Dear NPA Members:

In another victory for Natural Products Association members and the industry, early this morning, conferees on the Wall Street Reform bill (S. 3217) decided not to include in the final legislation sweeping new powers for the Federal Trade Commission. Such additional authority very likely would have led to advertising rules on the industry that would have undercut the protections of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA).

This has been one of the top legislative priorities for the NPA for the last six months. I am proud of the way our members responded to our calls to write their senators and representatives, and to urge their customers to do the same.  I am also proud of the hard work put in by our staff and lobby team. Good grassroots and good lobbying are a powerful combination.

In the last two months, over 28,000 messages were sent to Capitol Hill through the association's web site, www.NPAinfo.org.

Since identifying this issue as a potential threat to the industry in December, NPA joined together with what eventually became a coalition of over fifty national trade associations.  Through the coalition, we lobbied members of Congress, and ran ads in Capitol Hill publications.  In addition, NPA was by far the leading organization in producing grassroots contacts with senators and representatives. Some of you might have gotten tired of hearing from us on this issue, but sometimes in Washington persistence pays off.

Like any legislative victory involving a broad coalition, this battle was won thanks to a number of factors, but NPA members can and should claim a large share of the credit.  Your response was tremendous.

But, I urge you not to grow complacent. This is a great victory, but the war isn't over.  Those forces on Capitol Hill that want to overregulate us are still out there, planning their next move. We need to remain vigilant.

Thank you,
John Gay
Executive Director and CEO
Natural Products Association

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Message From The President

Denise de la Montaigne

President's Letter
June 2010
By Denise de la Montaigne

If your store is less than 15 years old, you may not even be aware of the single most important piece of legislation concerning our businesses.  The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act gives us the freedom to sell supplements and inform our customers. 

Before the passage of Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), several pieces of legislation governed supplements. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938 authorized regulations of labels on food "for special dietary uses" - in other words, supplements. In the early 1990s, however, the Food and Drug Administration undertook a series of enforcement actions that led to public outcry. Perhaps the greatest motivator of consumer opinion against the FDA was the Jonathan Wright case. Wright was a natural physician in Washington State who prescribed L-tryptophan to patients. In May 1992, the FDA stormed Wright's clinic and seized vitamins, equipment and medical records against his will.

In 1992, dietary supplement industry groups, including the NPA, organized a response to the FDA's aggressiveness. The result was DSHEA, which Congress passed in October 1994. After DSHEA's passage, the supplement industry experienced significant growth and freedom.

Not anymore. If 2009 is any indication, the FDA likely will continue to tighten its reigns on the supplement industry.  The FDA in 2010 will have more money than ever: $3.2 billion, a 19 percent increase over 2009. Our detractors on Capitol Hill are already working behind closed doors to try and unravel DSHEA, either by repealing it outright or watering it down to the extent that it no longer protects your right to do business as an independent retailer.

The NPA East has been successful in protecting your interests thus far, but this is an ongoing battle. To win, we need the support of everyone who sells, manufactures, and sustains the natural products industry in our region. We need you to continue the fight.

Please accept my invitation to join NPA East today. Annual dues are only $95.00, less than $2.00 a week, to help protect your business. You can register now by going to our web site www.npaeast.org.  Or contact NPA East's Executive Director, Paul Kushner, at 856-985-5446, or e-mail Paul at pkushner@comcast.net. You'll be supporting the only organization dedicated exclusively to protecting your livelihood. 

I believe that membership in NPA East is one of the best investments I make for the success of my business every year. Give us the opportunity to serve you, and I'm sure you'll feel the same way.

By Paul Kushner
Executive Director, NPA East

Katy Lesser
Owner, Healthy Living
South Burlington, Vermont

Katy Lesser is the owner of Healthy Living in South Burlington, Vermont, an independently owned community natural foods market. In business for 25 years, Katy and her staff focus on customer service and offer a complete selection of natural and organic foods. Healthy Living is committed to its community and involves itself in community outreach, local organic agriculture, and provides employment for nearly 150 local residents. Customers tell Katy that there's a special feeling of community at Healthy Living.

