Contract manufacturer Paragon Laboratories is celebrating a milestone this year: its 40th anniversary.

The manufacturer had modest beginnings back in its founding year, 1971, with a small 2,000-ft2 plant. Victor Kaufman saw the number of supplement marketers sprouting all around California. Drawing from his training in chemistry and business (plus 20 years in pharmaceutical and supplement manufacturing), Kaufman decided to open Paragon Labs.

Victor’s business philosophy was straightforward, they say: “Use only the best raw materials to produce the highest quality tableted, encapsulated, and powder supplements possible at competitive prices and deliver them where and when they are needed.”

Today, Paragon Laboratories is a full-service contract manufacturer serving customers worldwide with multiple facilities. Size isn’t the only thing that has changed since the 1970s. At its beginnings, the Kaufmans say their business mainly involved vitamin and mineral tableting and the occasional capsule. “Since that era, there is less in the way of use of color coatings with customers preferring the use of natural clear coating of tablets,” they say. Plus, “There is a more dynamic offering of ingredients and different dosage options including the availability of several different types of vegetarian capsules from that which existed in the early 70s.”

And, customers have increasing expectations for what they want from a contract manufacturer. This has led Paragon to obtain GMP certifications from the NPA and NSF International as well as organic certification from QAI. “We are willing to ‘Walk the Talk’; the certifications are not just there for decoration,” the Kaufmans say. “We want to be looked at as a company that embraces the challenges presented by acquiring these various certifications so that our customers will look at Paragon as a company that they can entrust their manufacturing needs to with peace of mind.”

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, October 2011