Through strategic acquisition and robust employee wellness programs, this year's winners exhibit a strong vision for what it takes to succeed in business, as well as a strong sense of responsibility to do the right thing. It turns out the two aren't always mutually exclusive.

Standard Process Puts People First

Standard Process, a third-generation, family-owned supplement company founded in 1929, makes strategic investments on several fronts — in quality raw materials, in manufacturing efficiencies, in outreach efforts to better educate the practitioner channel and, perhaps most importantly, in employees. “We are building for the future, says President Charles Dubois. “We want to be here for the next 80 years.”

NBJ recognizes the company for its groundbreaking investment in its employees. Standard Process offers extensive benefits and a wellness program at the very cutting edge of American business practice. “The goal is to create a workplace environment where employees will stay and thrive,” says DuBois.

In addition to offering annual raises, year-end bonuses, profit-sharing and pension plans — rare enough in this economy — Standard Process attracts and retains employees with an onsite childcare center and a comprehensive health and wellness program that includes free chiropractic and nutritional care, annual health risk assessments, monthly education seminars, an onsite fitness center with access to a trainer, a $400 monthly supplement allotment, smoking cessation and weight loss classes, as well as cash incentives for participation in the various programs.

The benefits are so far ahead of the curve that the company was recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and by the State of Wisconsin. According to Dubois, the initiatives show employees just how much the company cares about their health and their family's health. “We want them to be with us for a long time,” he says. “We want our employees to be happy and healthy. If they are well treated, then they will treat our products with greater care.”

According to Brady Davis, founder of Elements Health Plans, a provider of integrated health plans, insurance and worksite wellness programs to corporations, employee-benefit models will help drive changes in healthcare. Brady thinks these programs are a no-brainer for supplement companies, who can use them to educate employees and customers about diet, nutrition, exercise and supplement usage. DuBois also sees employee wellness as a long-term strategy to controlling healthcare costs. In 2010, the company is on pace to recognize 50% of its staff with wellness participation awards. Chiropractic visits are up from 347 in 2009 to 550, and 70% of employees now use the fitness center. Can healthcare savings be that far behind?

Stratum Nutrition Gets Acquisitive

Stratum Nutrition was born out of a classic Ah ha! moment. Its parent company, Novus International, a global leader in animal health and nutrition, made the key realization that many of the nutritional challenges facing animals are also common to human. As a result, they launched Stratum Nutrition in November 2009 to leverage those core competencies and bring their nutritional solutions closer to consumers.

With only a year under its belt, Stratum has already finalized key acquisitions that industry experts believe will raise the innovation bar across the industry. “We are very honored to receive this award at this point in our history,” says Thad Simons, president and CEO. “We are here to make a contribution to nutrition, and we are commited to bringing all of our resources to bear.”

The company has the backing to make those resources noteworthy. Novus is owned by Mitsui & Co., the Japanese conglomerate with 533 subsidiaries in 66 countries. “I think they will have enough money to invest and be smart about it,” say Tom Aarts, principal at Nutrition Capital Network. “They can put $5 million into something, lose it, and keep on going. I think it's commendable that they are not just riding their core business in animal nutrition, but taking that knowledge and developing a human nutrition business with money and time, well before a return.”

Stratum's impressive portfolio of strategic relationships includes a joint venture with ESM Technologies, the supplier of natural eggshell membrane and eggshell calcium. This partnership is designed to accelerate opportunities for international growth of the patented ingredients, which clinical trials suggest show promise in structural health and joint mobility. Also in 2010, Novus acquired the IQF Group, a Spanish producer of nutritional additives for the feed industry, as well as a range of carotenoids for foods, beverages and supplements. Internally, the company introduced a patent-pending, vegetarian chitin-glucan ingredient called Artinia, targeting arterial health and cholesterol reduction. Stratum then entered into a joint venture with KitoZyme in Herstal, Belgium to further develop and study the ingredient.

Beyond these various partnerships, Stratum invests in the future intellect of our industry with scholarship programs underway in China, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and India. Humanitarian efforts are also part of the mix, as a social entrepreneurship program, developed with Meds and Foods for Kids, seeks to counteract severe malnutrition in Haiti with peanut butter. “We are helping to raise $3 million for a new factory, which will be self-sufficient, can support a local health clinic, and can help local farmers become better peanut producers,” says Simons. Now that's putting your money where your mouth is.