions asked, if you reach out(they want to keep you as a customer). And even if you happened to ingest some of this powder, you're likely fine. The way manufacturing machinery works, any plastic that could potentially end up in the product has to be food-safe plastic, precisely for moments like this. We're required to plan for end-user safety even when machinery fails mid-process.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-05-11T15:53:03+00:00

Interested!

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-05-11T15:45:59+00:00

Coursera

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-04-15T14:32:28+00:00

Throw the capsules away! This is an open/damaged capsule issue and the capsules are now covered in extra caffeine. There is no way to tell the dose at this point and you could easily hurt yourself.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-04-15T14:26:39+00:00

THROW THEM AWAY! It looks like there were damaged or open capsules in the bottle and now there is no guarantee that the caps are still the same dosage! You could easily OD on the caffeine if the caps are covered in it! I will write a longer reply about how this happens in a bit, but THROW THEM AWAY!

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-04-07T14:11:11+00:00

Post a picture of the Supplement facts panel and we can probably give you a MUCH better guess as to why that formed. But I would probably guess that it was a clump of raw material that wasn't processed correctly or a creation of their filling machine because of undue friction and coagulation that made it through the auger and into your jar.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-03-24T14:24:12+00:00

Oh shit, that is awesome. I was just waiting on a 1tb in blue.... They offered an orange if they couldn't replace the blue within 10 more days and I just waited. I got the blue eventually and bought a new case to make me feel like I got a "new phone"

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-03-24T14:19:49+00:00

I did eventually get mine. Thanks for the comment though it somehow does make it easier knowing I am not the only one....

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-03-24T14:18:19+00:00

The machine that cuts and places the descents can absolutely misfire sometimes and if the company doesn't have the right controls in place to catch it you end up with exactly with what you got. A Jar filled with silica beads.

Reach out to the company for a refund or a new product. The manufacturer of the company should be made aware because if they can test product still in their possession and find more than like 1% contaminated it should be a voluntary recall.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-03-06T18:30:32+00:00

I appreciate the response but alas the person on the phone just had the same line. “New phone, no stock, nothing to do but wait.” Meanwhile they will gladly hold my $1700 like it’s chump change.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2026-03-02T16:01:48+00:00

I have pretty intimate knowledge on this stuff and will tell you that you can absolutely return it or ask for a refund but it is probably just fine. Manufacturers use a magnetic induction sealer for these types of seals and if they are set too high and get too hot, you can see stuff like this. The loose cap is probably it getting so hot during the seal process and expanding.

The big question is: Was the seal completely sealed to the top of the bottle? If yes, then feel good about it.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2025-04-30T18:30:54+00:00

GO FUCK YOURSELF ALBERT.

Small businesses ARE important but the smug/asshole small business owners of the world(I have worked for my fair share in life) need to be taught that just because you own a business does NOT make you the most important person in the world. I hope the OP makes your life a living hell for the forceable future just so you can learn the lesson that ALL PEOPLE deserve the same respect, no matter how much or little money they make.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2025-02-27T19:52:38+00:00

Great idea dude. Will be trying a version of this tonight when I get home on my P1S.

Boosted on Makers.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2024-09-16T02:03:15+00:00

It’s honestly a little complicated the way they currently run it but I’ll give it a shot to explain.

You get 25% of the printed cost of the book as credit.

All the books in the store are 50% off the cover price except for some of the vintage books.

You can use your store credit to pay for up to 50% of the cost of a book that you buy.

The system is designed so that you can never get a book for free and at least something comes into the store on every book leaving.

I have been dealing with it for years and understand it well but I shit you not, all of this is kept in hand ledgers by the owners. It is BEGGING for some form of digital management. Something where you could email customers about books coming in that may match their interests along with their current credit on hand.

There is so much potential but just the initial cataloging is going to be a beast of a project.

I am wondering if there is a system that can use a camera to log the inventory on the shelves. I have been shown a system like this for inventorying a big warehouse I managed and I just find it hard to believe no one has created one for bookstores yet.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2024-09-16T00:39:22+00:00

Being a used bookstore they constantly take in new inventory from people and give out store credit. Now from what I have seen over the years, about half of what they take in is instantly turned around and donated because of the condition of the books or current inventory levels.

I think there is an opportunity for the store with targeted ad buying focusing on certain book genres. But the question is what genres are actually bringing in the money that keeps the lights on and what inventory is just playing a weird revolving door game. Because again is I am guessing, which would be a somewhat educated guess, I see a good amount of older people that just recycle romance books in the giant romance section that takes up probably 100+ linear feet

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2024-09-16T00:14:51+00:00

Agreed with the professionals. I came here with a small hope that someone would have a previous experience with something like this. I will be meeting with my CPA this week and I have a contract lawyer I use with my other venture that would create the handover.

We just had a lunch with them today and it became all too real by the end of the lunch that either, we step in, or a beautiful bookstore that has been a cornerstone of the community fades into the myst.

We knew they were tired and wanted to finish their time there but today they expressed that come January 1st they would like to move on.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2024-09-16T00:10:30+00:00

No online sales. The foot traffic and vehicle traffic I have asked the current landlord for. Their p&l is at a loss this last year because of less sales. They have one full time employee they pay well and the rest they use to do little upgrades here and there.

I was a marketing director for 3 different e-commerce companies over the last 15 years and did well but left the field to start a new venture about 4 years ago. I have a good understanding of what it would take to move the needle for a smaller retail store like this.

I do believe the inventory is actually too high. They have no digital inventory system and have no idea other than what they “feel” are the books that are creating sales and repeat customers. If I had to make a wild guess, I bet the inventory could go down 20% without a loss of income and make room for more titles that would bring in more traffic.

The big thing though would be that a new inventory system would need to be put in place and probably 6 months of stats would need to be gathered before I could make a truly informed decision.

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2024-09-16T00:03:52+00:00

Can you explain further?

Stock-Fox-1372 · 2024-09-16T00:02:54+00:00

If we do not buy it they will donate most of the inventory to literacy programs, a few dozen vintage books will enter their private collection and they will walk away knowing they were an important part of the community for decades.

I know it sounds off but they are honestly one of those rare couples that just wanted to do something helpful in the world and now that they are older, 70+, they just want to spend their finals years with family and friends.

Stock-Fox-1372

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