Tag Archives: nutritional supplements

South Florida’s IQ Formulations Named to Inc. Magazine’s 5000 Fastest Growing Private U.S. Companies for Second Consecutive Year

South Florida’s IQ Formulations Named to Inc. Magazine’s 5000 Fastest Growing Private U.S. Companies for Second Consecutive Year

Tamarac, FL (PRWEB) August 12, 2015

IQ Formulations, a top national health and nutritional supplement company based in South Florida, today was named one of the fastest growing private companies in the United States by Inc. Magazine, ranking at 572 nationally. Continuing its rapid expansion, IQ Formulations grew by more than 800 percent over the past three years and was named to the renowned Inc. 5000 list for the second consecutive year.

Headquartered in Tamarac, Florida, IQ Formulations grew its revenues of $1.2 million in 2011 to nearly $11 million in 2014. When the company was founded in 2010 it did just $150,000 in revenue before growing by an astounding 5,486% to achieve 2013 revenues of $8.3 million.

In addition to its exponential revenue growth over the recent years, the innovative company has created dozens of jobs in South Florida. It expects to continue adding to its workforce as demand for its top-quality products soars.

“It is a great honor for all of us here at IQ Formulations to be recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the nation’s fastest growing privately held companies for the second year in a row,” said IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen. “This prestigious award and our incredible growth are true testaments to the fact that customers love our commitment to producing and delivering top-quality products that enhance and improve people’s lives.”

Born and raised in South Florida, IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen is deeply dedicated to the region and he strongly believes in giving back to the community. For years, IQ Formulations has made generous charitable contributions to a variety of local organizations and other national non-profits.

Cohen added: “I am extremely grateful to my family for being such a huge source of support for me on this journey. I would also like to thank everyone on the IQ Formulations team for the hard work, dedication and passion they bring to work every day, as well as our business partners and our customers. In the years to come I look forward to continuing our growth here in South Florida, developing additional products, elevating the standards in our industry and propelling IQ Formulations to new heights.”

IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen will be formally honored by Inc. Magazine in October at an awards ceremony in Orlando, Florida.

To learn more about IQ Formulations and its placement in the Inc. 5000, please visit: http://www.inc.com/profile/iq-formulations

About IQ Formulations

IQ Formulations is one of the most highly regarded and fastest growing health and nutritional supplement companies in the U.S. Founded by industry veteran and IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen, IQ Formulations is headquartered in Tamarac, Florida. The company has become an industry leader known for its uncompromising commitment to professional facilities, top-quality products with amazing results, and superior customer service. Learn more at iqformulations.com.

IQ Formulations Exhibiting at Upcoming Europa Games Expo in Hartford on June 28

IQ Formulations Exhibiting at Upcoming Europa Games Expo in Hartford on June 28

Sunrise, FL (PRWEB) June 23, 2014

IQ Formulations, one of the nation’s leading providers of high-quality nutritional supplements, will appear at the upcoming Europa Games Get Fit & Sports Expo in Hartford, Connecticut on June 28. During the fitness and nutrition exhibition event, IQ Formulations will host a display booth featuring samples of the company’s superior products, unique recipes utilizing IQ Formulations’ supplements and fitness experts available to answer questions from interested consumers.

“The IQ Formulations team is looking forward to traveling to the Europa Games Expo in Hartford this weekend. It’s a great opportunity to introduce our superior products and their unparalleled results to a new range of East Coast customers,” said IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen. “At IQ Formulations, healthy living isn’t just a part of the job; it’s a passion and a way of life for our staff. These events provide us with the exciting opportunity to share IQ Formulations’ products with top athletes and everyday folks looking to improve their health and fitness.”

Held at the Connecticut Convention Center of the Hartford Marriott Downtown, the Europa Games Get Fit & Sports Expo will feature a variety of exciting events and displays appealing to both professional athletes and health-minded men and women. The event will include the NPC Amateur Europa Games with men and women’s events including physique, fitness, figure and bikini competitions. Attendees also can speak with top health companies including IQ Formulations, and will even have the opportunity to run an obstacle course, with prize money awarded to the top competitors.

IQ Formulations regularly participates in Europa Games events and various other fitness and nutrition expos across the country. Earlier this year, the company also appeared at Europa Games Get Fit & Sports Expos in Orlando and Dallas and the Arnold Sports Festival, among many others.

