The Vitamin Shoppe (Secaucus, NJ) announced the opening of the first two Vitamin Shoppe franchise stores in Paraguay. In addition, the company’s other franchisees have recently opened two additional stores in Panama and two in Guatemala. Year-to-date, the company’s existing international franchisees have opened a total of five stores in Guatemala, four in Panama, three in Costa Rica and two in Paraguay. In total, there are now 16 Vitamin Shoppe international franchise stores in operation in four countries.

The franchise stores in Paraguay will be operated by The Vitamin Shoppe’s newest international franchisee, Vigor S.A., a sister company of London Import S.A., a family owned and operated business in Paraguay. London Import S.A. is an importer of confectionery, packaged foods and beverages, working with major global brands such as Mentos, Heinz and Robert Mondavi winery. On December 7, 2016, The Vitamin Shoppe and Vigor S.A. celebrated the grand opening of the first two stores in the greater Asunción area, the country’s capital and largest city. The Vitamin Shoppe stores offer consumers a curated selection of approximately 500 SKUs of The Vitamin Shoppe’s proprietary brands and other leading third-party brand products. The franchisee is expected to open a total of five Vitamin Shoppe stores over the next four years in Paraguay.

Commenting on the new stores, David Denker, director, International Development for The Vitamin Shoppe stated, “The current year has been an exciting one for the Vitamin Shoppe on the international front. We are pleased that our brand, health and wellness lifestyle and product selection continues to resonate with consumers. We are delighted to have entered the Paraguayan market, which represents the third new international market that we have brought The Vitamin Shoppe stores to this year.”

In additional news, the Vitamin Shoppe announced that the New Jersey District Export council has awarded the company the Export Achievement Certificate. The Export Achievement Certificate was created in 2001 by the Commercial Service to recognize U.S. companies, particularly small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs), for their exporting activities.

For more information, visit www.vitaminshoppe.com.