Vitamin World Funds New Antioxidant Research

BOSTON, Nov. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vitamin World, a leading specialty brand for health products in the United States, announced today a new joint antioxidant research initiative with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School. The project will focus on further exploring the nutritional and health benefits of the Acai berry, a grape-like fruit native to the rainforests of South America which is known for its high antioxidant levels, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Held at BIDMC in Boston, MA, the signing ceremony was attended by senior leaders from both sides, including Frank Conley, CEO and Vincent Mariani, CMO of Vitamin World and Dr. Jin-rong Zhou, Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Director of BIDMC's Nutrition and Metabolism Laboratory.

Vitamin World has been widely acknowledged for offering the industry's highest quality products for over 40 years. Providing more than 500 world-class products covering 14 functional categories, it is dedicated to innovating new products to be sold throughout 141 countries around the world. Vitamin World discovered that, among all fruits, the Acai berry ranks highest in terms of its oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) values, a method of measuring antioxidant capacities in biological samples which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Harvard University. Vitamin World recognized early on the importance of the Acai berry and its natural antioxidant properties, with benefits ranging from anti-aging to improved skin appearance to weight loss, and used the fruit's raw materials to build its flagship Platinum series product, the Vitamin World Acai Berry.

Focused on the health and wellness of its customers, Vitamin World sources the most unique ingredients from all over the world that are meticulously cultivated, and then brings them to world-class manufacturing facilities to create and produce its premium supplements. Its global R&D facilities ensure that Vitamin World always delivers the most innovative and cutting-edge products to meet the health needs of its customers worldwide. This dedication to providing exceptional products has made it one of the most welcomed brands by customers, with Vitamin World winning the "USA Consumer Satisfaction Award" six times as well as receiving a superior 90% recommendation rate from customers according to the leading global market research firm Ipsos.

Vitamin World CEO Frank Conley said, "We are delighted to collaborate with BIDMC to take antioxidant research to the next level. Leveraging our respective strengths, the new project will create major synergies between Vitamin World's leading R&D and innovation capabilities and BIDMC's renowned academic research program. We have every confidence that our collaboration will help us to develop even better products that we can bring to customers."

Mr. Conley went on to say, "In the U.S., Vitamin World currently operates a vast network of retail locations and continues to deepen our presence on multiple digital and e-commerce platforms. As we push ahead with our globalization strategy, we look forward to taking this hugely successful omni-channel approach to serving customers all over the world, particularly in China, where the health and wellness market is soon expected to rival that of the U.S. Just last month, Vitamin World was pleased to enter the Chinese market via e-commerce, and the brand now plans to expand further through offline channels in 2019. We very much look forward to contributing to the bright future for vitamins and supplements in China, both as a traditional and cross-border online retailer."

China has rapidly emerged as a key market for Vitamin World and its strategy for continued global expansion. Supported both by government policies and booming domestic consumption, the Chinese VMHS market (vitamins, minerals, herbs, and supplements) is projected to be worth RMB 180 billion by 2020 and surpass the U.S. as the world's largest VMHS market in the foreseeable future. Chinese consumers' awareness of the benefits of nutritional supplements has risen dramatically, creating a huge growth opportunity for Vitamin World.

BIDMC's renowned academic research program, where scientific discoveries are helping to transform healthcare, consistently ranks as a national leader among independent hospitals in National Institutes of Health funding. Backed by the enormous research capabilities of BIDMC, Vitamin World will be able to unlock the full nutritional value of the Acai berry and deliver those benefits to people all over the world.

SOURCE Vitamin World