Europa Sports Products is a distributor with global reach who partners closely with IQ Formulations to deliver the company’s products to market.

Constantly striving to lead by example and to raise standards for nutrition and health supplements, IQ Formulations has become renowned as an industry leader. The company’s commitment to providing outstanding products and exceptional customer service has set it apart as one of the nation’s most highly-respected and fastest growing health supplement providers.

About IQ Formulations
IQ Formulations is one of the most highly regarded and quickly growing health and nutritional supplement companies in the U.S. Founded by industry veteran Jay Cohen and headquartered in Sunrise, Florida, IQ Formulations has become an industry leader known for its uncompromising commitment to professional facilities, top-quality products with amazing results, and superior customer service. Learn more athttp://iqformulations.wpengine.com.

CEO Jay Cohen and IQ Formulations Featured in Business View Magazine

Top provider of health and nutritional supplements, IQ Formulations, and its CEO Jay Cohen were recently featured in Business View Magazine. The detailed, eight-page-long article highlights the company’s unbelievable growth, as well as Cohen’s unique business philosophy, which has helped make IQ Formulations a leader in its industry.

Read the full article, including quotes from CEO Jay Cohen, below:

http://www.businessviewmagazine.com/digital-magazines/jan-2016/index.html#62

 

IQ Formulations

Engineering smarter products

When Jay Cohen decided to get back into the health and nutritional supplements business, he decided to model his new company, IQ Formulations, after a world famous, Italian luxury sports car manufacturer that, according to the new CEO, “never had a losing year; they’ve always made money.” The same can certainly be said of IQ Formulations, Cohen’s five year-old company that likewise has never had a losing year – and is also making a lot of money.

“When we first started, I looked at other industries to model after,” Cohen explains. “One was the automobile industry. One of the companies that I based my model on was Ferrari. What Ferrari has done that has outpaced every other automobile manufacturer is that it is a vertically integrated company. They pick and choose every single ingredient that goes into making their engine blocks, their pistons, their interior, their exterior – they custom-manufacture their products. And, because they do that, they’re able to put a product on the market that totally outpaces every other manufacturer. And that’s what we wanted to do. We wanted to create a definite distinction between our product line, one that outpaced the competition. In order to do that, we had to develop the same type of vertical integration that Ferrari did.”

Most people probably don’t know much about Ferrari’s corporate structure; but they do know that it makes a very fast car. And if the company’s brand is known for speed, then IQ Formulations is a worthy inheritor of the Ferrari ethos. Cohen’s firm has been on an astonishing trajectory of growth since its inception, going from less than $124,000 in 2010 revenue, to 2015 sales of $20 million, today – a growth rate of 5,486 percent over the last three years. It’s what put IQ Formulations on the Inc. 5000 list in 2014 and again in 2015, as one of the fastest growing companies in the country.

When he approached the starting line back in 2010, IQ Formulations was actually Cohen’s third time around the supplements business track. “I started in 1987, with my father, when he created his company,” he remembers. “I worked on and off for him throughout the years until I left for college and entered back into the industry years later.” Cohen’s first re-entry onto the speedway was not a positive or fulfilling ride. “The whole industry had changed immensely,” he laments. “A lot of the companies had become marketing companies – they weren’t manufacturing companies. There was a lot of emphasis on making the cheapest product possible so that they can maximize their marketing dollars. I was so put off by this; I walked away from the industry and vowed never to return to it.”

However, with the support of friends and family, as well as some encouragement from a few vendors with whom he had long-standing relationships, Cohen returned once again, but this time, he was determined to do things his own way. This time, he would be in the driver’s seat. He began on his own kitchen counter, reformulating products that he knew had a great niche following and high consumer demand. “I started creating formulations and testing the products out. In September 2010, with just ideas in my head and formulations on legal pads, I hired a graphic artist to make a rendering of what my product line would be. I wrote a business plan and I flew out to Las Vegas for the Mr. Olympia contest – one of the biggest expos in my industry – and I was determined to go there and sell my new product line.”

Even though the now true believer had stepped on the accelerator and gone flat out to his own sector’s version of the Indy 500, he was not overly optimistic. “The likelihood of me walking away without an order was highly probable,” he notes. But things turned out a whole lot better than he had anticipated. “To my surprise, the people accepted it with open arms, because it was such a different philosophy, such a different product line. It brought integrity back into the industry that was used to doing business a certain way. Our philosophy was to become a vertically integrated company that would put the research, the development, the manufacturing, and the production all under one roof. It was like a breath of fresh air.”

