Tarang Amin

Whether he’s selling Clorox, kitty litter or cosmetics, Schiff Nutrition CEO Tarang Amin believes that success in building brands is about inspiring teamwork.

At just 45, Amin comes to Schiff Nutrition after working as general manager of The Clorox Company. Before that, he worked at Procter & Gamble, helping to increase sales by more than a billion dollars in the Pantene and Bounty brands.

“It always comes down to the people and to being able to motivate and inspire a broad team,” he says. “My fundamental role is to help our team succeed.”

For Amin, that’s a hectic job. He still lives in Piedmont, Calif., with his teenage daughter and commutes to Utah a few days a week. He travels frequently and recently visited Norway to secure a long-term krill oil supply deal for Schiff’s omega-3 supplement, MegaRed.

Amin took the reins at Schiff Nutrition in March. The publicly traded company employs about 450 in its West Valley City headquarters and manufacturing plant, Amin says, with sales offices all around the country. The supplement company got its start more than 50 years ago in the Salt Lake Valley and today sells nutritional substances on an international scale. Amin plans to increase profitability at Schiff by pushing growth relentlessly. He’s encouraged by the fact that nutritional substances is a $30 billion industry that has grown at 5 percent a year. He expects this growth to continue as the American population ages.

“The single largest demographic will be people over age 50, and supplement use spikes after that,” he says. “If you stay active, your joints will likely hurt. I think we’re meeting basic consumer needs.”

Amin has a detailed strategy for promoting growth at Schiff Nutrition. First, he wants more product innovation. The company has ongoing research and testing projects with leading scientists and medical practitioners. “The science is very important to us,” he says.

Next, he wants to build brand names like MegaRed through advertising, sampling and continuing education. Then, he will expand the geographic footprint of Schiff.

Acquisitions are the next piece of the plan, and the initiative is well on its way. In early June, Schiff acquired the leading probiotic brands Sustenex and Digestive Advantage for $40 million in cash.