The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has surpassed 100 voting members while the dietary supplement trade association also announced that its associate (international) membership has also continued to grow at steady pace, bringing its total membership to a 41-year high of close to 150 member companies.

"Since the association's start, CRN has been dedicated to addressing the industry’s biggest challenges and helping foster responsible, sustainable growth for the industry,” said Steve Mister, president and CEO, CRN.

“Our members recognize that investment in CRN is an investment for the industry’s future. Fortunately, we are attracting serious companies that recognize even though our dues may be higher than other associations in the industry, they are comparable to, or lower than, the top dog associations in the food, OTC, and pharmaceutical industries. It’s a case of you get what you pay for, and our members recognize we’re playing in the majors now,” said Mister.

With concerns that CRN might have lost some potential members for whom the dues structure didn’t make sense, the association revised—and in some cases, lowered—its dues structure last July, and is now seeing the benefits of that decision, CRN reported.

CRN’s Carl Hyland, director, membership development, said the new dues structure has helped CRN experience this growth spurt, and “we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback, especially from those companies who had previously indicated interest, but shied away because of the cost.”

At the same time, CRN has stepped up its representation of the dietary supplement and functional foods industry, solidifying its reputation as the “go-to” group for credible science, policy, media relations and government affairs, according to the association.

“New voluntary guidelines and calls for greater enforcement of existing regulations allow CRN members to distinguish themselves from competitors and to network with like-minded firms, while new research initiatives and a robust presence on Capitol Hill provide members with unique insights and opportunities to impact the future of the industry,” Mister said.

For more information, visit www.crnusa.org.