Commitment to quality: At the heart of everything we do

DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this column reflect the views of the author(s), not of Euractiv Media network.

Being the leading nutrition company in the world is a distinction earned through our commitment to quality. [Shutterstock]

Building long-lasting relationships with our distributors and their customers is based on a core element: trust.

Since 1980, Herbalife Nutrition has been committed to maintaining that trust by investing in the quality of our products for the millions of customers around the world who choose us to be part of their daily nutrition plan.

Gary Swanson is Senior Vice President, Global Quality Assurance and Control at Herbalife Nutrition.

Throughout my career, I’ve applied my expertise as a chemist to help companies improve product and process quality. Since joining Herbalife Nutrition in 2009, I’ve had the privilege to see first-hand how our $300 million investment in manufacturing and quality ensures the best products are delivered to each and every customer. From Los Angeles to Jakarta, to Winston-Salem to Changsha, I oversee our uniform global quality standards, and the Herbalife Nutrition team of more than 300 doctors and scientists who help set and maintain our standards and support our efforts to comply with government safety requirements across 94 markets.

Here is how we have managed to ensure the best in class quality standards in sourcing, manufacturing and distribution on a worldwide scale:

Seed to Feed

Our Seed to Feed process encompasses everything from sourcing only the finest ingredients to meeting or exceeding good manufacturing practices. It is a 14-step quality control system that is unmatched in the industry.  We continuously test our products, putting them through an arduous protocol to ensure they comply with the highest quality standards.  Here are important aspects:

  • Everything starts with quality ingredients, so the first three steps – plant, cultivate, harvest – ensure we have complete traceability of the active ingredients in our products.
  • We then start the manufacturing process. By undergoing state-of-the-art blending, compression, packaging and manufacturing, we can guarantee that customers get the exact same high-quality product, whether you are consuming our products in France, India or Mexico.
  • Throughout the whole process, rigorous in-process tests are performed. Just to give you an idea: every time we produce a batch of our flagship Herbalife Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix, we run more than 300 tests.

Scientific Leadership

We have six research and development facilities around the world. We have seven labs that test for quality, and of those seven labs, one of the labs is responsible for testing the other labs to make sure they’re doing their jobs properly.  We have a global operations staff of almost 2,000 people. Our staff includes more than 300 scientists, 50 of whom hold a Ph.D, and set the Company’s uniform global standard for quality and oversee every aspect of our product development and production.

Quality Certifications that Exceed Industry Standards

All of our manufacturing facilities and laboratories meet or exceed good manufacturing practices, and our world-class laboratories have achieved the highest level of accreditation, which reflects our strict adherence to industry-leading standards. No other company in the industry goes to these lengths. These achievements include:

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17025 accreditation

This certification means that the company adheres to strict standards for the technical competency of laboratory scientific personnel, the accuracy of microbiology and chemistry testing methods, and the validation of equipment. This accreditation also provides extra assurance to consumers that the company’s laboratory tests are accurate and reliable.

 NSF International certifications

NSF Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certifies that products made at a facility are produced consistently and in accordance with the applicable regulations, ensuring that products continue to meet specifications and label claims. The NSF Certified for Sports Product Certification also guarantees that Herbalife Nutrition products are free of substances banned by leading international athletic organisations and leagues.

Natural Health Products (NHP) Alliance

The NHP Research Alliance, based at the University of Guelph, is an initiative that aims to develop new, mutually agreed upon standards for botanical species ingredient authentication. Herbalife Nutrition, a member of the Alliance, is engaging DNA-based tools to ensure their nutrition products consist of the exact species of plants and botanicals needed to support our products’ health claims.

Herbalife Nutrition’s manufacturing processes have earned numerous awards from multiple agencies and organisations around the world that have recognised that we exceed quality standards.

Ongoing Commitment to Quality

Being the leading nutrition company in the world is a distinction earned through our commitment to quality. That position has allowed Herbalife Nutrition to be in business for almost 40 years, in 94 countries. And it is because of this commitment that enables us to support millions of distributors and their customers with the very best nutrition products every single day.

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