Katy was named by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the 2010 Vermont Small Business Person of the Year.  She received this honor for outstanding leadership, her store's remarkable staying power, employee growth, increased sales, innovative business practices, and contributions to the community.

Q.  You purchased your first store in 1986 from the previous owner who decided to get out of the business after one year.  What made you decide to take over a health food store that was apparently struggling to survive?

A.  In my case, it was naiveté (I had absolutely no experience in business); I really didn't see that it was "apparently struggling to survive."  I only thought it might be "fun" to own a food store!

Q.  You started out in a 1,200 foot store that, on a good day, saw 25 customers walk through your doors.  How did you initially make it work from that inauspicious beginning?

A.  In the beginning, I was simply generous to pretty much everyone.  I gave my all to customers and staff, spent long hours at the store, and held on in spite of a lot of people telling me I should give it up.  We showed little growth for several years, but I believed eventually I would make it, and that belief kept me going and made me succeed.

Q.  Can you share the key actions you've taken over the years that are most responsible for your growth and success?

A.  Tenacity and mad amounts of energy, willingness to change course and learn, hiring people smarter than I am, and dedication to real service.

Q. What community activities have you sponsored that have been most successful?

A.  Our South Burlington Farmers Market has been a big success.  We donate the space to farmers and vendors, organize and advertise the event throughout the summer, and charge a minimal fee.  We do not take a cut of sales.  We merely provide the space and create the event.  It's been fun and has happily grown!

Q.  What are some of the nontraditional methods you have used to promote your store?

A.  The Farmers Market actually turned out to be a good way for new customers to discover us.  This coming summer we are going to start allowing four CSA's to use us as a drop-off.  Again, we will have new people discovering our store and we never ask for any sort of compensation from farmers.

Q.  How do you try to ensure profitability?  Do you have a formal business plan you can share or do you use other methods?

A. We have formal systems for every aspect of the business.  We also have a devoted, brilliant CFO who is pretty much involved in everything that goes on.  We have learned to manage for growth and manage for profit, and we keep an extremely close watch every single day on everything from sales to payroll to operating expenses.

Q.  How do you find your best employees and how do you keep them motivated?

A.  This is the biggest question of all.  How do you inspire people?  We spend a lot of time wrestling with this.  Is it money? Is it moving people up the ladder? Is it relationships?  Is it all of these and more?  As far as finding people, we rarely go outside the business; instead we love to move people up.  But inspiring them and re-inspiring them is our biggest challenge.

Q. You must have gone through some challenging times in 20 years.  What were some of the roughest, and how did you get through them?

A. A 10-year lawsuit brought against me by a landlord comes to mind.  Then there was the decision to build a 30,000 square foot store and the actual act of designing, permitting and finally building it... that was a big one! Not to mention, getting it up and running it.  And, of course, there have been many other challenges and steep learning curves over the years.  I count on my tenacity and brains and the power of having the very best people on my team.  But mostly I count on myself to know the way.

Q. What is that special feeling of community you've captured over the years, and how do you leverage it to keep your customers coming back?

A.  I, personally, am on the floor of my store five days a week, making sure customers have access to me and demonstrating to staff how I want them to be with customers.  You have to create it and re-create it every day.  That special feeling has to be nurtured; it isn't just automatic.

Q.  Who is your toughest competition and how do you keep your customers from defecting to them?

A.  Competition is everywhere.  No longer are most of the products I sell only available at my store; just about every conventional supermarket has a natural section.  I keep customers coming back by providing service they will never find anywhere else and creating that community feeling.  We also are growing our own brand in many categories; products only available at our store.  The Café, our Bake Shop, our Meat Department, our Produce Department all create products unique to us, made with our recipes, in our kitchens.

Q.  What advice would you give to someone thinking about opening up a health food store?   Or is there just too much competition today that stands in the way of becoming an independent retailer?

A.  If you are deeply passionate, wildly energetic, strong, smart, a risk-taker, infinitely flexible, willing to work with people smarter than you, good with difficult/impossible customers, willing to deal with the drama of a staff of complex human beings, immune to a rocky ride, and ready to do it day after day after day... then you might make it!