The industry I am analyzing is the vitamin industry. This research will attempt to answer seven inquiries about the vitamin industry and issues surrounding it. I have chosen one of many vitamin suppliers to look at and how changes in the industry may be affecting it. The company I have chosen is Vitaquest International, which is based in West Caldwell, NJ. A brief look at the Vitaquest website revealed there are three companies operating under the Vitaquest umbrella. These companies are GSN, Celmark, and Windmill Health products.
Even with the collaboration of these companies there are still unanswered questions about the future of this industry. This research will identify each question and possible solutions. Threats of Industry Entry The threats of the industry are few. One serious threat is a healthy diet alone. According to an FDA report more vitamins can be absorbed through food consumption than taking a pill. Consumers have started a trend because of the conscious effort to watch their health and diet (www.vitaquest.com)
In terms of diet, there is a vitamin, B-12, which is distributed by Vitaquest to several stores. Consumers are taking this drug on a constant basis to lose weight. The threat to the vitamin industry because of this new trend is people living healthy and eating right, as recommended by the FDA. The FDA recommends each person should get all of the daily allowance of vitamins and nutrients through daily consumption of the five food groups. Threat of Industry Substitute
The vitamin industry is thriving today because everyone’s quest to stay fit and young. Many athletes take vitamins to perform well but some take other substitutes for performance enhancement. These enhancements include steroids, testerone, etc. Steroids have and helped many athletes to achieve their performance goals. This is a high price to pay especially when there are restrictions on the kind of drugs that can be used by athletes. For example, Marion Jones is now under investigation because of the drugs found in her urine test.
The athlete denies the allegations. If she is found guilty she will lose her medal and be disqualified from the Olympics. This a high cost to pay for a high priced substitute of a vitamin. Vitaquest is a supplier for many stores including GNC and the Vitamin Shoppe. They supply vitamins for just about any store but the pharmaceutical companies are taking over the medical industry. These companies supply doctors with drugs such as B-12, etc. Many consumers are going to these doctors to have get shots of B-12 to lose weight.
Pressures from Suppliers The pressures from suppliers in America are the demand for more production but in Europe it is much different. According to Robert Lester, under a new ruling in Europe to restrict the production of vitamins manufactures will only be able to include vitamins and mineral that are on a preapproved list. But for products that are already on sale, manufacturers have until the end of 2009 to eliminate any of the banned ingredients from their supplements (Marketing Week, 7).