Prominent Sports Nutrition Brand Optimum Nutrition Celebrates Thirty Years

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., July 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Optimum Nutrition ("ON"), a world leader in sports nutrition, today revealed plans to celebrate thirty years of helping athletes achieve their fitness goals. The brand, founded in 1986, has helped to define the modern sports nutrition industry through its commitment to quality and innovation.  To mark the occasion of its thirtieth year, Optimum Nutrition is engaging its fans with themed promotions and is introducing a commemorative edition of Optimum Nutrition GOLD STANDARD 100% WHEY™, its best-selling product, in Birthday Cake flavor.  

"Over the course of three decades, Optimum Nutrition has had a singular mission to deliver sports nutrition products that will help our athletes achieve their personal goals," said Alpesh Patel, senior vice president of global marketing for Optimum Nutrition and Isopure. "That fuels our unrelenting commitment to innovation, consistent quality and ingredient transparency. Optimum Nutrition aims to set the gold standard, not just for every one of our products, but for the industry as a whole."

A Legacy of Innovation

"In many ways, the growth of Optimum Nutrition is emblematic of the evolution of the sports nutrition category," said Patel. "Optimum Nutrition and its founders recognized early the need for strict quality control, cutting edge science and constantly evolving formulas based on new scientific understanding."

Among the game-changing developments Optimum Nutrition has introduced over its 30-year history:

• One of the first instantized BCAA powders (2000), which revolutionized the delivery mechanism for the popular nutrient now widely consumed by both strength and endurance athletes.
• The first powdered protein to use solely casein protein sources (2005), which created the "slow protein" category helping provide longer-term satiety and allowing a generation of athletes to pace their nutrition intake more conveniently.
• Optimum Nutrition paved the way for the "anytime energy" category with the introduction of ESSENTIAL AMI.N.O. ENERGY™ products (2010), which provide energy without the high levels of caffeine that were typical in previous pre-workout powders, and allow for multiple occasion use during the day.

In a testament to its commitment to quality control, Optimum Nutrition is one of the few sports nutrition companies to operate its production facilities.  From its humble entrepreneurial beginnings, to a modest 23,000 square foot office/warehouse space, Optimum Nutrition has grown to include four state-of-the-art, NSF-certified production facilities occupying more than 1.5 million square feet of operating space, including global headquarters in Downers Grove, Illinois.

Leading the Whey

"Though Optimum Nutrition is one of the few sports nutrition companies to have products in every category – including powders, pills, bars and ready-to-drink – our GOLD STANDARD 100% WHEY™ product has become an industry icon," said Patel. 

Glanbia plc, a global dairy and nutritional ingredients company and multi-national producer of whey protein, acquired Optimum Nutrition in 2008. ON anchors Glanbia's world-leading Performance Nutrition brand portfolio.

Optimum Nutrition buys more whey protein isolate than any other sports nutrition brand – meeting the demand for the global distribution of the world's best-selling whey protein product, ON's GOLD STANDARD 100% WHEY™, which is sold in more than 130 countries. In 30 years, the brand has introduced more than 40 different flavors of the protein powder, whose signature black and red tub is ubiquitous at sports nutrition retailers worldwide.

A Birthday Gift for ON Fans

From now through the remainder of the year, Optimum Nutrition will introduce ways for fans of the ON brand to celebrate the 30-year milestone – starting with the introduction of a special, limited edition product and associated sweepstakes.

ON's GOLD STANDARD 100% WHEY™ in Birthday Cake flavor will launch at retailers nationwide this week, and fans of ON are invited to participate in the Gift of Fitness 30 Year Anniversary Giveaway on-pack promotion through October 31, 2016.

Specially marked Birthday Cake flavored, 2lb GOLD STANDARD 100% WHEY™ products, which bear the Optimum Nutrition 30-year logo, will feature an entry code that can be redeemed at www.optimumnutrition.com/30year. If the entered code is a winner, and subject to verification of age and eligibility, that fan will be awarded a prize from a collection of fitness-related prizes including industry-leading fitness tracking technology, high teach headphones, gift certificates for sports apparel or ON-branded products.  One grand prize winner, selected from all winning codes, will receive an all-expenses paid trip to meet and train with Optimum Nutrition athlete and renowned physique competitor, Steve Cook.

In honor of the 30-year celebration, the prize program is designed to award approximately one in every 30 participants a prize. For full details of the sweepstakes, please visit www.optimumnutrition.com/30year

"Flavor innovation is an important part of our Optimum Nutrition heritage, and it makes perfect sense to celebrate our brand birthday with a delicious birthday cake-flavored protein powder," said Stuart Heflin, director of North America marketing for Optimum Nutrition.  "And though it may be our birthday, we want to be the ones to give gifts to say thanks to the athletes who inspire us every day to be worthy of their loyalty."

GOLD STANDARD 100% WHEY™ Birthday Cake flavor delivers 24 grams of high-quality protein, primarily from whey protein isolates – the purest form of whey protein. The product is formulated to mix easily and dissolve quickly in water, milk or milk alternatives like soy or almond milk.

The Celebration Continues

Over the next several months, Optimum Nutrition will roll out opportunities for fans to engage in special 30-year themed activations and content, including commentary from ON athletes, video retrospectives, recipes, giveaways of limited edition 30-year gear and more.  The brand plans to host an official celebration to coincide with the 2016 Mr. Olympia Expo in Las Vegas in mid-September.

For more information about ON's 30-year celebration activities, fans should follow Optimum Nutrition on Facebook www.facebook.com/optimumnutrition, Twitter @Team_Optimum and Instagram @optimumnutrition.

About Optimum Nutrition

Optimum Nutrition was established in 1986 to satisfy consumer demand for consistent quality in sports nutrition. The company is also known for anticipating ever-changing customer needs and meeting the demands of a dynamic market with innovative products.  With five state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities based in the United States and in the United Kingdom, ON is the only sports nutrition company to manufacture items in every product category, including nutritional bars, protein powders, ready-to-drink shakes and beverages, energy products, multi-vitamins and other health & wellness items that support a healthy lifestyle.  The brand's GOLD STANDARD 100% WHEY™ is universally recognized as one of the world's best-selling whey protein products. ON products can be found throughout the United States in close to 10,000 independent natural product and specialty retail stores, gyms, and fitness centers, and most on-line retailers. ON products are also sold in 130 countries around the world.

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SOURCE Optimum Nutrition