Following the Vision of Elwood Richard
By: NOW Marketing

In 1968 the natural products industry was still very brand new. Elwood Richard, NOW Foods’ founder and Board Chairman, had recently opened his first health food store after spending time in the family’s health food business. One day he found himself face-to-face with an irate customer. Upset at having paid Elwood more for a product being sold for less just a few blocks away, he called Elwood a “dirty robber.” This troubled Elwood to the point of knowing that something drastic had to change.

Instead of trying to compete with large distributors, Elwood took a more subtle approach. He knew that the only way to provide quality health products at fair, honest prices was to bypass the distributors who, at the time, controlled the slow growing industry. Armed with his education, a scientific background, and the desire to provide good products at fair prices, Elwood opened his own health food business. Before long he was providing products similar to those offered by distributors - at lower prices. NOW Foods was born.

As word spread business grew and NOW Foods gradually expanded its inventory. Elwood had successfully found a way to provide a much needed channel for cost conscious health enthusiasts. Over 40 years later, Elwood’s vision continues to inspire the NOW organization. The company has grown from a small family business to a global leader in high quality health food products. NOW currently sells to approximately 70 countries worldwide.

Providing natural health products without inflated prices has been a priority at NOW since the very beginning. It starts with the ingredients used to manufacture NOW’s line of over 1,500 products. NOW’s buyers have established relationships with some of the world’s best raw material vendors. By increasing purchase volume, NOW has been able to obtain larger discounts, reduce overhead and keep costs low. The company also purchases factory-reconditioned equipment, designed and built its own energy-efficient facility, and has no outstanding debt. These factors all help NOW keep the price of its products low for retailers and therefore consumers.

Elwood knew the value of word-of-mouth advertising, as well as relationship building; characteristics that continue to drive the company today. While others invest mainly in advertising and promotions, NOW invests more resources in science and quality. In the long run, this has served the company well, making it possible for NOW to offer the highest quality at prices people can afford. Over the years, NOW has been able to maintain these prices by making smart purchasing decisions, buying in bulk, and manufacturing & testing products in-house.  

As Elwood grew his business, he was assisted by dedicated family members and friends to keep NOW moving forward; a practice that still goes on to this day. Under the direction of Dan Richard, Elwood’s son, NOW used low cost telemarketing to sell products in a cost effective way. This has reduced the cost of having a large, expensive outside sales staff. As a result, NOW experiences less turnover than many of its industry colleagues.      

Elwood is an educated chemist who early on understood the importance of science. Today, product testing isn’t a luxury. It is a requirement, and a very expensive required one at that. Long before scientific testing was routine, NOW was subjecting raw materials and finished products to third party laboratories, including microbial, potency, and identity testing. This was not mandatory at the time, but Elwood knew it would build value in the NOW brand. By the time competitors were understanding the role of testing and GMPs, NOW was already testing many products and ingredients in-house. By not having to rely on outsourced science, NOW was able to reduce overhead even further, while ensuring strict Quality Control and Quality Assurance.

While much has changed over forty years, many of Elwood’s original ideas for the company are still practiced today. Self-distribution is one of the most significant, as distribution can add as much as 25% to a product’s final retail cost. By selling directly to retailers, offering local delivery, using efficient shipping methods, and opening distribution centers in Canada and the western United States, NOW has successfully minimized several very costly expenses.

Unlike some nutritional product companies, NOW is a true manufacturer. By manufacturing products in-house, NOW has been able to not only reduce costs, but also maintain the highest levels of quality throughout the entire process; from raw material inspection to finished product delivery. This is a decisive factor in NOW’s success, and one that continues to show the depth to which Elwood, his family and peers all worked to provides better quality and lower costs.

Today, NOW continues to honor the vision that helped shape NOW Foods over four decades ago. NOW is headquartered from a technologically-advanced 250,000 square foot manufacturing facility; complete with seven in-house laboratories, state-of-the-art inventory management and order picking systems, eco-friendly electrical and climate-controlled operations center, and a space-conscious warehouse. NOW currently offers over 1,500 natural health products.

Looking forward, NOW will continue to look for new ways to fulfill its mission of providing value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives.