Natural Grocers reiterates quality commitment in relaunch of private label line

06-May-2021 - Last updated on 06-May-2021 at 13:34 GMT

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Natural Grocers is revamping its line of private label supplement products for new market realities and to better fit the company’s evolving market position. The new line, branded as Natural Grocers Brand Vitamins & Supplements, encompasses more than 100 products, including vitamins, herbs, minerals and other formulas.

Alan Lewis, vice president of strategic projects for the health food store chain, said the new launch is a re-commitment to the company’s commitment to quality at an affordable price point.

"We've sold private label dietary supplements for decades. They were produced by longtime manufacturing partners with a strong commitment to providing quality products at an affordable price. "Vitamin Cottage" brand supplements have always been a mainstay on our shelves. We often formulated them in unique ways that met our customer's needs,” Lewis told NutraIngredients-USA.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is the formal name for the company that was founded in Lakewood, CO more than 50 years ago. It was known just as Vitamin Cottage at first and has since grown to include more the 160 stores in states mostly west of the Mississippi.

Education alerts consumers to value proposition

Natural Grocers pursues a model somewhat different from tis closest competitors in that it devotes a significantly greater amount of store footage to the sale of dietary supplements. Along with that comes a commitment to customer education, Lewis said.

“The dietary supplement manufacturing sector has matured since the advent of DSHEA, and again with the implementation and enforcement of Current Good Manufacturing Practices guidelines. At the same time, producing and processing raw materials has developed into a full-transparency effort from seed to soil to the final analysis of cleanness, identity and potency. Since our core branding is based on quality products, we are taking advantage of this quantum leap in production standards to ensure all of our Natural Grocers brand products remain recognized as the best of the best,” he said.

Lewis said the new line represents a reset of the company’s approach to private label supplements, one that is aimed to keep the products popular and relevant.

“Like with our food items, our product development team looks at the source and quality of every ingredient. This is a long process, so we decided to sell through our prior supplement SKUs while we developed and vetted a whole new program for the category. Our Natural Grocers brand products solve a key problem for shoppers who are often overwhelmed by unrealistic marketing claims or are tempted to buy the lowest-price option online,” Lewis said.

The company advertises that its supplements are manufactured in facilities whose GMP credentials have been certified by NSF. Also, Natural Grocers says every incoming lot of raw material is tested. No skip lot testing is employed.