Connect – SupplySide West ’21
Wow, how good did it feel to see each other in person again?! We could feel the electricity in each and every meeting, whether it was a casual drink, connecting at our booth, or a meal together. It was great to talk, brainstorm, and collaborate together –IN PERSON!!
All of us at DCC HBS USA, our team at Elite, and our sister companies; Amerilab Technology and Ion Labs thoroughly enjoyed our time at SupplySide West this fall and can’t wait until next year.
And in case you aren’t registered for SSW 2022 sign up at SupplySide West.
To take your market concept to the next level, connect with us at elitesales@eliteonesource.com
Dietary Supplements have long been used to improve our well-being. However, there are concerns from time to time surrounding particular products.
In order to protect consumers, large retailers are implementing their own processes to ensure compliance of dietary supplement products to FDA regulations. This is true of both the “brick and mortar” stores as well as online platforms such as Amazon.
As you may or may not be aware, Amazon recently updated the requirements for distributors of dietary supplements in order to sell on Amazon’s platform.
Specifically, Amazon added new requirements for distributors that sell sexual enhancement, weight loss, and weight-management products. Brand owners are now required to prove their products aren’t adulterated with active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) or their analogs. To demonstrate compliance, a Certificate of Analysis (COA) must be submitted annually that shows the product has been tested by an ISO accredited lab and has been confirmed to be free of APIs specified by Amazon in their provided table.
As has been the case, it is reasonable to expect Amazon will continue to update its requirements as concerns are identified. The Elite team will keep you informed as these changes. For more detailed information on these changes we’ve included two links to Amazon’s seller requirements:
Help Wanted
By Jen Zarewski
Sales & Marketing at Elite One Source
While yes we are hiring, we’re talking about the Supply Chain. Can anyone help?! After nearly two years in this new COVID world, it’s fair to say we are all fatigued with the laundry list of issues COVID has caused for the supply chain.
When the pandemic began there was a lot of fear, as a result, consumers invested in their health in new ways, health and dietary supplements clearly made the list. Demand shot into outer space and has yet to return. While many raw material suppliers were able to keep up with demand at first, shipping issues began to slow the supply chain.
Labor shortage, that nearly says it all. With unemployment rates in the low single digits in many states, it’s become more expensive to hire. The cost of labor has increased. Many experts suggest the labor shortage is the root cause of as much as 50% of the other impacts to supply chain issues.
The cost of shipping containers tripled in many cases. Several experts attribute this increase to labor shortages specifically at the port. When containers do make it to the port there was no one to receive them, labor shortages with the FDA means there is no one to inspect them. As recently as October 2021, it was reported over 150 container ships were sitting off the port of California, just waiting to dock. When will they be able to dock and unload is anyone’s guess. This contributes to container shortages around the globe. “Just getting a container is a real problem. And, if you can get a container, can you get it onto a ship, because all the ships are in the wrong places.” Loren Israelsen, President of UNPA said recently at SupplySide West, during an interview for Nutra Ingredients with Stephen Daniels.
These costs have trickled down to the consumer, thankfully without much consequence. Investing in dietary supplements to support general health, support sleep and help manage stress are still priorities among consumers. Hope appears to be on the horizon, experts say we will see some relief from these issues in Q1 or Q2 of next year. But as Israelsen said “The answer is time. It’s just going to take time to unwind all of this. And no one knows how long that goes.”
Sources:
Watch Loren Isaelsen’s full NUTRA Ingredients interview
NBJ November 2021 – Supply Chain
USA Today article | Ships at Port
Connect – Elite Update
Farewell 2021, Hello 2022!
By Jen Zarewski
Sales & Marketing at Elite One Source
As we turn the final pages on 2021, we can’t help but reflect on the challenges and victories of the last 365 days. More than ever we learned to adapt and lean on our team members to get the job done. We looked for, and found, ways to be nimble in the face of the industry and global struggles. It was not perfect, but with 2021 nearly in the rearview mirror, we are ever optimistic for 2022.
2022 we will focus again on striving to fulfill our mission statement through our core values for our customers and team members.
“To be the premier contract manufacturer of nutritional services in the industry, exceeding quality expectations, providing outstanding customer service in every way, and providing on-time delivery of every product.”
And because we’re reflecting on the good from 2021, here’s a look at some of the good we did:
Team Growth
Air Handling Upgrade
Warehouse Design Improvements
GRMA Membership
A Rating on 3rd Party Audits
2 Covid Vaccine Clinics Onsite
Employee Appreciation Events
Donations to Local Charities
SupplySide West Tradeshow
Here is to the good experiences of 2021, thank you for being a part of that for the Elite team. Our relationships with you; our team, our vendors, and our customers define our “why”. You bring light to our days. So, thank you from the Elite Team! May the New Year bring you light, health, and joy!
Shonna Rhein, Executive Assistant and Office Manager, brings more than 30 years of executive and office management experience. Excels in HR, office organization and administration after years in the legal and entertainment industries.
Alex Fowler, Director of Operations, brings more than 14 years of experience in manufacturing primarily in the food industry. Provides expertise in Lean Manufacturing and Engineering Project Management. Alex has his B.S. Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and MBA from University of Utah.
Tito Flores, Director of Sales and Business Development, has more than 28 years in manufacturing experience, 14 years in the Dietary Supplement industry, with expertise in sales and new business development. Tito has his BS from the University of Montana.
Doug Lefler, Director of Client Services, has more than 26 years in industry experience, 20 of which is from ELITE. Doug continually delivered strong levels of customer satisfaction working directly with customers and in-house departments on product development, regulatory compliance, formulation, material sourcing and specification development. Doug has his BA from the University of Montana.
Jennifer Schall, Director Product Engineering, is one of the ELITE’S co-founders. Jen brings 27 years of experience in Dietary Supplement with expertise in material finished product specifications, formulations, and global label standards.
Mark Robson, CFO, is a Certified Public Accountant with Big Four audit experience and 20 years of senior financial management experience in CPG manufacturing, with both large international and private equity owned organizations. Beyond traditional senior financial management, Mark has substantial experience in M&A transactions and integration, and supply chain management.
Greg Menke, CEO, brings more than seven years of executive management and 37 years of manufacturing experience with both large international and private equity owned organizations. An acknowledged leader in large scale facility restructuring and operational improvement programs Greg has his BA in Business and MBA.