Increased demand for testing means overall quality of dietary supplement industry is improving, Alkemist Labs CEO says
Costa Mesa, CA-based Alkemist has seen growth in the demand for its services that has consistently outpaced the growth of the industry as a whole, Sudberg told NutraIngredients-USA. The growth has led Alkemist to expand its executive team to take on some of the roles that Sudberg was doing himself.
“We have seen growth of twenty-something or thirty-something percent per year,” Sudberg said. “Over recent years we have experienced growth as the the industry has been forced into GMP compliance. Before that we saw growth as a result of self compliance.”
Sudberg said the rapid growth meant that the time had come to surrender some executive functions, so Alkemist has announced the hiring of a director of sales, Paul Burns, and Robin Mullin, who will handle leadership development.
“These are things I’ve been attempting to do on my own as we grew from 15 to 20 to now 27 people,” Sudberg said. “Robin is taking over HR-related tasks and is helping to develop culture building activities. Paul will now have a team of four reporting to him.”
Need for quality highlighted
Sudberg said the incident in New York has had an upside: More companies are now aware of their exposure to quality issues and seem motivated to do something about it. Sudberg said inquiries about testing some of the same herbs named in the AG’s action have come in in just the last few days.
“Unfortunately I think this was a hit to the industry as a whole. But it has definitely increased the interest in, the awareness of and the desire for quality. It has definitely increased the demand for testing. We have had had new inquiries and new work we are doing right at this moment as a result of this,” he said.
“What this thing does is show a desire on the part of consumers for quality and transparency. I think over time the lack of transparency in the industry will go away. I think it’s great what GNC did, to test their products and reveal the results. But they didn’t do that three weeks ago unprovoked. They unfortunately waited for the plane to crash before they shared with consumers this effort on their part,” Sudberg said.
Sales data backs quality message
Sudberg said that the pace of growth Alkemist has experienced leads him to infer that the testing mentality is gaining greater penetration within the dietary supplement industry. Alkemist has seen a flood of new customers, even as some bigger companies seek to bring testing functions in house in an effort to cut costs. For Sudberg the situation looks this this: Despite how quickly some naysayers (such as The New York Times) were to jump on the low quality bandwagon being driven by the New York AG, the industry is getting better and the sales numbers can help prove it.
“Brands should disclose to the industry where they buy their stuff and where they have it tested. I don’t care if they test it at my lab or someplace else. The demand is grown faster than the industry is growing and we are getting new customers on a daily basis and that right there tells you that you are getting increased compliance,” he said.
New hires
Sudberg said Burns’ writ will be to maintain the company’s strong sales momentum. Burns earned a BA with an emphasis in analytical chemistry at the University of Denver and most recently was national sales manager at Eurofins Scientific.
“Paul will bring consistency to our growth with his many relationships and understanding of the crucial role top-notch testing plays in our industry,” Sudberg said.
Mullin’s role as director of talent, learning and culture will be more nuanced. Mullin earned a bachelors in business administration at Indiana University and a masters in organizational leadership at Chapman University. Sudberg said he was concerned that the company maintain its identity as it grows.
“As companies grow, particularly family owned and run companies, placing focus on organizational development and the culture inside the company becomes an important part of the plan,” he said.
