Nutrilite

Last updated
Nutrilite
TypeHealthcare
InventorCarl F. Rehnborg
Inception1934;90 years ago (1934)
Manufacturer Amway
AvailableYes
Website amway.com

Nutrilite is a brand of mineral, vitamin, and dietary supplements developed in 1934 by Carl F. Rehnborg. Nutrilite products are currently manufactured by Access Business Group, a subsidiary of Alticor whose products are sold via Amway worldwide. The Nutrilite brand is known as Nutriway in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand.

Contents

History

Carl F. Rehnborg developed his vitamin products in the 1930s. His time in China between the end of 1915 and 1927 exposed him to experiences which lead him to realize the impact vitamins and nutrients have on general health. He began selling his vitamins as the California Vitamin company. In 1939 the company was renamed Nutrilite. In 1945, Rehnborg invented the multi-level marketing selling system to distribute his vitamins. Also in 1945 Lee S. Mytinger and William S. Casselberry became exclusive national distributors and operated a company to distribute the vitamins. [1]

The founders of Amway, Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos, began as independent distributors selling Nutrilite products in 1949, at a time when the product's previous distributors (Mytinger and Casselberry, Inc.) were involved in a dispute with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which accused them of false advertising. Van Andel and DeVos rose rapidly, becoming top-selling distributors. Concerned about the FDA dispute, they launched a new company, the American Way, (later known as Amway), to use the multi-level marketing system for other household products. The FDA/Mytinger-Casselberry dispute, which went to the United States Supreme Court, was resolved in favor of the FDA in the 1960s. [2]

In 1972, Amway bought a controlling interest in the company. In 1994 they took over complete ownership.

In 2007, the Simply Nutrilite (later renamed Nutrilite Trim Advantage Body System) line was introduced. The line includes meal replacement bars, anti-oxidant, and vitamin supplements.[ citation needed ]

Distribution and marketing

Nutrilite's vitamin and mineral products are distributed through a multilevel marketing structure by Amway affiliates known as Independent Business Owners (IBO) in North America and 108 other countries and territories. Nutrilite also has snacks as part of its product line.(Amway, Quixtar, and Access Group are subsidiaries of Alticor).[ citation needed ]

Regulatory and safety issues

In 1948, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seized shipments of Nutrilite, then distributed by a California firm, Mytinger & Casselberry Inc. The FDA claimed that a booklet with the product made false claims that it would cure diseases. The distributor brought suit, claiming the seizures were unconstitutional. In 1950, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the seizure was constitutional. [2]

In 2009, Amway voluntarily recalled three kinds of Nutrilite energy bars due to potential contamination with salmonella after the FDA tracked the peanut butter salmonella outbreak to a Peanut Corporation of America plant, a vendor Amway had used on occasion. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amway</span> American multi-level marketing company

Amway is an American multi-level marketing (MLM) company that sells health, beauty, and home care products. The company was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos and is based in Ada, Michigan. Amway and its sister companies under Alticor reported sales of $8.9 billion in 2019. It is the largest multi-level marketing company in the world by revenue. It conducts business through a number of affiliated companies in more than a hundred countries and territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amway North America</span> American multi-level marketing company

Amway North America is an American worldwide multi-level marketing (MLM) company, founded 1959 in Ada, Michigan, United States. It is privately owned by the families of Richard DeVos and Jay Van Andel through Alticor which is the holding company for businesses including Amway, Amway Global, Fulton Innovation, Amway Hotel Corporation, Hatteras Yachts, and manufacturing and logistics company Access Business Group. After the launch of Amway Global, it replaced the Amway business in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, with the Amway business continuing to operate in other countries around the world. On May 1, 2009, Quixtar made the name change to Amway Global and fused the various different entities of the parent company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alticor</span> American holding company for multi-level marketing business

Alticor is a privately owned American corporation run by the DeVos and Van Andel families. It was established in 1999 to serve as the parent company for a handful of business ventures, most notably the multi-level marketing company Amway and Amway Global, and a manufacturing and distribution company, Access Business Group.

