Genuine Health

Like many top natural health companies, Genuine Health grew out of humble origins-in this case, a small health food store.

Stewart Brown, president of Genuine Health, started out in the natural health industry in the 1980s by opening Supplements Plus, a Toronto health food store. Within 10 years, Supplements Plus had expanded to three stores in the Toronto area and earned a strong reputation as a retailer of quality health products.

The start of greens+

In the mid 1990s, Brown was approached by a then-unknown nutritional researcher named Sam Graci, who asked for his help marketing and distributing a formulation he had spent the last seven years developing, a fledgling product called greens+.

After a diving accident left his sister-in-law with quadriplegia, Graci developed a green drink to help her recover from her injuries. Brown was impressed with the quality and formulation of the organic whole food supplement and agreed to offer it to consumers through the Supplements Plus stores.

The product was a huge hit, and soon Brown was adding more of Graci's products to his store's exclusive product lineup. He began wholesaling Graci's product line to other retailers, and by 1998, demand had exploded so dramatically that he decided to sell the Supplements Plus chain and focus on the wholesale business.

That business became Genuine Health, which today sells greens+ and more than 35 other products to health food, grocery, and drug stores across Canada. In addition to conducting its own research at prestigious universities, the company develops products in conjunction with a staff team that includes a naturopathic doctor, fitness expert, pharmacist, and various scientists.

Research is Key

"Our products are backed by research, with research-proven ingredients in research-proven dosages," says Lisa Chisholm, Genuine Health's director of marketing. "Superior formulation, quality control, manufacturing standards, and customer service help us bring the best possible products to our customers."

But Genuine Health is much more than a developer and distributor of natural health products. Through its bilingual website, GenuineHealth.com, its free online newsletter, and its ongoing outreach and education programs, the company strives to offer retailers and customers everything they need to promote and lead healthy and vibrant lives.

Helpful Health Programs

The company's commitment to health education is exemplified by the five "programs" available on its website, which map out positive lifestyle and supplement choices to promote daily health, weight loss, healthy longevity, stress management, and hormonal health.

"We created these programs to make good health an easy lifestyle choice for Canadians," says Chisholm. Visitors to the website can learn about the philosophy behind each program, select a custom daily plan for implementing the program, read helpful tips, and even download a meal plan.

Genuine Health has won more than 60 alive Awards of Excellence, and in 2003, health food retailers across Canada honoured the company with the CHFA's "Supplier of Excellence" award.