Cohen believed that by being the Ferrari of the supplements industry, he could bring a better product to the marketplace. But he also knew that, like a Ferrari automobile, a price would have to be paid for his premium, custom-made product. “We felt that consumers were ready for that,” he says. “They were used to buying the $15 and $19.99 protein and, here we are, coming to the marketplace with a protein valued over $40. But, they found out when they drank it, they felt better. When they drank it, they had no intestinal upset or distress. When they drank it, they felt healthier. When they drank it, they lost weight and had more energy. And it transformed that segment of the marketplace within a year.”

Five years after that first victory lap, IQ Formulations no longer operates out of a kitchen, but rather out of a state-of-the-art, $3.5 million, 40,000 square foot manufacturing and packaging facility in Tamarac, Florida, with plans to open a second facility sometime in the not-too-distant future. “When we first started, we had three vendors,” Cohen says. “Now we have 400.” The staff has similarly grown: from two employees – Cohen, himself and a salesman – to 47, today, with people in marketing, customer service, accounting, quality control, production, manufacturing, shipping, and sales. “And even at 47 employees, we still consider ourselves, undermanned,” he quips.

IQ Formulations sells directly to consumers through its website, but has also partnered with a distribution company, Europa Sports Products, which sells its products to general nutrition shops around the country, as well as, dealing directly with large national retailer chains such as Vitamin Shoppe. Currently, the company only ships domestically, but Cohen says that it is planning to expand into Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Poland. “We’ve been controlling our growth because we know that our serviceability and our manufacturing capabilities must match our orders to our clients. And we don’t want to exceed that and then have to make compromises in terms of that.” Compromise is not why Cohen came back into the race. He insists that his product remain consistently reliable. “Our product is the same, each and every time,” he states emphatically. “Consumers know that we’re going to be delivering the same great product day-in and day-out.”

But now that IQ Formulations has gotten the checkered flag in one market segment, Cohen also sees the possibilities for augmenting his company’s product offerings, as well as expanding its consumer base across a broader demographic. He explains: “Our customers are demanding that we go into functional foods. They say, ‘Hey, we want a protein bar; we want an energy drink. Please make that for us, because we know that if you make it, it’ll be better than anything else that’s in the marketplace.’ We’re also going to get into more of what we call mass market, which is developing products that can be purchased at the grocery store and mass market level, like Costco’s or BJs. We want to be able to hit multiple consumers who are looking to purchase the best quality, healthy products to improve and sustain a healthy lifestyle. So, we’re branching out into those marketplaces, starting in the first quarter of 2016.”

Cohen is convinced that his original idea to emulate the Ferrari model has been instrumental in IQ Formulation’s success. “What differentiates my company is the fact that we are a company that is based on research and development that grew into a vertically integrated company that produces what it sells. Like Ferrari, we had to pick and choose our own ingredients; we had to build relationships with our specific vendors that we knew were the pinnacle suppliers of certain ingredients in the industry; we had to build a special relationship with Europa Sports Products to make sure that once our products were done, we could get them in the hands of our consumers faster and easier than anyone else. So, by doing all these things, it became a win-win-win scenario: a win for us, for our resellers, and for our consumers. Everyone who touched the product had an appreciable benefit from it.”

IQ Formulations has further touched its wider community via a vigorous program of charitable giving. The company has an admirable track record of involvement with a variety of respected, non-profit organizations including the Wounded Warrior Project, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the American Humane Association, the American Red Cross, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The company also hosts an annual holiday toy drive to benefit the children and families at nearby Miami Children’s Hospital.

Inc. Spotlights IQ Formulations and CEO Jay Cohen

Leading health and nutritional supplement manufacturer IQ Formulations and its CEO Jay Cohen were featured in a recent Inc. article entitled ”How This Nutrition Company Jumped From $120,000 to $20 Million in Sales.” Written by Inc. contributor Darren Heitner, the piece looks at the keys to success that helped Jay Cohen propel IQ Formulations to the very top of the nutritional supplement industry.

Below is the full text of the article along with a link to the original piece on Inc.com:

http://www.inc.com/darren-heitner/how-this-nutrition-company-went-from-120-000-to-20-million-in-sales.html

How This Nutrition Company Jumped From $120,000 to $20 Million in Sales

Jay Cohen decided to exit the nutritional supplement industry, but came back and figured out a way to generate eight figures in yearly sales.

