History of Nutrilite Company

Carl Rehnborg came up with the idea for nutritional supplements while working in China from 1915-27, for a series of U.S. companies: Standard Oil, Carnation and Colgate.

While living in China, Carl Rehnborg noticed, amid unforgettable malnutrition and disease, an important connection between the foods people ate and their overall health.

In 1935 Carl F. Rehnborg sets up a lab in Montebello, California, and pursues his dream full-time. Carl names one of his first products Vita-6 for the six vitamins it contains. In 1937, he changes the name to Vitasol.

Carl notes the term “Nutrilites” in a 1928 Science magazine and seeks permission to use it as the official name for his new company. In 1939, Nutrilite Products, Inc. (NPI) is officially incorporated. The cost to incorporate is $69.56.

Carl began selling his new supplement person to person, friend to friend, through word-of-mouth referrals. When some of these early customers began referring new customers to Carl, he suggested they sell the product themselves, rewarding them with discounts on their purchases.

The first Nutrilite factory was opened in central Los Angeles. The 1940s saw a great expansion as Rehnborg bought 1.4 acres of farmland and devised the organic “Nutrilite Farming Practices” that are still used today to maintain the integrity of Nutrilite products.

In 1956, in cooperation with the University of Hawaii, Nutrilite Products, Inc. conducts research on the acerola cherry and introduces an all-natural vitamin C supplement.

Amway distributors began to clamor for a line of supplements, and the Amway co-founders felt Nutrilite was the best product in the industry. In 1972, Nutrilite was acquired by Amway and they took over complete ownership.

In 1998, Nutrilite acquires controlling interest in North America’s largest organic herbal farm – Trout Lake Farm, L.L.C., located in the state of Washington. Nutrilite purchases farmland in Tiangu, Ceara, Brazil.
History of Nutrilite Company

History of Amway

Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and cofounder Richard DeVos. Jay Van Andel, born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1924, and Richard M. DeVos, born in the small nearby community of Ada in 1926, became friends at Christian High School in Grand Rapids.

Van Andel and DeVos made a pact in high school to become business entrepreneurs together. They started a flying school and opened a drive-in restaurant. In 1949 DeVos and Van Andel became distributors of vitamins for the Nutrilite Company of California. However, increasing government regulations and an internal conflict in Nutrilite led Van Andel, DeVos, and several other leading Nutrilite distributors to start their own venture.

Eventually, from the basement of their homes, Van Andel and DeVos founded Amway. In 1959, Amway launched a business model fueled by the power of relationships. The first product—Liquid Organic Cleaner or L.O.C.™—was one of the first biodegradable and environmentally conscious cleaning products.

The company rapidly expanded. The first full year of operations in 1960 resulted in gross sales of $500,000. That figure doubled in each of the next two years, and in 1964 it reached $10 million. In 1962, Amway opens its first international office in London, Ontario, Canada.

Since 1995, Steve Van Andel, the oldest son of Jay Van Andel, and Doug DeVos, the son of Richard DeVos, co-chair Amway’s board of directors. In 2013, Amway is ranked as the world’s #1 direct selling business in the Direct Selling News Global 100, based on 2012 global sales of $11.3 billion.

Today, Amway is the most popular multi-level marketing (MLM) company in the world. The company sold $8.4 billion worth of products in 2019.
History of Amway