Nutrilite

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.

History

Carl F. Rehnborg developed his vitamin products in the 1930s. His time in China between roughly 1917 and 1927 exposed him to experiences in which he realized the role vitamins and nutrients impacted general health. He began selling his vitamins as the California Vitamin company and renamed it in 1939 to Nutrilite. In 1945, he invented the multi-level marketing, door-to-door, selling system to distribute his vitamins. Two men, Lee S. Mytinger and William S. Casselberry became exclusive national distributors in 1945 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. They rose rapidly to being top-selling distributors. Concerned about the FDA dispute, Van Andel and DeVos 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-Cassleberry dispute, which went to the United States Supreme Court, was resolved in favor of the FDA in the 1960s.[2]

Amway bought a controlling interest in the company in 1972 and took over complete ownership in 1994.

In 2001, five Nutrilite products were the first dietary supplements to be certified by NSF International.[3]

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.

Distribution and marketing

Nutrilite's vitamin and mineral products are distributed exclusively by Amway affiliates known as Independent Business Owners (IBO) in North America and 108 other countries and territories. Amway, Quixtar, and Access Group are subsidiaries of Alticor.

Spokespersons for the brand have included Asafa Powell, Liu Xiang, Sanya Richards, Ronaldinho, and Jenn Stuczynski.[4][5][6][7]

Reception

Nutrilite Double X was tested by ConsumerLab.com in their Multivitamin and Multimineral Supplements Review of 38 of the leading multivitamin/multimineral products sold in the U.S. and Canada. Double X passed ConsumerLab's test,[8] which included testing of selected index elements, their ability to disintegrate in solution per United States Pharmacopeia guidelines, lead contamination threshold set in California Proposition 65, and meeting FDA labeling requirements.[9]

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.[10]

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. Associated Press (May 30, 1950). "Court Validates Seizure of Drug". New York Times.
  3. NSF International (9 October 2001). "Nutrilite dietary supplements first to receive certification". Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  4. Quixtar (1 March 2007). "Quixtar Welcomes Second World Record Setter as Nutrilite Spokesman" (Press release). Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  5. Quixtar (24 April 2006). "NUTRILITE brand powers ASAFA POWELL, World's fastest man and Global brand spokesman" (Press release). Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  6. Quixtar (2007). "World-class United States athletes join Team Nutrilite". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  7. Quixtar (28 February 2008). "International Soccer Superstar Ronaldinho Signs With Nutrilite" (Press release). Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  8. "ConsumerLab Multivitamin and Multimineral Supplements Review - Main Review". 15 June 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.(subscription required)
  9. "ConsumerLab Multivitamin and Multimineral Supplements Review - Testing Method". 15 June 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  10. "Amway recalls energy bar with peanut butter". Mlive. Grand Rapids Press. 2009-01-24.
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