HSR: Health Supplement Retailer is celebrating its 10th anniversary by talking with some of the leaders in the branded dietary supplement category. These industry veterans are among those who have had—and continue to have—significant influence on the marketing of dietary supplements through the health food channel and on the industry at large. Each month, we will talk with an exec, and bring you their views on how the industry has changed and where it is headed.
This month, HSR sits down with Gary Barrows, president of Sugar Land, Texas-based Bluebonnet Nutrition Corp. Founded in 1991, Bluebonnet sells its line of premium dietary supplement products exclusively through independent natural products stores. The company actively supports independent retailers, and Barrows has served on the board of directors for the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA).
HSR: Why did you originally start Bluebonnet?
Gary Barrows
: I’ve actually been in the dietary supplement industry since 1983, and founded Bluebonnet in 1991. Our family started the business because we saw the industry was evolving. There was a lot of advanced technology coming out of the pharmaceutical industry, mostly in manufacturing, that was making inroads into the natural foods business. We saw an opportunity to bring some of these advancements into our industry and to launch a real premium, elite vitamin line with these new advancements. The one that was probably the most exciting was these new vegetarian, kosher capsules from vegetable cellulose. Another big breakthrough was the option of using an aqueous-based film coating on tablets instead of traditional shellac-type coatings. These were huge advancements for our industry. We felt like we could build cleaner, more natural products with these new technologies. We blended together some of the good ideas from the old technology and added the innovations.
HSR: What are the business principles of Bluebonnet?
Barrows:
Our basic principles haven’t changed much over the last 10 years, but have evolved as our company has grown. Our company was built on a very basic principle of making premium quality products that promote optimal health. The other thing we have done right from the beginning is keep our brand exclusive to natural foods retailers. Our objective was to bring the cleanest, most natural brand to the market and keep it exclusive to specialty natural foods stores.
We committed the Bluebonnet brand to help health food retailers continue to grow their business. We are in a partnership with these retail stores, and they need brands that are exclusive to their stores. These specialty-type stores have knowledgeable staff that help sell our specialtytype products. If consumers want a basic multiple or vitamin C, they can go nearly anywhere. But when they want to get deeper into the vitamin industry, they start seeking more knowledgeable people who can help guide them to the right products for the goals they’re trying to achieve. That happens through the natural foods retailers—they are the real pioneers and the backbone of the industry.
HSR: Bluebonnet promotes its products as premium quality. What types of quality control (QC) practices do you have in place to ensure that you’re delivering the goods?
Barrows:
In order to manufacture such a premium brand, there has to be a very talented QC team tracking from the raw material through to the finished product. We have three labs dedicated to the analytical work that is required to make this type of product line. QC starts before we even purchase our raw materials. We source ingredients from all over the world and analyze them to see if they meet our specs. Once we find the materials that have the actives we want, then we start negotiating price. Testing starts when a raw material lands at our back door through the manufacturing process until the finished product is complete. Then we do a thorough analysis on the finished product before it is released into the marketplace. Our largest investment over the last few years has been in the QC department. In addition, when we built our manufacturing facility five years ago, we adopted pharmaceutical GMPs (good manufacturing practices). Obviously, we’re still waiting for nutraceutical GMPs to be announced, but we already follow the rigorous testing required in the pharmaceutical industry.
HSR: Speaking of GMPs and regulation of the industry, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) was passed just over 10 years ago. What impact do you think it has had on the dietary supplement industry?
Barrows:
The passing of DSHEA was probably the single most significant change in regulatory affairs that I have seen in the 25 years I’ve been in the industry. There is no question that it changed the industry for the better. We’ve seen a much more even playing field. One of the biggest benefits was the creation of the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), which was established to ensure the government was taking steps to ensure that products and label claims were valid. Other components such as unified labeling standards, structurefunction claims, and required expiration dates all made a very even playing field for the brands, and it was easier for consumers to see what they were getting in their products.
HSR: How have you grown Bluebonnet?
Barrows:
Honestly, the biggest challenge in the last 10 years has been managing our growth and making sure we allocate our resources properly and use them as efficiently and effectively as possible. But our growth strategy goes back to the partnership we have with the retail stores. We are committed to helping them grow their businesses, which helps us grow our business. Another thing that we have been very fortunate about is the number of natural ingredients that are now available. They’ve made such huge advancements in this area, and any time there is a natural ingredient available, we will bring it to market. In addition, we are constantly launching truly innovative, unique products, which are often first to market. For example, we were first to market a product with vegetarian SOD (superoxide dismutase), GliSODin™, an innovative natural ingredient. There has been so much advancement in stabilizing natural compounds, making sure they’re intact and processed carefully. This commitment to natural ingredients and innovation is what sets apart a real premium brand from most of what is in the market today.
HSR: In addition to your commitment to the independent retailers, you’ve also been a major supporter of NNFA. Why have you been so involved with the association, and what value is it bringing to the industry?
Barrows:
Obviously, at Bluebonnet we’re very active with the NNFA, which has served several very important functions over its 68-year history. NNFA is responsible for creating a presence in Washington, D.C., to help guide and influence regulatory affairs and make sure there is an effective platform for the natural foods industry. Having this presence in Washington has made it very difficult for laws or regulations to pass that would negatively affect our industry or limit Americans’ access to dietary supplements. We want to make sure consumers have their choice in health care, whatever it may be. That is a basic freedom that we at Bluebonnet will fight for, and we know NNFA is very committed to making sure that 10, 20 or 50 years from now, the natural foods industry will remain intact and the government will do all it can to let people have access to dietary supplements. We have more clout as an industry on Capitol Hill than we’ve ever had in the past. I really feel very strongly that NNFA and other significant groups like the Council for Responsible Nutrition, American Botanical Council and American Herbal Products Association are all fostering a grassroots effort to create a presence in Washington.
HSR: Looking into your crystal ball, what lies ahead for Bluebonnet in the next decade, and what is yet to come for the dietary supplement industry?
Barrows:
Certainly, what lies ahead for Bluebonnet is a continued commitment to the development of cutting edge products that are science based and designed to help improve one’s health. We are currently delivering quality products, better products than have been in our industry before. But we’ve got quite a task ahead to continue our level of research and bring quality products to the market. We will build our future success by staying on that path. It is what built our brand. Our whole foundation is built on the independent retailer.
On the industry side, one significant event is the aging of the baby boomers. This is a very different group of retired people than have come before. They’re trying to slow down the aging process and are much more open to alternative health care practices. They’re already the largest group of supplement users. In addition, the industry is ever evolving as we uncover more of the mysteries of human nutrition. We are only scratching the surface of what we will learn about human nutrition. Fifty years from now, it will still be unfolding. It is very exciting to be in this industry right now, with what we know now, and the compounds that will be discovered and brought to the market. Realistically, the nutrition industry is still in its early infancy. Finally, as regulatory issues have changed the way manufacturers do business, the bar has been raised. And we’re committed to continuing to raising that bar.
Independent health food stores have been at the forefront of the dietary supplement market and, in the future, will remain the backbone of the industry. There are more players coming into the market, but we feel very strongly that future growth will continue to be with independent retailers educating consumers and working one on one with individuals. This industry is viable and retailers will continue to grow and we’ll continue our commitment to help them grow.
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This month, HSR sits down with Gary Barrows, president of Sugar Land, Texas-based Bluebonnet Nutrition Corp. Founded in 1991, Bluebonnet sells its line of premium dietary supplement products exclusively through independent natural products stores. The company actively supports independent retailers, and Barrows has served on the board of directors for the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA).
Gary Barrows