Nu-Life

When the low-carb diet craze exploded, companies from nearly every food-related industry responded by rushing to develop low-carb products. As these companies scrambled to cash in on the dieting trend of the year, store shelves filled with low-carb cereals, low-carb ice cream, and even low-carb beer.

In contrast, Ontario-based Nu-Life Nutrition responded by researching the requirements of a low-carb diet. Eventually they released a nutritional program that balances blood sugar levels and resensitizes the body to insulin during the "induction" phase of a low-carb diet when carbohydrates are highly restricted to begin weight loss.
Nu-Life's measured response to the latest dieting trend is characteristic of the company's core beliefs about quality nutrition. "We see fads come along all the time in the nutrition industry," says Robert Dagnon, VP of operations and assistant general manager of Nu-Life. "But we're careful to avoid the temptation to rush product development just to be first on the market.
"Our customers' health is our first concern-we can't afford to jeopardize our reputation for quality by putting out an inferior or questionable product."

Driven by quality
Nu-Life has been building a reputation for quality since 1983, when the company set out to supply Canadians with high-end health and wellness products. For Nu-Life, quality assurance is at the heart of a product line that includes multivitamins and minerals, herbal and green food supplements, and sports nutrition products.
"We sleep at night because we know our products are safe," Dagnon explains. "All our ingredients are quarantined and inspected before being used to manufacture our products, and we keep a full-time quality assurance director on staff."
After considering a number of different manufacturing facilities, Nu-Life's management committee chose Garden State Nutritionals in West Caldwell, New Jersey, because
of the company's A+ rating from the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA). Under the NNFA's Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification program, manufacturers undergo stringent third-party audits to ensure their products meet or exceed the standards of the dietary supplement industry. "Garden State is one of only 10 US manufacturers to achieve GMP certification with an A+ rating," says Dagnon, "so the decision was an easy one." Garden State has been Nu-Life's primary source of manufacturing since 1998.

Combining innovation with education
Over the years, Nu-Life has earned a strong reputation for developing innovative, high-quality nutritional products. In addition to its core products, the company continues to break new ground with products such as Smoke-Away, a five-step natural program
to assist people who want to stop smoking.
But innovative products are not the only secret to Nu-Life's continued growth and success. From the beginning, the company has recognized the vital role played by the health food retailers who sell its products.
"Knowledgeable health food retailers are at the heart of our business," says Dagnon. "We are constantly working to ensure retailers have the knowledge and tools to help customers make healthy choices."
Nu-Life's educational tools include an informative website at nulifevitamins.com and a toll-free help line at 1-800-682-6394 for personal advice about health and wellness products.
But for all Nu-Life's success, the life of a high-end nutritional company is not without its challenges.
"Premium products cost more," explains Dagnon, "so one of our biggest challenges is overcoming people's natural tendency to choose cheaper products that are often inferior in quality. Given education and a choice, though, people will choose the best quality vitamins and supplements that money can buy."