Swanson Health Products
Encyclopedia
Swanson Health Products (SHP) is a natural health catalog and Internet marketing company headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota
. The company sells natural health and wellness products, including health foods, dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, as well as natural personal care products direct to consumers through mail-order catalogs and an e-commerce website. Swanson Health Products is The United States' largest privately held vitamin catalog retailer and is one of Fargo’s major employers with an estimated workforce of 500 employees.
,
Dr. Irwin Stone, Dr. Roger Williams, Paul Bragg and Adelle Davis, all pioneers in the natural health and nutraceutical movement.
Swanson’s personal supplementation regimen began with vitamin E
, which he ordered from one of the first health supplement outlets in the country, Sturdee Health Products, the nation’s oldest mail order vitamin supplier at the time. By 1968 he was a regular user of several vitamins and supplements and began ordering them in bulk to maintain his own supply. Not long after he decided to test the market himself and ordered 5,000 vitamin E capsules from a manufacturer in Ohio, purchased an advertisement in Capper’s Weekly Magazine and began selling supplements through the mail. Shortly thereafter, he was putting together small catalogs of his own to mail out to potential customers.
By 1980, SHP was operating with about 10 employees out of a storefront in downtown Fargo, ND. In 1982 the company moved its mail order manufacturing and shipping operations to a 15000 sq ft (1,393.5 m²). facility. In the 1990s, the development of the SHP website, swansonvitamins.com, opened another sales channel for the company. SHP moved into a new 120000 sq ft (11,148.4 m²). facility in 2001, finally housing its call center, customer care center, marketing, manufacturing, storage and shipping operations all under one roof, while still maintaining the original storefront in downtown Fargo.
In 2009, SHP announced a $10 million, 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) addition to the company’s headquarters in Fargo, as well as the acquisition of a 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) order fulfillment center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
, to improve shipping times to east coast customers. That facility opened in May 2010, while the Fargo expansion was completed in August 2010.
In April of 2011, SHP announced the opening of a second regional distribution center. The 52,500-square-foot facility, located in the Spanish Springs Business Center of Sparks, NV, allows for one- or two-day delivery times to customers on the west coast.
Also in 2011, the Swanson Health Products’ retail store acquired the business space adjacent to its location in downtown Fargo, ND. Final renovations and remodeling, expected to be completed in the fall of 2011, will double its retail space and include more freezer and refrigeration space for healthy foods.
With all sites completed and operational, the company will employ over 500 people.
Major national brands offered by SHP include: Airborne, Aveeno
, Blistex
, Burt's Bees
, Derma E, Emergen-C, Life Extension
, Nature’s Way, New Chapter, NOW Foods, Solgar, Twinlab
, Weil and Yogi Tea
.
, the active ingredient in Mevacor and its generic counterparts. The FDA letter stated, “Because Red Yeast Rice and Red Yeast Rice/Policosanol Complex contain red yeast rice with enhanced or added lovastatin and bear claims about lipid control and other cardiovascular benefits supplied by this ingredient, they cannot be marketed as dietary supplements.”
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
. The company sells natural health and wellness products, including health foods, dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, as well as natural personal care products direct to consumers through mail-order catalogs and an e-commerce website. Swanson Health Products is The United States' largest privately held vitamin catalog retailer and is one of Fargo’s major employers with an estimated workforce of 500 employees.
History
Swanson Health Products was started in 1969 in Fargo by Leland Swanson Sr. A self-taught natural health enthusiast, Swanson was heavily influenced by Dr. Linus PaulingLinus Pauling
Linus Carl Pauling was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator. He was one of the most influential chemists in history and ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century...
,
Dr. Irwin Stone, Dr. Roger Williams, Paul Bragg and Adelle Davis, all pioneers in the natural health and nutraceutical movement.
Swanson’s personal supplementation regimen began with vitamin E
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is used to refer to a group of fat-soluble compounds that include both tocopherols and tocotrienols. There are many different forms of vitamin E, of which γ-tocopherol is the most common in the North American diet. γ-Tocopherol can be found in corn oil, soybean oil, margarine and dressings...
, which he ordered from one of the first health supplement outlets in the country, Sturdee Health Products, the nation’s oldest mail order vitamin supplier at the time. By 1968 he was a regular user of several vitamins and supplements and began ordering them in bulk to maintain his own supply. Not long after he decided to test the market himself and ordered 5,000 vitamin E capsules from a manufacturer in Ohio, purchased an advertisement in Capper’s Weekly Magazine and began selling supplements through the mail. Shortly thereafter, he was putting together small catalogs of his own to mail out to potential customers.
