Nature’s Sunshine Products was founded back in 1972 after an American couple needed to take herbs to alleviate their health issues but could not find them in capsule form. By addressing that gap in the market, the company has become a profitable business with operations in 40 countries and over $440 million in revenue.
Nature’s Sunshine Products is a pioneer in the wellness industry which is also betting on its digital capabilities. Relying on nature to make premium-quality products that can transform people’s lives has been a top commitment for the company, which is known for following the most rigorous quality standards in its 500 personally crafted solutions.
Nature’s Sunshine’s Terrence Moorehead sat down for an exclusive interview with CEO North America and the first thing he wished to draw upon was the company’s heritage. “You look at a company like Nature’s Sunshine that has this incredible history. We are celebrating our first 50 years after pioneering the natural health and wellness industry,” he said. “We are the first company to encapsulate herbs.”
As the CEO explains, the firm’s history started after founders Gene and Kristine Hughes were having health problems and someone suggested that they would benefit from taking herbs. Kristine came up with the idea that would shape the company, which has had a growing presence in American households.
“She said, ‘Hey, why don’t we see if we can put some herbs in capsules, and then we can take them more effectively and it would be easy’… and it worked. They found a way to get the right herbs, put the herbs into capsules, took the capsules and their health improved,” Moorehead explained to CEO NA.
This year, the Utah-based company is celebrating its first half-century of operations, a major milestone for the natural herbs industry and, as the CEO observes, “a way to remember how a good forefront idea can make a difference.”
Today, NSP is doing business in 40 countries and is expanding its presence across U.S. streets. According to Moorehead, the company’s strength is that it collaborates with third parties to manufacture, distribute and sell its products.
“Literally thousands upon thousands of herbalists and herbal healers, naturopaths, chiropractors and nutritionists are among health professionals using herbs. Those are the ones who are distributing our products and sharing the healing power of nature with all the people around them, just like Gene and Kristine were doing,” the CEO says. Moorehead was appointed to the company’s board in 2018 and has more than 27 years of experience in the retail consumer products industry.
In 2015, the company reported $324.71 million in revenue. Only seven years later, revenue is approaching half a billion dollars after reaching $444.1 million in 2021.
Solar-powered production
In July this year, NSP became one of Utah’s first solar-powered companies after converting its manufacturing facility to 100% solar energy. The move is aligned with the firm’s goal of harnessing nature’s power to support people on their health journeys.
As Moorehead explains, the company’s small-batch manufacturing capabilities have allowed them to deliver some of the most potent and purest nutritional supplements available in the industry. Nature’s Sunshine has its own research and development capabilities through the Hughes Research Center. “It is managed by PhDs and has a strong staff of doctors and scientists and herbalists working in conjunction with us to develop formulations and identify new ingredients. We are developing new plant-based ingredients,” Moorehead notes.
There, the company does all of its own testing and manufactures its products internally. The problem, according to the CEO, was that despite having some of the best, most powerful plant-based formulas, the company did not have an effective marketing strategy.
“We hadn’t really been keeping pace with field discipline and field fundamentals. We didn’t have any digital capabilities at all,” Moorehead recalls. “That is why I wanted to be a part of this, to transform the company and do something special.”
NSP had about $17 million in EBITDA when the CEO joined the company and raised it to $50 million in a few years. “When you look at that type of productivity from a bottom-line standpoint, it is an incredible growth,” says Moorehead, who holds an MBA from Columbia University.
Building digital capabilities
Nature’s Sunshine’s future relies on digital solutions through artificial intelligence. As Moorehead explains, understanding people’s individual health needs is key for the company to develop specific programs to make things easier for consumers by, for example, using new personalized packaging.
This is one part of the future the CEO envisions. His other priorities are largely focused on trying to drive out cost and waste and improve the company’s efficiencies.
“We’re still going to build out our brand proposition and modernize the brand. We are building our sales capabilities and our sales channels and building our digital capabilities,” Moorehead explains. “We have got the product. We’ve got the technology. We can deliver the results.”
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