Washington, D.C., August 15, 2018—The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry, today announced eleven new companies have joined the association’s membership ranks. These companies include: Voting Members—DSE Healthcare Solutions, LLC (DSE); International Dehydrated Foods, Inc. (IDF); Lief Organics; MeriCal/Linden Capital Partners LLC.; Nelson Bach USA, Ltd.; and Wellisen Nutraceuticals; and Associate Members— BSCG (Banned Substances Control Group); Microbac Laboratories, Inc.; PTM Food Consulting; Susan B. Levy Consulting, LLC; and Toxstrategies, Inc.
The new member companies are:
Voting Members
DSE Healthcare Solutions, LLC (DSE)
DSE Healthcare Solutions, LLC (DSE) is a privately held consumer healthcare company. The company manufactures and markets a portfolio of leading nutritional supplements available nationally at retail stores. DSE also houses a collection of legacy brands which it reimagines and introduces to new generations. The company’s commitment to quality and focus on current consumer needs helps to deliver contemporary solutions in a changing marketplace.
International Dehydrated Foods, Inc. (IDF)
International Dehydrated Foods, Inc. (IDF) produces poultry-based, protein-fortifying ingredients. For the functional food and sports nutrition markets, IDF has introduced a range of high-quality broths and proteins including ChickPro™ Protein Powder, JMP™ Collagen Broth Powder, SIP® Bone Broth Protein, IDF® Concentrated Chicken Broth, Umami Gold™ Savory Chicken Broth Proteins and patent-pending JMP™ Collagen Broth Powder for which pre-clinical research indicates microbiome performance.
Lief Organics
Lief Organics is a full-service cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) Contract Manufacturer of dietary supplements, powders, tablets, capsules, chewables, and co-packing. The company offers the highest quality production of supplements through their GMP standards at an affordable cost. Lief can assist with product development and innovation ranging from capsule, to powder, to tablet projects, with particular expertise in sports nutrition. The company’s passion is to collaborate with entrepreneurial firms and help clients build premier lasting brands. Lief Organics offers in-house product development and flavoring services to help design some of the best tasting and most compelling supplements on the market. With decades of experience in supplement manufacturing, Lief offers a wide range of product categories that meet and exceed national brand standards. Lief prides itself on forming seamless partnerships and providing their clients with high-touch, industry-leading customer service experiences.
MeriCal/Linden Capital Partners LLC.
MeriCal is a global leader in the research and development, manufacturing, and specialized packaging of highly complex VMS and Probiotic products. With over 40 years of formulation experience in probiotics, MeriCal can handle both lactic acid and spore-forming bacteria to produce a wide range of innovative products. In 2017, MeriCal opened the doors to its new, dedicated probiotic suite, where probiotic supplements are manufactured and packaged in optimal temperature- and humidity-controlled conditions. MeriCal offers its customers everything from basic A-Z vitamin formulations to complex, custom formulations of any dry-dosage format. After the acquisition of Global Health Industries in September 2017, the collective organization employees nearly 500 individuals at 6 sites across the U.S.
Linden Capital Partners is a Chicago-based private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. In 2016, Linden acquired MeriCal to help support and accelerate its strategic growth. As a team, Linden has invested more than $1 billion in healthcare and life science companies, helping to build strong platforms and thriving businesses.
Nelson Bach USA, Ltd.
Nelsons has long been known as the manufacturer and distributor of RESCUE® and Bach® Original Flower Remedies – natural industry mainstays known worldwide to provide stress relief, sleep support and encourage emotional wellness. The privately owned Wimbledon, U.K. - based company has recently launched the first wave of RESCUE PLUS™ products; dietary supplements that include ingredients often used to combat stress and sleeplessness—B-Vitamins, Magnesium, Zinc and Melatonin. With growing distribution and a healthy new product pipeline, Nelsons continues to grow their supplement portfolio as well as the categories they represent.
Wellisen Nutraceuticals
Wellisen, Inc. is a global nutraceuticals company with a history of more than 20 years of robust research and development. Wellisen produces spirulina under strict hygienic control with no herbicides, pesticides or any runoff contamination. Through a proprietary extraction process, Wellisen also manufactures phycocyanin, a natural blue pigment derived from spirulina that is used in the pharmaceutical, nutrition, food and cosmetics industries. Wellisen is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, USA.
Associate Members
BSCG (Banned Substances Control Group)
BSCG (Banned Substances Control Group) offers a complete suite of third-party certification and testing services. Headed by renowned sports anti-doping pioneer Don H. Catlin, M.D., and son, executive Oliver Catlin, the company works with reputable brands, ingredient suppliers, manufacturing facilities, as well as teams and athletes, to ensure the quality of their products and protect against contamination with performance-enhancing drugs or other agents that can lead to health concerns or positive drug tests. Founded in 2004, BSCG offers a variety of programs, including BSCG Certified Quality™, BSCG Certified GMP™, and its signature offering, BSCG Certified Drug Free®, which provides comprehensive protection against 485 compounds—more than any other certification provider.
Microbac Laboratories, Inc.
Microbac Laboratories, Inc. is a contract testing laboratory network with a half-century of experience helping food and supplement manufacturers ensure the safety, quality and stability of their products. The company provides comprehensive microbiology, chemistry, molecular biology (allergens, GMOs, gluten), and physical properties testing on raw materials and final products to help confirm their strength, purity, identity and composition. Microbac is ISO-17025 accredited, FDA-audited and cGMP 21 CFR, Part 111 compliant for Dietary Supplements.
PTM Food Consulting
PTM Food Consulting Inc. is a full-service project management, product development and manufacturing support firm serving the North American and International food, beverage, and dietary supplement industries. The business has its laboratories located in Point Pleasant NJ, where all the in-house technical work is conducted. PTM Food Consulting identifies consumer driven trends for their clients and creates unique, innovative formulations to serve them. The company has developed over 300 products since its inception in 2007, and total products developed by PTM has achieved gross sales estimated over 1.2 billion.
Susan B. Levy Consulting, LLC
Susan B. Levy Consulting, LLC is a boutique consulting firm that works exclusively with consumer health and wellness companies to develop and implement growth strategies. The team leverages extensive industry expertise and relationships to deliver outstanding business results. The firm has successfully worked to acquire and divest assets, in-license innovative technologies, develop efficient and effective go-to-market plans, deliver winning marketing and brand strategies, manage and creatively grow brands, advise on Rx-to-OTC switches and identify geographic expansion strategies.
ToxStrategies, Inc.
ToxStrategies is a multidisciplinary scientific consulting firm that strives to develop innovative solutions to address the scientific, technical, and regulatory challenges confronting its clients. ToxStrategies’ professionals have broad experience conducting safety assessments for ingredients with demonstrated success getting new ingredients on the market, and supporting or expanding the uses of existing ingredients. ToxStrategies is experienced at horizon scanning and addressing low-level contaminant matters, including Proposition 65-related issues. Beyond safety, ToxStrategies’ scientists can assist food and ingredient manufacturers to develop health claims and product-specific or external influencing strategies to address the regulatory challenges confronting its clients.
A complete list of CRN member companies is available on the association’s website. For more information about becoming a CRN member, contact Carl Hyland, senior director, membership development, at chyland@crnusa.org or 202-204-7674.
Note to Editor: The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing 150+ dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and companies providing services to those manufacturers and suppliers. In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements and food in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, quality control and safety, our manufacturer and supplier members also agree to adhere to additional voluntary guidelines as well as to CRN’s Code of Ethics. Visit www.crnusa.org. Follow us on Twitter @CRN_Supplements, Facebook, and LinkedIn.