Standing behind its food-based approach to supplementation, getting ready to celebrate its 20 year anniversary in 2001 and putting out a constant flow of new products are just a few of exciting things going on at Rainbow Light, Santa Cruz, CA, these days. Talking about the company's success was Sara Lovelady, brand manager, who discussed the philosophy behind food-based supplementation. She said, "Science tells us that nutrients are best absorbed in the presence of food. Rainbow Light combines nutrients with foods like spirulina, chlorella, wheat sprouts and vegetable concentrates to create supplements that are as close to food as possible." Expanding on the food-based formulation philosophy, Marci Clow M.S., R.D., director of research and quality, said, "Our bodies were not designed to extract nutrients from pills but they were designed to extract nutrients from food, and in addition to the increased absorption these whole foods provide, they also deliver an array of naturally occurring cofactors that make digestion of our supplements easier than regular isolated nutrient supplements."
On the product front the company recently debuted six new essential nutrient systems for a range of dietary needs at September's Natural Products Expo East show. The line includes chewable calcium citrate "Multi-Mins," magnesium citrate "Vital Support," "Sublingual Energy B-12," "No-Flush Niacin Cholesterol Balance," "Easy Digestion Folic Acid 1000" and "Protein Energizer." This month the company adds to its product line yet again with three new "Just Once Naturals" supplements and three new Rainbow Light Herbals products. The new Just Once Naturals line includes food-based magnesium, which contains 400 mg of magnesium per tablet, chlorella, a blend of herbs, fennel and peppermint; "Prenatal One" multivitamin, which contains vitamins, minerals including high potencies of iron and folic acid, red raspberry and ginger and "Kids' One" multivitamin, which contains an organic vegetable blend, vitamins, minerals, nettles, ginger, peppermint and chamomile. The new Herbals line includes milk thistle "HepatoGuard," which contains American ginseng, schizandra, shiitake and lemongrass essential oil; "Maca Men's Drive," which contains maca whole herb powder, standardized Oriental ginseng, epimedium and bergamot essential oil and "Maca Women's Drive," which contains ginkgo, American ginseng, maca whole herb powder, damiana and bergamot essential oil.
Discussing recent successes in the market place, Ms. Lovelady said, "Rainbow Light is the third best selling brand of multivitamins and the second best selling brand of women's products. Our 'Complete Prenatal System' is the number one selling prenatal multivitamin, outselling the next brand two to one. We had previously been seen as a niche specialty brand but the data shows we are directly competitive with the 'big guys' across all the major supplement segments." -R.M.
NW