Type Subsidiary Founded 1994 | Website www.Vitacost.com Parent organization Kroger | |
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Key people Brian Helman
Chief Financial Officer
Chris Cavalline
Chief Merchandising Officer
Jay Topper
Chief Technology Officer Products Nutritional supplements, health food, natural and organic products Headquarters Boca Raton, Florida, United States Profiles | ||
Kroger to buy vitamin seller vitacost com
Vitacost.com, Inc is an American e-commerce company based in Boca Raton, Florida, that sells vitamins, supplements, sports nutrition and organic health and grocery products. The company was bought by Kroger., in 2014. Vitacost was inducted into Inc Magazine's "Inc. 500 Lifetime Hall of Fame," in 2006 as one of the US's 500 fastest-growing privately held businesses for five consecutive years (2001–2005).
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History
Vitacost began operations in 1994 as a catalog retailer of third-party vitamins and supplements under the name Nature's Wealth Company. In 1999, the company launched Vitacost.com and introduced proprietary vitamins and supplements, which has since expanded to include food, beauty products and sports nutrition.
In 2008, the company completed construction of its manufacturing facility located in Lexington, North Carolina. However, effective September 1, 2012, Vitacost agreed to lease its manufacturing facilities to a third party provider.
Vitacost went public on September 23, 2009. During 2010, the company expanded and upgraded its West Coast distribution facility located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Company began a similar project for its east coast distribution center, located in Lexington, North Carolina in the spring of 2010, with the building construction completed in the first quarter of 2011.
In October 2012 Vitacost.com launched a cruelty-free specialty store showcasing beauty and personal care products that are independently certified by the Leaping Bunny Program, which is operated by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics.
In 2013, Vitacost kicked off several new product lines, including a new sports nutrition line, "ARO: Black Series," which includes pre- and post-workout formulas, protein powders, flavored glutamine, creatine and branched-chain amino acids.
In July 2014, The Kroger Co. announced that it would purchase Vitacost.com for $280 million. The acquisition was completed in August 2014.