Nature's Sunshine Products, Incorporated (), also known as "NSP", is a manufacturer and multi-level marketer of

dietary supplements A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill (pharmacy), pill, capsule (pharmacy), capsule, tablet (pharmacy), tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extr ...

, including

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an Nutrient#Essential nutrients, essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its ...

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

s, and personal care products. It is based in

Lehi, Utah Lehi ( ) is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is named after Lehi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon. The population was 75,907 at the 2020 census, up from 47,407 in 2010. The rapid growth in Lehi is due, in part, to the rapid develo ...

, with a manufacturing facility in Spanish Fork, Utah.

History

Nature's Sunshine was founded in 1972 by Gene and Kristine Hughes, who started encapsulating

capsicum ''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family Solanaceae, native to Americas, the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their chili pepper or bell pepper fruit. Etymology and names The generic name may come f ...

in their home kitchen. The company employs a multi-level marketing

business model A business model describes how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-published, 2010 in economic, social, ...

in which their products are primarily sold to the consumer by independent distributors who receive commissions based on their own sales, as well as sign-up bonuses and commissions based upon the sales of any distributors they may have recruited. NSP also owns Synergy Worldwide, a multi-level marketing company that also sells nutritional supplements. Products for both companies are manufactured in a production and research facility located in Spanish Fork, Utah. In June 2021, Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. and the

David Eccles School of Business The David Eccles School of Business is located on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City, Utah. The school was founded as the "School of Commerce & Finance" in 1917 and subsequently changed its name to "School of Business" in 1927, althou ...

at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

partnered together to create a new scholarship. Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. partnered with the Opportunity Scholars program to provide full-ride scholarships to underrepresented students who are the first in their family to attend college. Like similar multilevel marketing companies, Nature's Sunshine's business has been adversely affected by the lingering effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, global inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the 4th quarter of 2022, net sales fell 13% to $103 million, as compared to the 4th quarter of 2021. According to CEO Terrence Moorehead, the company is making "strategic changes" and "redesigning processes and revamping sourcing relationships."

SEC bribery lawsuit

In 2006,

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

, which had provided auditing services to the company, resigned from the account. They charged that then-CEO Douglas Faggioli had lied to auditors about "alleged fraud," and had approved bribery. In July 2009, the company agreed to pay $600,000 in fines after being charged by the SEC with having bribed Brazilian officials with more than $1,000,000 in 2000 and 2001. This was done "so it could import unregistered nutritional products into the country, and then falsified its books to hide the payments."

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Utah County, Utah Companies listed on the Nasdaq Manufacturing companies established in 1972 Multi-level marketing companies based in Utah Spanish Fork, Utah 1972 establishments in Utah