The vitamin industry is booming, and major players in gene-editing, nanotech, and biotech are eyeing a piece of the action, while several key acquisitions of dietary supplement companies have taken place. The global dietary supplements market is projected to increase from $71.81 billion in 2021 to $128.64 billion in 2028, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 8.68% within that timeframe. The vitamin industry saw massive growth since the Covid bioweapon was unleashed on the world, with a 26.9% increase in 2020 alone. Meanwhile, mega-corporations like Nestle have made major moves in the vitamin industry, such as the acquisitions of Atrium Innovations, The Bountiful Company and Puravida, just to name a few.
The supplement industry is not only growing, but it is also evolving. A new generation of performance enhancing, anti-aging and longevity ‘supplements’ have come on the market, such as FitBiomics. FitBiomics is behind Nella – a genomics-based “next generation” probiotic to enhance performance in athletes. The FitBiomics team states that, “among the athletes who use Nella are two US 2020 Tokyo Olympic medalists: Adeline Gray won silver in wrestling and Krysta Palmer won bronze in diving. In 2021 Nella was also named the official probiotic of St. John’s University, and in 2022 the San Francisco Marathon partnered with FitBiomics.” George Church, who co-founded FitBiomics, is known as “the founding father of genomics,” and is a serial entrepreneur in dozens of gene editing, gene therapy, and biotech companies.
As the dietary supplements industry rapidly progresses, it is important to know who owns your vitamins. NIH hosts a Dietary Supplement Label Database where you can search for any supplement and review the label breakdown. The following list outlines several popular supplement companies, their countries of origin, and in some cases, which companies acquired them.
Joint Venture Agreement With: Kikkoman, partly owned by Master Trust Bank of Japan, Japan Trustee Services Bank & Oriental Land Company Joint Venture Agreement Date: 2005
Note: founded by George Church, often called the “founding father of genomics,” and Jonathan Scheiman. They are making Nella – a genomics-based probiotic to enhance performance in athletes.
Note: Kirkland products are manufactured by their partners. Each supplement sold under the Kirkland name may have a different manufacturer. Kirkland labeled bottles have a vitamin information hotline to call for more information. Kirkland supplements are made in the United States with ingredients that may be sourced from other countries.
Note: The Life Extension Buyer’s Club is associated with the Life Extension Foundation, which changed its name in 2018 to Biomedical Research & Longevity Society.
Company: Matsun Nutrition
Country: United States
Founded: 1992
Note: Matsun Nutrition offers a Private Label Supplement Program for clients to start private label vitamin and supplement companies. Matsun Nutrition provides manufacturing of the vitamins and supplements.
Company: MegaFood
Subsidiary Of: FoodState, United States
Country: United States
Founded: 1973
Acquired By: Parent company FoodState acquired by Pharmavite, a subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Japan
Note: In 2018 the founders of New Chapter left the brand citing “’financial pressures to accelerate profits’ meant they could no longer in good conscience continue to associate themselves with the brand.”
Company: Nordic Naturals
Subsidiary Of: Nordic Pharma, UK, which is a subsidiary of Nordic Group, France
Country: Headquarters in United States, Manufacturing by Nordic Pharma in Norway
Note: DSM has subsidiaries and equity interests in hundreds of companies all over the world, ranging from biotech companies to nutritional product companies.
Company: Schiff Nutrition
Country: United States
Founded: 1936
Acquired By: Reckitt Benckiser with operations in over 60 countries, and headquarters in the UK, Singapore, Dubai and Amsterdam
Acquired Date: 2012
Company: Seeking Health
Brand Of: Healthy Goods
Country: United States
Founded: 2011
Note: Seeking Health was a product line within Healthy Goods, then launched as a separate online company in 2011. While Healthy Goods was sold in 2012, Seeking Health remained under original ownership.
Merged With: Onegevity under new parent company Thorne HealthTech in 2021, whose largest shareholders are Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd, Mitsui & Co., Ltd (a Berkshire Hathaway Co.) and Helsinn Holding S.A.
Note: Onegevity is a “health intelligence company” that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning for healthcare applications.