Club Nutrition adds new supplement line

However, it decided to develop its own line of supplements in November after the staff noticed that clients were receiving inconsistent weight-loss and muscle-building results from national supplement brands.

“We wanted to have something with our name on it that we could stand behind,” manager Brandon Musick said. “We stand behind our consistency in our supplements.”

Owner Kevin Walker contracted Now Foods - a Bloomingdale, Ill.-based manufacturer of minerals, vitamins and herbs - to produce 12 custom supplements.

He supplied the list of ingredients he wanted in each supplement - items such as conjugated linoleic acid, whey protein and multivitamins - and Now Foods supplied the chemist and manufacturing.

“Every time we order, we have to order a minimum of 60 (bottles of each supplement) for it to be worth (Now Foods') time to make it special for what we're looking for,” Musick said.

Matt Graif Design Inc., 956 E. University St., designed the supplements' labels for an undisclosed fee.

Ben Grubb, a Club Nutrition & Fitness client for more than a year, said the club's in-house line of supplements are worth the $65 he spends on them each month.

“The (conjugated linoleic acid is) probably my favorite because when I started taking that … my body fat percentage went from 22 (percent) to 18 percent in one month, and I added two pounds of lean muscle mass,” he said.

Musick said most supplements come in a month's supply and are priced at $15 to $25, adding that about 25 percent of the club's 1,300 members buy the club's supplements.

The global market for nutritional supplements is about $20 billion every year, according to Ben Pratt, communications director for GNC, the world's largest supplement company with sales of $1.2 billion.

Musick said the club initially invested about $5,000 in the endeavor but wouldn't disclose expected revenues.

“We were trying to stay on the cutting edge,” Musick said.