Nutrition Now adds fifth building as company expansion continues
It seems people were listening when told to take their vitamins. Vancouver vitamin-maker Nutrition Now can barely grow fast enough to keep up with demand.
The company has experienced steady growth in the vitamin and supplement industry since Kate Jones and Marty Rifkin formed the company in Clark County in 1985. Today, the company’s products can be found in major retailers throughout the country.
And just a year after acquiring a fourth building, Nutrition Now recently leased a fifth building to expand its shipping capabilities.
The addition of the 17,113-square-foot building brings the company’s total square footage to about 150,000, said Jones. The company owns four buildings on its Northeast Campus Drive site near Fort Vancouver High School. The fifth building, adjacent to the company’s existing facilities on 65th Avenue, is being leased from David Christensen with an option to buy.
The new space will be used for the storage of finished goods waiting to be shipped to customers. The other buildings house additional shipping as well as production and corporate offices.
More space will likely require more employees, said Jones. The company, which started as a husband-and-wife team, today has 250 employees.
The company produces dozens of products under several lines. Jones said sales of its children’s vitamins grow each month.
The leased space requires some improvements by Nutrition Now, which the company plans to occupy by April.
Jones credits the company’s product innovation for its strong growth.
“We are usually first in the category,” she said, meaning the company tends to package and market new products before they are seen on the shelf.
The company had early success with its line of children’s chewable gummy vitamins. Jones said Nutrition Now introduced the concept.
New products, such as Detox 7, which the company hopes to have in full distribution by 2006, continue to build on the success.
Nutrition Now has yet to occupy its new space, but its sights are already set on future expansion. Jones said the company has a team that works just on property acquisition.
“We are a local company, and we will stay here,” said Jones.
