Doing The Right Thing – NOW Foods (Podcast #36)

It’s rare to find a company that cares.

All we tend to see in the news about big corporations is how they’re screwing the little guy, driving mom and pop out of business, and focusing solely on profit over people. When you come across a company that’s doing the right thing… well, it can catch you off-guard. It’s refreshing, to say the least, and it makes you take notice. Well… I have taken notice – NOW Foods is one such company.

“If you have to ask if you’re doing the right thing… you’re not.”

That came out of the CEO’s mouth during our 2 day “influencer immersion event”, where we toured the facilities, learned all about NOW, and just generally got the royal treatment. It was impressive to hear something like that come from a major CEO… and it was even more impressive to see it reflected in the company and its staff in real life. So… why does a company care? Why go to all that trouble, as he describes in our chat, to ensure quality without charging twice as much?

***For the full chat with Jim Emme (plus more!) check out the podcast episode on iTunes here, on Android here, or on the web player at the bottom of this post.* *Don’t forget to hit “subscribe”!***

It’s about honesty and integrity.

Honesty and integrity are words we generally use when speaking about people, not companies. Companies don’t care… major multi-national corporations don’t care, right? They’re just there to turn a big profit. Maybe that’s what impressed me so much about NOW. I did a bit of reading up on the company before I got there, and I got the impression that they had some high standards for quality. They also made a big effort, right there on the website, to educate people – they call it their “NOWledge section”… isn’t that adorable? Really though, that’s the kind of thing you don’t always find on a vitamin/supplement company’s site, or on a foods distributor.

That was my first clue that NOW was different.

We all had dinner with the CEO (Jim) and a member of the founding family (which still owns the company, btw), where they more or less reiterated and expounded on what you can find online. It wasn’t just what they said though… it was how they said it. You could see some real passion and care… and you could tell they meant it. When they talked about quality control, high standards, going above and beyond to ensure the highest quality at the lowest price they can reasonably charge… well, they go to an awful lot of effort to do all that (which we saw the next day at their facilities). It’s clear they really do believe in quality and value over all else. That’s also evident in how Jim talked about their approach to GMO ingredients, and their relationships with other food and supplement manufacturers.

It really is all about doing the right thing.

The company was founded as a result of Elwood Richard (founder) wanting to do the right thing, and they’ve stayed true to that principle of “do unto others” all the way through today. It’s impressive, honestly, to see a company with such integrity… and, really… the kind of soul that made me fall in love with Anytime Fitness. Check out Episode 36 of the podcast and find out exactly what I mean. And yes, there WILL be more to come on NOW Foods, including a full recap of the 2 day immersion event (might be a long one, kids).

What’s in this episode:

Recapping the SUPER busy past week Darrell had
Previewing the Providence Marathon
Chat with Jim Emme – CEO of NOW Foods
- all things NOW Foods
- Vitamins, Supplements, and Regulation
- Healthy eating
- Honesty, Integrity, and Doing The Right Thing