2019 Survived and Thrived Business | Lief Labs
Hispanic Lifestyle is pleased to recognize Lief Labs as a 2019 Survived and Thrived Business. Lief Labs will be recognized along with their fellow honorees at BizCon 2019 during our lunchtime program on June 12, 2019 at the Ontario Airport Hotel and Conference Center, Ontario California.
Lief Labs was founded as a contract manufacturer of dietary supplements in 2008 by Adel Villalobos, an industry veteran and among the pioneers of the Nutraceutical Industry. From its early start, equipped with only big dreams and humble beginnings, Lief Labs has now grown into a premier formulation and product development innovator and manufacturer of dietary supplements with a 114,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility and over 170 employees at its Valencia, CA headquarters.
Adel Villalobos
A remarkable growth story, Lief has generated impressive year-over-year annual sales increases with $14 million in 2016 to $25 million in 2017, from which the company doubled it sales in 2018 to $50 million. The company is projecting $58 million in annual sales for 2019. Villalobos attributes Lief’s success and growth trajectory in large part due to his team’s passion to collaborate with entrepreneurial firms and to help them build premium lasting and innovative brands.
Building trusted relationships, Lief provides its clients with an infrastructure, including product developers, research & development, quality control, and regulatory compliance services to help brands develop new products and get ahead of and capitalize on trends – while also providing the back-end manufacturing and world-class customer service. Lief has a state-of-the art R&D laboratory to help its clients formulate innovative products and identify trends early. The company’s talented and knowledgeable staff consists of Chemists, Microbiologists, Engineers, Biotechnologists, Biologists, and Biochemists.
The company also ensures it stays ahead of the curve in adapting to the evolving marketplace and needs of its clients. This includes service innovation, such as Lief’s Amazon “Prime Ready” shipping services. Having worked with Amazon sellers on a myriad of products, Lief is experienced in Amazon’s strict requirements such as documentation, shipping, and formulations. The firm has sent over one million units to Amazon by tailoring its manufacturing and shipping practices to support Amazon’s requirements.
Lief also has the utmost commitment to quality. The company has earned and maintains the key certifications required to be a full-service manufacturer including Kosher, non-GMO, NSF, cGMP, USDA Organic and Gluten-free certifications. Villalobos is a member of the Board of Directors of the Supplement Safety & Compliance Initiative (SSCI). An initiative of the Natural Products Association, SSCI is a retailer-driven, non-profit initiative providing global dietary supplement safety and compliance benchmarks.
At the foundation of Lief’s success is a company whose core values are Selflessness, Innovation Adaptability and Accountability with a desire to give back to others in the community and globally. Among its key philanthropic efforts, Lief recently announced that it would continue the company’s commitment to improving the health of millions of women and children worldwide as an official partner and Humanitarian Sponsor of the global aid organization, Vitamin Angels. Lief is also a proud corporate sponsor of Heart of the Brain, a non-profit organization and community of patients, doctors, donors and supporters working toward improving treatment and curing brain cancer.
In support of the next generation of nutrition industry innovators, Lief recently hosted a group of students and faculty from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) for a tour of Lief’s facilities and sharing of business insights from the company’s management team, led by Villalobos, an alumnus of CSUN. Lief also plans to host an upcoming facilities tour for approximately 80 San Fernando High School students.
Looking toward the future, Lief’s vision includes becoming the world’s leading formulation and product development innovator and manufacturer by achieving sustainable growth, continuous improvements and through the strength and talent of Lief’s people.
