Father of three. BYU grad. Ultimate Cougar sports fan. CEO of Nutricost. Meet Min Kim.
With its headquarters just off Geneva Road in Vineyard, Nutricost is manufacturing and delivering millions of supplements around the world. Just a few milestones? Nutricost is one of the top three supplement brands on Amazon, and ranks as Amazon’s No. 1 best seller in creatine supplements.
“When I was working on my PhD in chemical engineering at BYU, my best friend from high school came to me with a business idea,” Min says. “We started an affiliate internet marketing business, and that naturally grew into Nutricost in 2013.”
They started by creating a few single-ingredient supplements, and that expanded into Nutricost now claiming around 1,000 SKUs and launching four to five new supplements every month.
After 11 successful years, there is still little press coverage about Nutricost, despite its exponential growth. Min is humbly flying under the radar while producing top-quality supplements to boost health and wellness around the world.
High-quality supplements. Affordable prices. Clean and simple formulations.
Nutricost’s philosophy says it all. “We understand that every body is different, so we have created quality products to make sure you get exactly what you need.”
GROWTH MINDSET ACTIVATED
Like so many businesses in the height of a worldwide pandemic, Nutricost felt the effects — but in a good way. While many other businesses struggled to stay afloat, Nutricost saw an opportunity.
“Naturally, a lot of people looked to buy supplements and that gave us huge growth,” Min says. “Most of the supplement industry did really well during Covid — although many saw a Covid bump and then sales went back go down, but we kept growing. We didn’t see any downtrend after Covid.”
Now, Nutricost employs more than 650 people and has fulfillment centers in Utah, North Carolina and California. From its founding in 2013 to Covid to now, the company continues to prove its stalwart place in the market.
Along with business growth, Min has also seen refinement in his leadership style.
“When we started, I was a lot more into micromanaging: ‘What are you working on this week? Did you get all your stuff done?’” Min recalls. “Now, I work with self-motivated people and guide them in the right direction.”
Thanks to this approach, Nutricost attracts the cutting-edge talent needed to match the company’s growth scale.
“We have a unique culture here, and I want to maintain that,” Min says. “It’s a combination of working super hard and having fun together. We work long hours when we have to, but we trust each other and we have fun together.”
A healthy team creates a healthy business.
GOOD FOR YOU
A scroll through Nutricost’s site highlights everything from whey protein powders to antioxidants to digestive support supplements. Hundreds of blue-capped bottles full of health are available — the only question consumers have is where to begin.
A few of Min’s favorite products he uses personally are Nutricost’s multivitamins, magnesium and probiotics.
And you can trust the formulation process — it’s as local as it gets. Fun fact: Min himself was a big contributor to product formulations in the early days of Nutricost!
“We have a lab across the street where we hire a lot of chemistry and biochemistry graduates,” Min says.
Nutricost shows its local pride with dozens of signed BYU sports items filling Min’s office. His Cougar ties are strong. Not only did he receive his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and economics from BYU, but he also pursued a doctorate in chemical engineering and organic chemistry before ultimately dropping out to build Nutricost. Min returned to BYU and completed a master’s in chemical engineering.
In 2021, Nutricost announced its partnership with BYU Athletics as the Cougars’ official supplement provider.
Min is excited about a large revenue goal for 2024 that the company is keeping private, along with landing more retail locations for Nutricost supplements.
In the meantime, Min will keep leading as an admired executive and taking his wife and three children on trips across the world. Work hard, play hard — and do it with the best health.