Nature’s Sunshine Products Inc. recently celebrated its 45th anniversary. The Lehi, Utah-based natural health and wellness company has grown from a small, family-run business to a multi-brand, multi-channel international business with hundreds of thousands of independent distributors across the globe.
The company began in 1972. Gene Hughes was taking Capsicum (cayenne pepper) by the spoonful as an herbal remedy for a persistent stomach condition. It helped, so he recommended it to his wife, Kristine. She rejected taking it by the spoonful, insisting on a powder form in a capsule. When the couple discovered that no one offered such encapsulated products, Nature’s Sunshine was born.
“It was such a simple idea,” says Co-Founder, Kristine Hughes. “But at the time, no one was doing it. We went to the health food store and they had raw, powdered cayenne pepper, and right next to it they had a big box of gelatin capsules. You couldn’t help but ask, ‘Why aren’t they together?’”
The Hugheses began Nature’s Sunshine by encapsulating herbs by hand around their kitchen table. However, they soon discovered they could not keep up with the demand for encapsulated herbs. Committed to the principles of quality, service and integrity, they determined that the company would manufacture only the finest supplements on the market. “For us, quality is not just a word,” says Co-Founder Gene Hughes. “It’s the most important ingredient in our products and in our success. Quality is how we express care and respect for our partners and customers around the world.”
The Hugheses established Quality Control labs and testing procedures and demanded that only the highest quality ingredients would be used in their products. Today with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certifications from NSF International and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, the company has built a reputation for offering the highest quality supplements in the industry.
“Nature’s Sunshine has grown and maintained its relevance because of its commitment to its core values of innovation, quality, service, integrity and community,” said Chairman and CEO Gregory L. Probert. “These principles guide everything we do as we strive to become the world’s premier health, wellness and lifestyle company.”
The company employs multiple Ph.D. scientists, researchers and a medical professional who work to discover synergistic combinations of natural ingredients with powerful health benefits. With a focus on metabolic health and function, these individuals work together with Nature’s Sunshine’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Board to drive innovation and develop unique, proprietary formulations. Additionally, the company manufactures most of its products through its own state-of-the-art facilities and markets and distributes its products through a global direct salesforce of over 560,000 independent Managers, Distributors and customers in more than 40 countries.
“When you think of all the companies in the world today, very few can say they’ve been in business for 45 years,” says Probert. “Such longevity doesn’t happen by chance. From our founders to our products and from our employees to our distributors and customers, Nature’s Sunshine is truly a remarkable company, and we look forward to sharing health, wellness and prosperity with the world for many more years to come.”
