Did you know that fully 13% of nutrition products and 36% of dietary supplements are sold through non-retail channels in the United States. This is real business that, if approached correctly, can jumpstart your supplement business sales.

Increasingly, nutrition industry entrepreneurs are turning to the direct channels to launch new businesses and products via the Internet, multi-level/direct marketers, practitioners, direct response television, direct response radio, mail order and catalogs.

I along with Nutrition Business Journal co-founder, Tom Aarts, will be leading this webseminar on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 11:00-12:30 pm MT. Register now!

Please join us as we cast light on the lesser-research, but incredibly important, direct channels of the U.S. nutrition industry….one of NBJ’s specialties!

-Patrick

With the help of Marine Nutraceuticals, the NBJ Summit will have a fully formed and organized spouse/guest program.

Highlights include shoping and visiting art galleries in Laguna, guided beach walks, participation in the regatta, cocktail parties and moonlit dinners with the NBJ Summit attendees.

Call 866.458.4935 to add your spouse/guest to your registration if you’ve registered already.

So don’t hesitate, register yourself and your spouse/guest, book your hotel room and enjoy a getaway while attending the leading retreat for executives in the nutrition industry - The NBJ Summit

-Patrick

Another one bites the dust! Yes, another independent (and successful) natural foods brand is acquired by a multinational food conglomerate. General Mills announced it would acquire Humm Foods, maker of Larabar and Larabar Jocalat. The Larabar brands will become part of the Small Planet Foods division of General Mills, which also manages the Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen brands.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but NBJ estimates Larabar’s 2006 wholesale sales at $20 million. Click here for more NBJ figures on top nutrition brand sales.

It was reported that Lara Merriken, the founder of Larabar will continue on with General Mills as the brand champion, and no timeline was set for this arrangement. Recent history will show that founders of natural food companies who sell their brands to multinational food companies have a very difficult time staying on as brand champions post acquisition.

Steve Demos, founder of White Wave, threw up his hands under the thumb of Dean Foods.

Mark Retzloff, co-founder of Horizon Organic, moved on to launch a competitor - Aurora Organic Dairy.

Gary Hirschberg, founder of Stonyfield Farm, continues the struggle at Dannon.

Gary Erikson, founder of Clif Bar, left the table when negotiating the sale of his company to a multinational food company at the 11th hour because he worried about what would happen to ‘his’ company post-sale.

Lara virtually created the “raw bar” market with the launch of Larabar. She capitalized early on the growing trend of food simplicity. This simplicity trend is directly related to the rise of organic foods and it’s a trend we’re also seeing in the natural & organic personal care space. From within General Mills, Lara will have many opportunities to launch new “raw” products as extensions to Larabar…Larajuice…Larababy…but must tread wisely on the reputation of her brand.

Certainly the distribution power of General Mills will do much to help Larabar’s expansion into the food, drug, mass merchandiser, convenience and club store channels, but it would be in her best interest to pay close attention to how the natural retail community reacts to this deal. Their displeasure with Larabar for “selling out” could result in a divorce from the brand, and undermine its growth prospects in the natural channel.

Only time will tell, but if the passions of the natural retailer channel can be successfully managed and Larabar can capitalize on the distribution reach of General Mills while launching smart brand extensions, this Larabar-General Mills deal might be a great acquisition by General Mills.

About Small Planet Foods:

Small Planet Foods is the natural and organic products group within General Mills. With its Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen brands, Small Planet Foods holds the No. 1 or No. 2 position in 14 major organic categories in the United States.

About General Mills:

General Mills is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of consumer food products based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. General Mills’ mission is Nourishing Lives - innovating to make lives healthier, easier and richer. Its global brand portfolio includes Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Old El Paso, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and more. General Mills is also a leading supplier of baking and other products to the foodservice and commercial baking industries. With more than 100 consumer brands and operations in more than 100 countries, General Mills had annual net sales of $12.4 billion in fiscal 2007.

It’s that time of the year again – time to book that hotel room for The NBJ Summit 2008 at the St. Regis Resort in Dana Point, California. As of June 9th the St. Regis indicates that the NBJ Summit room block has been filled to over 75% capacity, which means that if you haven’t booked your room yet, the preferred room rate of $299 per night will soon be out of your grasp. To reserve rooms, call Travel Planers at 800.221.3531 or go to http://www.nbjsummit.com/services/travel.cfm

The best executive education sessions, networking and events await you at The 2008 NBJ Summit.

Optional golf kicks off the NBJ Summit early Wednesday morning, so make sure to indicate you would like to golf as part of your registration. After morning golf, the sessions begin at 2:30pm with NBJ’s State of the Industry followed by an opening keynote speech from Dr. Taylor Hartman , author of “The Color Code” a personality test that all attendees will take online prior to the event. Wednesday concludes with the a starlit dinner overlooking the ocean on the St. Regis Resort’s Grand Lawn.

Thursday begins early with a 7am breakfast and the second of three keynote speakers, Adam Werbach , the global CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi S. Following a green business panel and a sales channel lunch breakouts, we depart for the NBJ Summit Regatta at 2pm for some fun and sun on the high seas. At Wednesday’s dinner we award the NBJ Business Achievement Awards to winners in attendance and award the NBJ Summit Regatta Cup. Following dinner, those with energy to burn will adjourn to the Presidential Suite for what we expect to be a contentious Port Quality Assurance Association meeting.

Friday, breakfast is once again served at 7am with the first session of the day on innovation in maturing markets kicking off the last day of the NBJ Summit. Soon after, the third of our three keynote speakers, Walter Robb will close the conference with his reflections on the nutrition industry’s past, present and future.

So, book your hotel rooms and register now for the premier executive conference in the nutrition industry – The NBJ Summit!

-Patrick

NBTY, a well known acquirer of distressed brands and businesses in the U.S. supplement industry, has acquired the assets of Leiner Health Products, a bankrupt private label manufacturer of vitamins and other dietary supplements.

NBTY announced that it has paid $371 million for the assets and the assumption of certain liabilities, but the price of the deal can move $110 million north or south of $371 million, based on the amount of working capital on Leiner’s balance sheet at closing. NBTY said it hopes to close the deal no later than September 2008. North Castle Partners and Golden Gate Capital recapitalized Leiner in 2004 for $650 million. Prior to that, North Castle Partners had been the sole investor in Leiner. NBJ estimated Leiner’s 2006 supplement sales at $550 million.

Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Carson, Calif., Leiner Health Products is a leading manufacturer of store brand vitamins, minerals, and nutritional supplements (VMS), as measured by retail sales, and supplies the food, drug, mass merchant and warehouse club (FDMC) retail market. Leiner provides the FDMC retailers with over 2,000 products to help its customers create and market high-quality store brands at low prices. It is also the largest supplier of VMS to the U.S. military. Leiner markets its own brand of vitamins under YourLife. In 2007, Leiner distributed more than 21 billion doses that help offer consumers high quality, affordable choices to improve their health and wellness.

NBTY is a leading global vertically integrated manufacturer, marketer and distributor of a broad line of high-quality, value-priced nutritional supplements in the United States and throughout the world. Under a number of NBTY and third party brands, the Company offers over 22,000 products, including products marketed by the Company’s Nature’s Bounty, Vitamin World, Puritan’s Pride, Holland & Barrett, Rexall, Sundown, MET-Rx, Worldwide Sport Nutrition, American Health, GNC, DeTuinen, LeNaturiste, SISU, Solgar, Good ‘n’ Natural, Home Health and Ester-C brands.