Last month, the media quietly announced Bayer’s desire to purchase supplement maker Schiff Nutritional for $1.2 billion. Just last week, British drug company Reckitt announced it wanted in on the action, upping the offer for Schiff to $1.4 billion.
No matter who ends up buying it, the sale of Schiff Nutritional would total over a billion dollars, and would put a pharmaceutical company in charge of the production of nutritional supplements.
This purchase isn’t the first of its kind either: Proctor & Gamble, a partner of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, purchased New Chapter earlier this year for $250 million; and Pfizer purchased the makers of Emergen-C, Alacer, at the start of the year.
The move of pharmaceutical companies buying out supplement companies could be a good thing. Theoretically, we could see a massive campaign to convince the public to start buying healthy options alternative to conventional medicines. Potentially, we could see an increase in supplement consumption and greater awareness of healthier lifestyle choices. Plus, given the massive production facilities and distribution systems of these companies, perhaps it is not too unrealistic to hope for cheaper supplement products.
On the other hand, these purchases could end up having a negative impact on the natural health industry. Theoretically, pharmaceutical companies could shut down the supplement companies. Potentially, we could see nutritional supplements become so processed that they resemble medications more than they do vitamins or supplement capsules. Finally, with such large financial clout, these companies could, theoretically of course, make it very difficult for small supplement companies—like Truehope—to compete in the supplement market.
This development is something to definitely watch over the next few months.