By 1980, SHP was operating with about 10 employees out of a storefront in downtown Fargo, ND. In 1982 the company moved its mail order manufacturing and shipping operations to a 15000 sq ft (1,393.5 m²). facility. In the 1990s, the development of the SHP website, swansonvitamins.com, opened another sales channel for the company. SHP moved into a new 120000 sq ft (11,148.4 m²). facility in 2001, finally housing its call center, customer care center, marketing, manufacturing, storage and shipping operations all under one roof, while still maintaining the original storefront in downtown Fargo.
In 2009, SHP announced a $10 million, 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) addition to the company’s headquarters in Fargo, as well as the acquisition of a 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) order fulfillment center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, to improve shipping times to east coast customers. That facility opened in May 2010, while the Fargo expansion was completed in August 2010.
In April of 2011, SHP announced the opening of a second regional distribution center. The 52,500-square-foot facility, located in the Spanish Springs Business Center of Sparks, NV, allows for one- or two-day delivery times to customers on the west coast.
Also in 2011, the Swanson Health Products’ retail store acquired the business space adjacent to its location in downtown Fargo, ND. Final renovations and remodeling, expected to be completed in the fall of 2011, will double its retail space and include more freezer and refrigeration space for healthy foods.
With all sites completed and operational, the company will employ over 500 people.
Products and quality control
Swanson Health Products carries over 11,000 products, ranging from vitamins and supplements to "eco-friendly" home cleaning products. The company has 21 Swanson-branded lines that cover the full spectrum of natural health products, as well as some OTC drugs and organic foods. Since 2001, SHP has voluntarily participated in independent third-party Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) audits to maintain high-quality finished products. SHP regularly submits their dietary supplements to ConsumerLab.com testing for a thorough, third-party review of product safety and efficacy.Major national brands offered by SHP include: Airborne, Aveeno
Aveeno
Aveeno is a manufacturer of skin care and hair care products in the United States and is a subsidiary of American consumer goods and pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. Aveeno was founded in 1945, and its first product was their Soothing Bath Treatment...
, Blistex
Blistex
Blistex was a small family company in 1947. Its focus was to develop and market lip care products in the United States. It then became a private company based in Oak Brook, Illinois that primarily manufactures lip balm, lip ointment, and other lip-related products...
, Burt's Bees
Burt's Bees
Burt's Bees is an American personal care products company that describes itself as an "Earth friendly, Natural Personal Care Company"making products for personal care, health, beauty, and personal hygiene...
, Derma E, Emergen-C, Life Extension
Life extension
Life extension science, also known as anti-aging medicine, experimental gerontology, and biomedical gerontology, is the study of slowing down or reversing the processes of aging to extend both the maximum and average lifespan...
, Nature’s Way, New Chapter, NOW Foods, Solgar, Twinlab
Twinlab
Twinlab Corporation is an American company which manufactures and markets vitamins, minerals, and bodybuilding supplements. It was originally founded by David and Jean Blechman in 1968 and run by them and their sons – Neil, Brian, Ross, Steve and Dean...
, Weil and Yogi Tea
Yogi Tea
Yogi Tea creates and manufactures a wide variety of premium teas, including green, herbal, black and red tea. Yogi Tea is part of Golden Temple of Oregon, LLC...
.
FDA actions
Swanson Health Products has had a few encounters with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which oversees the natural health industry’s marketing and labeling of dietary supplements to ensure they are not labeled as unapproved drugs. Most recently, in 2007 SHP received a warning letter from the FDA stating that the company was selling an unapproved version of the prescription cholesterol drug called Mevacor. FDA laboratory analysis determined that two of SHP’s red yeast rice supplements contained significant amounts of lovastatinLovastatin
Lovastatin is a member of the drug class of statins, used for lowering cholesterol in those with hypercholesterolemia and so preventing cardiovascular disease...
, the active ingredient in Mevacor and its generic counterparts. The FDA letter stated, “Because Red Yeast Rice and Red Yeast Rice/Policosanol Complex contain red yeast rice with enhanced or added lovastatin and bear claims about lipid control and other cardiovascular benefits supplied by this ingredient, they cannot be marketed as dietary supplements.”