Herbalife Celebrates Grand Opening of Winston-Salem Innovation and Manufacturing Facility

Global nutrition company Herbalife has celebrated the grand opening of its Herbalife Innovation and Manufacturing (HIM) facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which will employ more than 500 people when it reaches full production by the end of 2015.

The facility already produces a variety of nutritional products, including powders, such as Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix; liquids, such as the Herbal Aloe Concentrate; and teas, such as Herbal Tea Concentrate. Products manufactured at HIM Winston-Salem will be distributed in the US and exported to more than 50 countries around the world. Since announcing the Triad location in December 2012, Herbalife has invested more than $100 million to convert the over 800,000 sq ft site to meet its exacting specifications.

The retro-fit of the building ensures it is in full compliance with US GMP for dietary supplements, acidified foods and food products. Within months of its operational start-up in mid 2014, the facility received NSF accreditation — a certification key to ensuring that products manufactured in Winston Salem meet strict standards for public health protection — and its quality control laboratory received the highly regarded ISO 17025 certification. The flagship facility for Herbalife, and one of the most advanced facilities in the nutrition industry as a whole, also houses Herbalife’s technical operations Center of Excellence, an R&D laboratory complex that ensures products are backed by the best nutrition science.

“This is an incredibly important project for Herbalife as we strengthen our influence throughout our supply chain — from seed to feed — and increase capacity to meet the growing demand for our nutrition products. Two years ago, together with our partners at the state, county and city, we announced our plans to invest more than $100 million towards creating a world-class manufacturing facility, and at the same time, create 500 much-needed new jobs for the local area,” said Michael O. Johnson, chairman and CEO, Herbalife. “We are proud to be meeting those commitments and, with 350 new jobs already created, we remain on target to create in excess of 500 jobs when we reach full production capacity later this year.”

HIM Winston-Salem is Herbalife’s second US manufacturing facility and the largest of four company-owned facilities worldwide (one in Lake Forest, California and two in China). Herbalife will also locate its Global Technical Operations Center, as well as state-of-the-art quality and testing laboratories at the Winston-Salem location.

“In selecting Winston-Salem for its flagship manufacturing facility, Herbalife is helping to revitalize the community,” said Mayor Allen Joines, City of Winston-Salem. “Winston-Salem and surrounding areas have a long and distinguished history of manufacturing excellence, and everyone is excited to be part of such an important project for our region. Herbalife has quickly become an important part of our community and we expect that relationship to flourish for many years to come.”

“The cooperation between Herbalife and Forsyth County is an example of what business and government can do together to achieve employment for a local community,” said Chairman David Plyler, Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. “We thank Herbalife for choosing Forsyth County and we look forward to it being an integral part of the community for years to come.”