Herbalife Nutrition, Proactive Sports Performance to open sports nutrition performance research facility

The nutrition company is opening what they pegged “The first global state-of-the-art performance center,”​ in Westlake Village, California. The facility is set to be completed by the end of 2020. 

Herbalife Nutrition and Proactive Sports Performance are slated to extend their long-time partnership and take sports performance to the next level. In a press release, Herbalife Nutrition said they are the official nutrition provider to more than 190 professional athletes, sports teams and sporting events around the world.

A work in progress 

The new center is currently under construction and will combine the Herbalife's knack for sports nutrition with Proactive’s knowledge and experience in sports performance.  

"With more than a decade in the making, this facility will pair sports science and our best in class training environment. Nutrition, training, recovery and therapy will be seamlessly integrated in this performance center,"​ said Ryan Capretta, founder and director of Proactive Sports Performance. "We look forward to expanding our relationship with Herbalife Nutrition."​

"We are excited to partner with Ryan to build a state-of-the-art facility that demonstrates the power of integrating sports nutrition and athletic training best practices,"​ said Alex Amezquita, senior vice president of finance and strategic planning at Herbalife Nutrition.

Sports, technology, training and research 

Herbalife will have sports nutritionists and exercise scientists on-site to develop and implement long-term programs to study effects and benefits of hydration, as well as micro and macro nutrients. The facility will also have technology for physical training and recovery on hand. 

The comprehensive sports nutrition performance research center will be focused on analyzing the totality of an athlete's lifestyle and how the utilization of an entire nutrition and training protocol can benefit their training, on-field performance and recovery.

The training programs have positioned Proactive Sports, founded in 2006 by Capretta, to be popular among professional athletes of all sports, of all ages and levels. Capretta holds a Masters in Sports Science and worked seven years in the NFL and at Stanford University as a strength and conditioning coach. 

Herbalife Nutrition has worked hand-in-hand with Proactive Sports over the past eight years to help optimize their elite athlete program through sports nutrition, working closely with athletes planning to enter professional scouting combines by assessing each individual's fitness goals and complementing their training with a targeted meal plan.

Investigations, lawsuits, violations, and settlements 

Herbalife has come under fire in recent years. The company agreed to pay $200 million​ in 2016 to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claims over pyramid scheme allegations, where Herbalife Nutrition misled people into becoming distributors for its products by telling them they could get rich quickly. The company disagreed with many of the FTC’s allegations, but said it had decided to settle to avoid “the financial cost and distraction of protracted litigation.”​

As part of the settlement, Herbalife also agreed to change its business practices. Separately, the embattled company agreed to pay $3 million to settle an investigation by the Illinois attorney general’s office.

Elsewhere, In September, the  US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that Herbalife Nutrition agreed to pay $20 million​ to settle charges that it made false and misleading statements about its China business model in numerous US regulatory filings over a six-year period.

Herbalife continues to be under the microscope, with a separate outstanding lawsuit with the SEC and the US Department of Justice over whether it violated foreign bribery laws in China.

Herbalife Nutrition reported net sales of $4.9 billion in 2018, up 10% from 2017.