By Darren Heitner

Tens of thousands of companies compete against each other in the world of nutritional supplements. Their goal is the same: to win over the minds and hearts of a consumer base increasingly interested in being fit and ingesting healthy products.

It’s difficult for a company in the nutritional supplement industry to distinguish itself from the competition. Many companies churn out the same or similar products, but use marketing to differentiate themselves to the consumers they hope to attract.

How do you enter an extremely competitive marketplace and establish yourself as a reputable brand? I spoke to Jay Cohen, CEO of IQ Formulations, to determine some tricks of the trade and a sense of how he built a company that now generates $20 million per year in sales.

Relationships and experience: The formula to success.

“The one thing I would point to that allowed us to excel in the industry was relationships,” said Cohen. “It brought me back into the industry and got me set up when I didn’t have a dollar to my name and had to borrow on credit. If I didn’t have the answer, I had the contact of someone who had the answer.”

IQ Formulations has grown 16,000 percent over the past five years, taking it from annual revenue of $120,000 in 2010 to $20 million this year.

“My greatest asset has been longstanding relationships,” explained Cohen. “I put relationships in front of business. Products don’t sell to people. People sell to people. Unless you understand that as an entrepreneur, you’re never going to get it.”

Cohen is a veteran of the nutritional supplement industry. He came back to create IQ Formulations after walking away from a prior nutritional supplement business in late 2009.

“I left because I felt the industry didn’t have the quality or integrity that I wanted to bring to the marketplace,” said Cohen. “Fancy labels, but cheap product. Pixie dust. Not what I wanted to produce.”

In addition to Cohen’s prior experience in the industry, he also relied on his retired physician father, who helped him start his former company in 1997. He admits living and breathing in the industry and for almost 26 years made a huge difference in being able to succeed in a saturated area.

Separation in a saturated industry is key.

Relationships and experience alone weren’t enough against companies that had been in business for many years. Cohen had to figure out a way to do something different and make sure it was what the potential consumer craved.

“What makes our company different is exactly my basis for getting back into the industry. It’s the quality and efficacy we put into our products,” said Cohen. “We not only built a research and development facility that develops our own products, but we manufacture, produce, package, and distribute internally. There are only about five companies of 50,000 participants in the industry that do it and I’m one of the five.”

The way Cohen described it, entering the nutritional supplement industry is actually not too difficult as long as you do not care so much about the quality of your products. It’s simple and cheap to hire graphic artists and marketing mavens while subcontracting the development of product to others.

Cohen decided that wasn’t the way he was willing to grow his company, and his millions in revenue justify that decision.

Growth through consumer loyalty.

“Our philosophy is growth through the annuity of consumer loyalty,” said Cohen. “Target, Coca Cola, Home Depot, Starbucks, they all believe in this annuity–the return visit from your customer based on consumer experience. Exceeding the customer’s expectations so you earn his or her residual dollars.”

It’s never about the one-time sale. Continued sales to the same consumers drive real growth.

Cohen believed spending more money was worth it to deliver a product the consumer could trust, which would lead to scalable growth. It’s led to IQ Formulations to deliver a better product at a cheaper price than its competitors.

“We never put the money into the marketing,” said Cohen. “We put it into the manufacturing and research. Whatever we make, we are going to put back into our products and machinery to make a better product.”

Traveling the road less taken.

When Cohen was considering a return to nutritional supplements, he was told by one of his vendors that if he was going to do it, he needed to do it his own way.

“I decided to rewrite the industry from the first page,” said Cohen. “I literally put a one-page rendering of what my products would look like and headed out to Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas to sell my idea.”

IQ Formulation’s growth this year is 475 percent, and Cohen is wrapping up the creation of a $6 million production plant in Tamarac, Florida.

Following his own path has worked out well.

IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen Highlighted in South Florida Business & Wealth Magazine

Successful entrepreneur and IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen was recently featured on the pages of South Florida Business & Wealth magazine. A detailed article in the publication highlighted Cohen’s incredible success story in the nutritional supplement industry.

Find out more in the recently issued press release below:

Entrepreneur and CEO Jay Cohen Spotlighted in South Florida Business & Wealth Magazine

Tamarac, FL, Dec. 14, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Respected business leader and IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen was highlighted in South Florida Business & Wealth magazine recently for his innovative vision and incredible success in building the now thriving company. A South Florida native, Cohen built the locally owned and operated manufacturing businesses himself, and is committed to sourcing all of his products from the United States, a true rarity in this day in age.

