Company Description

History

Bluebonnet is proud to hold true to the original mission it started with in 1991: to supply the cleanest, most wholesome dietary supplements on the market sold exclusively to natural food stores. In fact, today, this mission has taken on a whole new life of its own. When starting out, many dietary supplement manufacturers were moving away from the principles upon which this industry was founded. Yet, Bluebonnet never strayed from its roots. Instead, the company focused all of its resources on the five powers or principals upon which this industry was founded—Nature, Science, Quality, Truth and Knowledge—each of which also happens to represent one of the five petals of the Texas state flower from which they take their name. Bluebonnet is proud to be one of the few vitamin companies that actually manufactures its own natural dietary supplements using the best ingredients the earth has to offer while packaging them in recyclable amber glass bottles to best protect and preserve the nutrients and the environment.

Bluebonnet has remained committed to quality and science by opening a 100,000-ft², kosher-certified, state of-the-art manufacturing, packaging and distribution facility with unrivaled in-house analytical laboratories to ensure quality control from start to finish. With great pride, the company continues to make contributions to nutritional science by launching many industry firsts: the only active antioxidant form of CoQ10 (Ubiquinol), the only orally available, vegetarian form of SOD (GliSODin®), nucleotides, functional natural omega-3 fish oils for brain, joint and heart health, revolutionary condition-specific formulas such as CholesteRice®, as well as cutting-edge sport nutrition products that set new standards for purity and truthfulness in a category plagued with adulterations and hyperbole.

Also, environmental stewardship and social responsibility have been part of Bluebonnet’s corporate culture since the company’s inception. As citizens of the world, Bluebonnet believes companies and individuals must do their part to help preserve the earth and its limited resources. At Bluebonnet, that includes enterprise-wide “green” initiatives, recycling programs, use of alternative energy options such as wind and solar and eco-friendly manufacturing practices. These actions represent a new generation that supports sustainability, reduced dependency on fossil fuels, and giving back to the community and world-at-large.

Over the past 23 years, Bluebonnet has become a serious advocate for the rights of consumers to have access to, and for retailers like you, to sell alternative health care products. Bluebonnet officers have played a significant role in supporting and sitting on the boards to both regional and national trade associations like the Natural Products Association (NPA), as well as funding lobbying efforts at state and federal levels whenever there is legislation that can potentially threaten the industry.

Key Markets Served

Available exclusively at natural food stores nationwide and in select international markets.

A Broad and Diverse Product Line
Bluebonnet offers a complete line of natural vitamins, minerals, multiples, amino acids, proteins, standardized herbal extracts and specialty supplements, such as antioxidants, glucosamine, omega fatty acids, fiber/digestive aids including enzymes and probiotics, and food supplements, as well as a unique array of specialty formulas targeted to address specific structure/function applications in the body. All are made without unnecessary colors, flavors, fillers, binders or excipients in a delivery system that suits individual lifestyles: caplets, mini-caplets, softgels, chewables, liquids, powders, vegetarian capsules (Vcaps®) and liquid-filled vegetarian capsules (Licaps®).

Major Product/Service Offerings

• Offer KOF-K kosher-certified products.
• Introduced some of the industry’s most revolutionary products/formulas, including CellularActive® CoQ10 Ubiquinol, Vegetarian SOD (GliSODin®), Nucleotide Complex, Targeted Multiple®, Super Earth® line of whole food-based supplements including a line of whole food based children’s chewables called Super Earth® Rainforest Animalz®, whole foods-based Super Earth® AntiOxidant Caplets, Super Earth® Organic Greens, a perfect blend of energizing greens, and Extreme Edge® Pre Workout, CarboLoad and Post Workout, which bear the seal NSF Certified for Sport®, sport nutrition’s highest assurance of quality, purity, and safety.               
• Provide vegetarian/vegan products that are truly vegetarian from inside out by exclusively using two types of vegetarian capsules (Vcaps® and Licaps®)—instead of animal-based gelatin capsules—that are just as important as the natural ingredients they protect.
• Offer soy-free vegetarian softgels.
• Apply an aqueous-based vegetable coating to all caplets instead of the common practice of using shellac.
• Produce dairy-based products that are free of antibiotics and recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH).
• Never include artificially derived colors, sweeteners or flavors.
• Incorporate Non-GMO ingredients when available.
• Utilize a water-based sterilization method instead of the common practice of irradiation or ethylene oxide.
• Only use natural excipients when absolutely necessary to improve the manufacturing process.
• Not only manufacture in our own environmentally friendly, state-of-the-art facility, but also use alternative energy sources (e.g., wind and solar) to reduce our carbon footprint.
• Package our products in recyclable amber glass bottles to better protect nutrients from heat, light and moisture and the environment.
• Implement a company-wide recycling program, as well as use only recyclable packing materials/paper and eco-friendly soy-based inks on most printed material.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, July 2014