Leland Swanson, self–taught health care enthusiast, founded Swanson Vitamins in 1969. Swanson started his vitamin supplement journey with Vitamin E capsules. Convinced the product had helped him, he began ordering from a manufacturing firm in Ohio and selling them via magazine advertising.
Swanson soon was creating his own mail-order catalog and by 1980, he had 10 employees. Due to demand, Swanson set up shop in a 15,000 square foot warehouse.
Today, Swanson Health Products, more commonly known as Swanson Vitamins, offers more than 26,000 products, ranging from vitamins and health supplements to eco-friendly “green” home cleaning products, and organic foods.
Since 2001, SHP has voluntarily participated in independent third-party Good Manufacturing Practices audits to maintain high-quality finished products. SHP regularly submits its dietary supplements to ConsumerLab.Com for testing, as well as for a thorough, third-party review of product safety and efficacy.
In 2007, the company received a warning letter from the FDA stating that the company was selling an unapproved version of the prescription cholesterol drug called Mevacor. An FDA laboratory analysis determined that two of the company’s red yeast rice supplements contained significant amounts of lovastatin, the active ingredient in Mevacor and its generic counterparts.
In January 2019, the company started selling products containing cannabidiol from industrial hemp, which was federally legalized in the 2018 Farm Bill.
Swanson Health maintains a corporate office in Fargo, North Dakota.
