Jim Emme, CEO
NOW Health Group
NOW Foods
Bloomingdale, IL
[email protected]
www.nowfoods.com

Jim Emme has been a member of the NOW management team since 1995, initially as chief of operations and then as president of NOW Foods. He was promoted to chief executive officer of NOW Health Group (NHG) in 2014. Emme has been a key player in NHG’s global expansion efforts, and instrumental in developing the operational resources and facilities in North America. Industry leadership positions include the Natural Products Association Board of Directors, Alliance for Natural Health, United Natural Products Alliance and the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, in addition to other initiatives. Emme was honored by the American Botanical Council (ABC) as the 2018 ABC Champion. In 2020, he marks his 25th year with the company and in the industry.

Question: What was the catalyst for NOW significantly expanding the food, personal care and sports nutrition lines and adding a pet category under your watch?

Answer: Sports nutrition has been a part of our history since the beginning of NOW, as were food products. Although the supplements category has been our largest one for more than 30 years, we fully understood that extreme regulatory moves, such as unreasonable safe upper limits, could be a threat to supplement sales in North America. This external threat encouraged us to expand into categories beyond supplements, such as foods and personal care. The rise in consumer interest in the health of their pets led to the development of the pet supplement line.

Question: NOW has made massive investments in its in-house testing labs. What are some of the capabilities you have that might surprise people?

Answer: We have learned a lot in reference to this question whenever we have had the opportunity to give people tours of our manufacturing facility in Illinois. The most telling comments from these tours are regarding our testing capabilities. Almost all of them whom have visited other supplement manufacturers state that they have never before seen the capabilities we have to support the quality of our products. We have over 160 associates in our quality operations, along with more than $35 million worth of equipment for their use.

Question: Why has NOW made sustainability initiatives in the NOW facilities a priority?

Answer: First, implementing sustainability practices in our company is the right thing to do. We do our best to build in improved environmental practices in all aspects of our products. We are not perfect, yet we continuously improve in any areas we can to improve the environmental impact of our activities. The second reason for continuous improvement in support of sustainable practices is that it’s good business to do so. This might sound odd, yet it’s really a commonsense approach: reducing waste of any type almost always reduces operating costs.

Question: As one of the rare family-owned large brands left in the industry, how does independence contribute to NOW’s success?

Answer: Being a family-owned company gives us the ability to make decisions that most public or private equity-owned companies are unable to do or do quickly. We can choose to make major investments in support of growth in a very rapid manner. We can make choices to reduce prices to improve the accessibility of our products to more consumers who might not otherwise be able to afford them because it supports the values of our shareholders. We are very fiscally conservative and believe in paying cash for major capital projects. We also have the freedom to do things in support of the people who work at NOW.

Question: What are your thoughts on CBDs?

Answer: We are very conservative when it comes to the sale of CBD-based products. We have received many requests from retailers for us to offer a line of CBD-based items, stating that these products are helping a large number of consumers. We certainly have heard many stories of this type. Our concern is a lack of science to support these stories and are seeking for more reliable sources to support these statements. We aren’t saying we don’t believe these stories, just that we need to understand them more clearly.

Question: What do you predict for the future of the industry?

Answer: I’m an optimist, believing that our industry has a very bright future. No one can disregard the global human suffering and economic troubles that have developed from the COVID-19 pandemic. One truth since the pandemic began that we have seen at NOW is the fact that more consumers around the world have been actively seeking natural products that are safe and accessible. Retailers tell us that many of these new consumers have repeated their purchases in the last several months. These new generations of natural product consumers mean that demand for all of our products will be sustainable for years to come.