Whittel said she will continue the work that departing CEO Tom Tolworthy has been doing over the past six years in restructuring the legacy brand that had fallen on hard times. Tolworthy took Twinlab from a financially prostrate position to the point where it could acquire a thriving brand like Reserveage through a series of moves that secured new working capital and sequestered the debt that was weighing Twinlab down.
“There is certainly more work to do and we are in the midst of it,” Whittel told NutraIngredients-USA. “We still have a big mountain to climb.”
Whittel said she had a close working relationship with Tolworthy, who identified Reserveage early on in his tenure as one of the brands he’d like to add to the restructured company.
“I met Tom at my first Expo West in 2009. I’ve learned so much from Tom. He has mentored me and guided me in so many ways over the years,” she said.
Strengthen Twinlab’s foundation
Whittel said the short term goals for the company remain the same: To rebuild the Twinlab brand and build on the company’s name awareness. Twinlab, which began in the late 60s and had initial success marketing a liquid protein supplement, had acquired a dizzying array of brands over the years, and still retains the Alvita tea line.
“We have tremendous brand awareness with consumers. The short term goal is to continue to strengthen our foundation I feel very strongly that we will be able to do that quickly,” Whittel said.
“I want to bring back meaning to the messaging around the Twinlab name. What does it stand for, and what does it mean in consumers live,” she said.
Whittel said the vision of key shareholders, one of whom is a scion of the family that started Nutrilite more than 80 years ago, will drive the company going forward.
“Nutrilite as formed 82 years ago on a seed to capsule idea,” Whittel said. “The vision is to have Twinlab really leading this industry. We want to enhance and rebuild consumer trust in this industry.”
“We want to be able to support the industry in this issue of transparency. That has always been core to our mission in Reserveage, right from the beginning when we started working with individual vintners. I struggled with contamination in herbs I was using in my 20s, so I have always been devoted to knowing where things come from in terms of certification and testing,” she said.
Whittel said she started Reserveage with She started the Company with a goal of becoming an innovator in the health and wellness field by providing best-in-class, first-to-market nutritional supplements made with science-based ingredients. With two decades of experience in developing and managing sustainable companies in the health and wellness sector, Whittel launched more than 140 science-based products and won more than 30 industry awards for product excellence.
Award winning history
Whittel was named the Gold Stevie Award Winner as Female Executive of the Year of a consumer products company. Also in 2012, the Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) awarded Reserveage Nutrition with the prestigious Business Achievement Award in the Mid-Size Company Growth Category. Ms. Whittel was the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 Florida Award recipient in the Emerging category, as well as a national finalist.
Twinlab Consolidated Holdings, Inc. (TLCC), is the parent holding company of Twinlab Consolidation Corporation, a health and wellness with a strong focus on employee ownership. TLCC has a portfolio of products that are made in America using the finest ingredients from around the world. In addition to its namesake brand, Twinlab, established in 1968, TLCC, through TCC and its subsidiaries, also manufactures and sells other well-known category leaders including the Metabolife line of diet and energy products; the Twinlab Fuel line of sports nutrition products; Alvita teas, established in 1922 as a single-herb tea line; Trigosamine joint support products; and premium nutritional and anti-aging/wellness supplements under the award winning Reserveage Nutrition family of brands.