Late this summer, United 1 International Laboratories made several facility improvements to keep up with customer demand. In an interview with Bill Hethcock of the Dallas Business Journal, Matt Donnell, chief operating officer at United 1, explains that those “customers are predominantly multilevel marketing companies.”
Spaces
United 1 opened in 2006 with a 30,000 square foot facility. And, the company has been growing ever since. As of August, United 1 occupies 420,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space, having opened a new 100,000 square foot manufacturing site, relocated its warehousing operation, and repurposed an existing space to be a kitting site, according to Hethcock.
The company is growing in other ways too. The market for nutritional powders is expanding, so United 1 recently purchased new equipment to “blend and mix powders,” Donnell tells the press. And there are plans to install a high-speed filling line in the New Year. “That will help us grow the powder business to probably more than double what we do today,” says Donnell.
Plus, United 1 has its eye on similar companies and will likely grow by acquisition.
Places
Much of the increased consumer demand that United 1 is upping its production capabilities to meet is coming from international markets.
“We ship a lot of products overseas,” Donnell tells the Dallas Business Journal, “so the growth is coming not only from domestic companies….as [customers] register their products in new countries, they’re getting growth by virtue of greater global expansion and global reach in new markets.”
Faces
The company’s growth trajectory suggests something about how the preferences and priorities of end consumers are changing. Wellness and nutrition are very popular, more so than when the company first opened.
“The company started 10 years ago on the cosmetics/personal care side,” Melissa Carter, chief financial officer, tells Hethcock. "Then they started doing the dietary supplement drinks in 2009. Then in 2012 they added a small powder operation — protein and other sports nutrition powders.”
As the marketplace evolves, United 1 serves more and more business: “We have over 100 active customers today. They are continuing to grow and we are continuing to add new customers,” says Carter.