Herbalife extraction plant takes root in China
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
As part of the multi-level marketer's "seed-to-feed" initiative, construction begins on an 80,000-square-foot botanical extraction facility in Hunan Province, China. Herbalife said Oct. 12 it intends to purchase botanicals from farmers in Changsha and process the raw materials - eventually about 8,000 metric tons annually - into extracts of guarana, chamomile, broccoli and other ingredients. The facility is a joint venture between Los Angeles-based Herbalife and NatSource Chemicals, a natural product extraction technology company, and is slated to open in the second half of 2011. Analysts estimate Herbalife's vertical integration could eventually enable it to manufacture 80 percent of its product portfolio (1"The Tan Sheet" Aug. 9, 2010)