Xango, LLC, was a privately owned Lehi, Utah-based multi-level marketing company founded in 2002. It was acquired by Zija International in May 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Product recall</span> Request to return a product after the discovery of safety issues or product defects

A product recall is a request from a manufacturer to return a product after the discovery of safety issues or product defects that might endanger the consumer or put the maker/seller at risk of legal action.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Van Andel</span> American businessman

Jay Van Andel was an American billionaire businessman, best known as co-founder of the Amway Corporation, along with Richard DeVos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard DeVos</span> American businessman

Richard Marvin DeVos Sr. was an American billionaire businessman, co-founder of Amway with Jay Van Andel, and owner of the Orlando Magic basketball team. In 2012, Forbes magazine listed him as the 60th wealthiest person in the United States, and the 205th richest in the world, with an estimated net worth of $5.1 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Pan (peanut butter)</span> Brand of peanut butter

Peter Pan is an American brand of peanut butter that is marketed by Post Consumer Brands, part of Post Holdings. Named after the J. M. Barrie character, the product was introduced by Swift & Company in 1920 under the name "E. K. Pond" and renamed in 1928.

POM Wonderful, LLC is a private company which sells an eponymous brand of beverages and fruit extracts. It was founded in 2002 by the billionaire industrial agriculture couple Stewart and Lynda Rae Resnick. Through The Wonderful Company, their holding company, they are also affiliated with Teleflora, FIJI Water, pesticide manufacturer Suterra, and Paramount Agribusiness. In 2010, the company was warned by the FDA for making false health claims and for marketing statements that promoted their products as unauthorized drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunrider</span> American multi-level marketing company

Sunrider International, or Sunrider Corporation, is a privately owned multi-level marketing company headquartered in Torrance, California. Sunrider lists thousands of franchise stores and tens of thousands of distributors internationally. Sunrider manufactures health, beauty, food, and household products at four manufacturing plants: Southern California, China, Singapore, and Taiwan. Sunrider does business in 42 countries, and operates offices in 22 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MonaVie</span> Multi-level marketing company

MonaVie is a defunct, American multi-level marketing company that manufactured and distributed products made from blended fruit juice concentrates, powders, and purées. The company was the subject of several controversies. Health claims for its products had not been scientifically confirmed or approved by regulatory authorities, and its chairman had been previously involved in false health claims concerning another beverage company. According to Forbes, MonaVie's business plan resembled a pyramid scheme. In 2015, the company defaulted on a US$182 million loan and went into foreclosure. Florida-based Jeunesse Global took over MonaVie’s assets when it purchased the note for $15 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peanut Corporation of America</span> Defunct peanut processing company

Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) was a peanut-processing business which is now defunct as a result of one of the most massive and lethal food-borne contamination events in U.S. history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swanson Health Products</span> American distributor of vitamins and supplements

Swanson Health Products (SHP) is a natural health catalog and Internet marketing company headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota. The company sells natural health and wellness products, including health foods, dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, as well as natural personal care products directly to consumers through mail-order catalogs and an e-commerce website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994</span> 1994 statute of United States Federal legislation

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 ("DSHEA"), is a 1994 statute of United States Federal legislation which defines and regulates dietary supplements. Under the act, supplements are regulated by the FDA for Good Manufacturing Practices under 21 CFR Part 111. The act was intended to exempt the dietary and herbal supplement industry from most FDA drug regulations, allowing them to be sold and marketed without scientific backing for their health and medical claims.

Sunland, Inc., was a production plant established in 1988 located in Portales, New Mexico, in the United States. Sunland was the nation's largest organic peanut butter processor. The company produced at least 240 products. The company used Valencia peanuts in its products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan DeVos</span> American ice hockey executive

Daniel G. DeVos is an American businessman and sports executive. He is the son of Helen June and Amway co-founder Richard DeVos.

Food safety in Australia concerns the production, distribution, preparation, and storage of food in Australia to prevent foodborne illness, also known as food safety. Food Standards Australia New Zealand is responsible for developing food standards for Australia and New Zealand.

Salmonellosis annually causes, per CDC estimation, about 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths in the United States every year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food safety in the United States</span>

Food safety in the United States relates to the processing, packaging, and storage of food in a way that prevents food-borne illness within the United States. The beginning of regulation on food safety in the United States started in the early 1900s, when several outbreaks sparked the need for litigation managing food in the food industry. Over the next few decades, the United States created several government agencies in an effort to better understand contaminants in food and to regulate these impurities. Many laws regarding food safety in the United States have been created and amended since the beginning of the 1900s. Food makers and their products are inspected and regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture.

References

  1. Notices of judgment under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. D.D.N.J., F.D.C. 3381-3383, issued Aug 1951
  2. 1 2 Associated Press (May 30, 1950). "Court Validates Seizure of Drug". New York Times.
  3. "Amway recalls energy bar with peanut butter". Mlive. Grand Rapids Press. 2009-01-24.