Did you know that when Nutrilite was first founded, it wasn’t Nutrilite yet – at least in name? Initially, it was named the Vitamin Products Company, and then it became California Vitamins, Inc. in 1936.
How the company became “Nutrilite” – and eventually the global brand we know so well today – is its own interesting story.
Long before the name Nutrilite was ever printed on a label, my father, Carl Rehnborg, was developing his philosophy based on the simple observations he was making during the time he spent in China during the early 20th century.
He came to the profound realization that poor health was caused by not what was in the diet, but instead by what was missing from it. In fact, the idea of “dietary deficiencies” was a truly radical idea at the time.
Further, he theorized that plants contained a host of important but then unknown compounds beyond recognized vitamins and minerals. He concluded that a truly effective supplement must provide this full spectrum of plant compounds – what he termed “associated food factors” – to help “balance the diet.”
That was the founding idea for the company he started in 1934.
Discovering “Nutrilites”
It was this kind of foundational thinking that led my father to look for a more distinctive name for the company soon after he founded it.
And as told in The Nutrilite Story Third Edition, “he found it buried in a 1928 issue of Science magazine. The word ‘nutrilites’ had been coined by Roger Williams of the University of Oregon (at the time) and was used to describe vitamin-like substances other than the well-recognized nutrients, which in small amounts function in the nutrition of organisms.”
To my father, adopting the name Nutrilite symbolized his fundamental philosophy regarding science and wellbeing; he was attempting to go beyond basic nutritional supplementation. It represented his trailblazing vision of a more holistic approach to nutrition.
He wrote to Williams, who agreed to the usage, noting that “no one in the nutrition world has seen fit to embrace my term, so I’m more than willing to let you use it.”
My dad liked the name so much he always wrote it in capital letters: NUTRILITE. He filed an application for incorporation, and Nutrilite Products, Inc. (NPI) became an official entity on May 29, 1939.
As he later explained in one of the company’s first promotional pamphlets, Stay Well!, the term “nutrilites” gave him an intentional way of speaking about the quality and inclusive nature of his food supplements:
“We have adopted this word, which lay dormant in chemical literature, to express the inclusive nature of our products.”
The name NUTRILITE became a promise of completeness that would go beyond vitamins and minerals to include a spectrum of plant compounds – phytonutrients, as “associated food factors” came to be known – which he believed were essential for helping the body achieve balance and maintain health.
Legacy in a Name
Today, the Nutrilite™ brand is an even deeper reflection of my father’s curiosity and observations.
That initial agreement between Roger Williams and Carl Rehnborg – the sharing of the term “nutrilites” – was novel and meaningful at the time. But today the connection between the Nutrilite brand, Amway and Oregon carries on.
Dr. Williams began teaching at the University of Oregon in 1920 before moving in 1932 to Oregon State College (which later became Oregon State University) where he corresponded with my dad, before leaving in 1939 to teach at the University of Texas at Austin.
Now, one of the members of the Amway Scientific Advisory Board is Emily Ho, Ph.D. who is the Director of the Linus Pauling Institute and professor in the College of Health at Oregon State University – carrying forward that Oregon connection in a modern context.
She was introduced on my blog back in 2023.
The legacy in a name that Roger Williams coined in 1928 has led to nutritional research and collaboration on an even larger scale. Amway and the Nutrilite brand continue to partner with leading scientific minds who are constantly seeking new understanding of optimal health and wellbeing.
My father’s original seed of an idea has grown into a global movement, a philosophy that continues to define the brand in the 21st century alongside a newfound appreciation for the power of a plant-based diet.
Going Full Circle
And now that I’ve been spending more time in Oregon (it is where the Rehnborg family farm is located – more to come on that later), it has become clear to me how everything has come full circle.
The natural beauty here must have inspired Roger Williams just as it inspires me each day I’m here.
It really is something special!
Talk soon!
