Research and Development

Product Development
Once the Marketing and R&D departments approve a product idea, R&D’s Product Development group builds the product from conception to finished product. This process involves a vast amount of technology and expertise. Nature’s Sunshine manufactures capsules, tablets, bulk powders, liquids and skin care products. Each finished product must meet different criteria to ensure that it looks professional and consistent. Our chewable tablets, bulk powders and liquid products must be palatable. Scientists from Product Development are able to formulate great-tasting, good-looking products without artificial flavors or colors, keeping them as natural as possible.

Once preliminary batches of new formulations are produced on a small scale, the product can move into production. Product Development is responsible for an accelerated and real-time stability program. NSP takes great care to make sure products maintain quality and potency throughout their shelf life. Scientists test and examine products after specified periods of time to guarantee they meet label claims and maintain appearance.

Product Development works hand-in-hand with production to oversee the manufacturing of NSP products. NSP follows good manufacturing practices (GMPs)—strict government regulations mandated by the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DSHEA). Product Development aids Manufacturing in implementing and complying with these GMPs.

Raw Material and Product Testing
Behind every Quality Assurance test for active components stands NSP’s Methods Development Group. These chemists develop methods to test raw materials and finished products, identifying and isolating active components. This ensures that our products always meet specifications and label claims. The Methods Development Group measures and identifies the naturally occurring active ingredients found in the raw material. They also obtain an herbal fingerprint to ensure consistency and quality.

NSP chemists use sophisticated equipment to accomplish these tasks. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Gas Chromatography (GC), Mass Spectrometry (MS) including HPLC-MS/MS, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR), Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) and Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrometry (UV-VIS) are a few of the instruments at their disposal. NSP scientists’ expertise is recognized worldwide with publication of their methods in peer-reviewed journals.

Product Safety and Education
The Health Sciences department at Nature's Sunshine Products is comprised of a group of scientists with biology, nutrition, medical, pharmacognosy and pharmacy backgrounds. The role of Health Sciences is to ensure the safety of products and to educate distributors and consumers on the benefits of natural products.

The safety of our products is continually monitored by tracking any questions, complaints or adverse reactions reported by our distributors or their customers. These questions and complaints are logged in detail and reviewed often. Some of the other safety responsibilities include: Product safety and effectiveness. Potential safety warnings. Appropriate product dosing. The best possible combination of ingredients to achieve the desired result.

Education about products is also provided to persons within Nature's Sunshine Products and to its distributors and their customers through the following ways:

• Detailed information provided to customers for technical or health-related questions.

• Product presentations at herb conferences, company conventions and many other venues.

• Internal training to the Customer Service and Sales departments.

• Technical articles that are sent directly to Distributors.