As the article in the publication’s November edition notes, IQ Formulations has quickly risen to the top of its industry under Cohen’s smart and strategic direction. His fast-growing enterprise has been honored with numerous business awards, including recently being named the Fastest-Growing Company of the Year in its size category for all of North America by the Best in Biz Awards.

But it has not always been smooth sailing for the visionary CEO. Cohen had to overcome various obstacles when bootstrapping the company and building it from the ground up, driven by an underlying passion to elevate the standards of the health supplement industry and provide consumers with something better than what was previously on the market.

“I would like to thank South Florida Business & Wealth for its interest in IQ Formulations and my entrepreneurial journey, and for showcasing the remarkable results that have come from our team working together with professionalism and passion” said Cohen. “It is truly humbling to see your life story and achievements laid out so eloquently. It’s an honor to be featured alongside other top local professionals in the leading business publication.”

IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen believes in doing things differently and leading by example. With top-quality products, state-of-the-art facilities, and exceptional customer service, the company is widely recognized for its excellence as an industry leader, as well as its commitment to giving back to the community.

About IQ Formulations

IQ Formulations is one of the most highly regarded and fastest growing health and nutritional supplement companies in the U.S. Founded by industry veteran and IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen, IQ Formulations is headquartered in Tamarac, Florida. The company has become an industry leader known for its uncompromising commitment to professional facilities, top-quality products with amazing results, and superior customer service. Learn more at iqformulations.com.

IQ Formulations Makes Charitable Contribution to Wounded Warrior Project

IQ Formulations, a leader in the health and nutritional supplement industry, recently made a charitable contribution to the Wounded Warrior Project. Through its generous support of the organization’s programs and services, IQ Formulations seeks to assist the organization with its important mission of providing much-needed aid to our veterans and helping them become successful members of the community, as well as raise awareness about these needs.

Below is the full text of the recently issued press release including quotes from IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen: 

http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/11/30/791501/0/en/IQ-Formulations-Honors-Veterans-through-Support-of-Wounded-Warrior-Project.html

IQ Formulations Honors Veterans through Support of Wounded Warrior Project

Tamarac, FL, Nov. 30, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — IQ Formulations, an industry-leading provider of health and nutritional supplements, is proud to announce its support of the Wounded Warrior Project. IQ Formulations has made a generous contribution to help support the Wounded Warrior Project’s mission “to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history.”

The company is seeking to raise awareness about the invaluable direct programs and services that the Wounded Warrior Project provides to meet the needs of injured service members. Specifically, the Wounded Warrior Project® provides aid to veterans and service members who incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wound on or since September 11, 2001.

“IQ Formulations’ support of the Wounded Warrior Project stems from my family’s own personal experience,” said IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen. “My father was a Vietnam Veteran. Growing up, I remember hearing about my father’s wartime stories and memories which left a very deep impression upon me – inspiring a heartfelt obligation to help injured service members.”

The Wounded Warrior Project helps injured service members not only with their physical wounds, but with their emotional and mental needs as well, including adjusting to their new normal when they return home. IQ Formulations believes that this type of assistance is invaluable, and hopes to inspire other caring community members to contribute to this important cause on November’s observance of Veterans’ Day and all year round.

In addition to IQ Formulations’ commitment to excellence in health and nutritional supplements through its leading products and facilities, the company is devoted to giving back to the community through philanthropic means.

With top-quality products, outstanding facilities, unparalleled customer service and industry-leading standards, IQ Formulations had established a nationwide reputation for excellence in the health and nutritional supplement industry. The company has been named to Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest growing companies in the country for the past two years, and was honored as one of GrowFL’s Florida Companies to Watch in 2015.

Learn more about IQ Formulations: www.iqformulations.com.

Learn more about the Wounded Warrior Project: www.woundedwarriorproject.org/.

About IQ Formulations

IQ Formulations is one of the most highly regarded and quickly growing health and nutritional supplement companies in the U.S. Founded by industry veteran and IQ Formulations CEO Jay Cohen, IQ Formulations is headquartered in Tamarac, Florida. The company has become an industry leader known for its uncompromising commitment to professional facilities, top-quality products with amazing results, and superior customer service. Learn more at iqformulations.com.