Vitamin World USA Corporation is a global retailer of
vitamins
A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrie ...
and
nutritional supplements
A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...
and is headquartered on Long Island, New York in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
.
Background information
Vitamin World was founded in 1977 by Arthur Rudolph and is headquartered in Great River, New York. Vitamin World was a subsidiary of
NBTY
The Bountiful Company is an American dietary supplements company. It is owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, which has agreed to sell most of the company's brands to Nestlé during 2021.
It was original known as Nature's Bounty, Inc. but changed it ...
Inc. NBTY manufactured and sold products under the "Vitamin World" label and currently does so under the "Holland and Barrett" and "Puritan's Pride" labels. Under NBTY, Vitamin World had retail stores in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
, Holland and Barrett currently has retail stores in the United Kingdom, and Puritan's Pride is an online / catalog phone ordering division. The companies sell similar products, but each caters to different customers.
Vitamin World sells many of its own supplements under the "Vitamin World", "Herbal Authority", and "Precision Engineered" brands. General vitamins and minerals are sold under the "Vitamin World" brand. Natural beauty products are sold under the "V Therapy" brand and sports nutrition products are sold under the "Precision Engineered" brand. Vitamin World sells products from third party vendors, the majority of which are sports nutrition products.
Vitamin World was acquired by
private equity firm
A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including lev ...
Center Lane Partners in 2016.
In January 2018, Vitamin World was purchased by Feihe International Inc. through a Section 363 sale process. Feihe International Inc. is the market-share leader in the manufacturing and distributing of infant formula in China.
Reception
Vitamin World's ''Ultra Man Daily'' multivitamin was tested by
ConsumerLab.com
ConsumerLab.com, LLC. is a privately held American company registered in White Plains, NY. It is a publisher of test results on health, wellness, and nutrition products. Consumer Labs is not a laboratory, but contracts studies to outside laborato ...
in its ''Multivitamin and Multimineral Supplements Review'' of 38 of the leading multivitamin/multimineral products sold in the U.S. and Canada. This multivitamin passed ConsumerLab's test, which included testing of selected index elements, their ability to disintegrate in solution per
United States Pharmacopeia
The ''United States Pharmacopeia'' (''USP'') is a pharmacopeia (compendium of drug information) for the United States published annually by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (usually also called the USP), a nonprofit organization that ...
guidelines, lead contamination threshold set in
California Proposition 65, and meeting U.S.
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
(FDA) labeling requirements.
In November 2018 Vitamin World announced a new joint antioxidant research initiative with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
Bankruptcy
On September 11, 2017, Vitamin World, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy which included plans to close at least 51 of its 334 remaining stores nationwide.
In January 2018, Vitamin World was sold to Feihe International, Inc. for
US$28 million.
Feihe International Inc. is the market-share leader in the manufacturing and distributing of infant formula in China.
See also
References
{{Reflist
External links
Vitamin World company website
Nutritional supplement companies of the United States
Health food stores
Food retailers of the United States
American companies established in 1960
Retail companies established in 1960
1960 establishments in New York (state)
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017
Companies based in Suffolk County, New York
American subsidiaries of foreign companies
2018 mergers and acquisitions