Imu-Tek turns to human market

FORT COLLINS — The owners of Imu-Tek Animal Health Inc. are seeking the human touch.

If they find it, it could mean a major charge in sales for the Fort Collins company.

Imu-Tek, which has long produced bovine colostrum as a supplement for cattle, plans to launch its own brand of colostrum for human use.

The move into human products kicks off in June when Imu-Tek’s product should appear on retail store shelves and will be available for direct purchase off the Internet.

At the same time, Imu-Tek officials are hatching a major expansion of its production facility 3541 E. Vine Drive in Fort Collins.

Plans call for a 50,000-square-foot addition to the plant, which now covers about 12,000 square feet in two buildings.

Imu-Tek has been making animal supplements from bovine colostrum since it was founded in 1988. The product is fed to calves who may not get adequate nutrition from nursing.

Colostrum is the nutrition-rich yellow fluid that’s produced by mothers shortly after giving birth. It’s considered essential food for most infant mammals and is known to strengthen the immune systems n children.

Over the past decade interest has increased in the use of colostrum as a supplement for adults, with some claims that colostrum provides protein and boosts immune systems for older users.

According to 2000 article in Natural Foods Merchandiser, colostrum advocates believe the product generates “energy and alertness, fat loss, more supple skin, decreased allergy symptoms, decreased arthritis pain, improved eyesight, muscle growth, and protection against every illness from the common cold to cancer, from E. coli to HIV-related infections.”

However, collecting colostrum from humans is impractical, if only for the fact that human mothers secrete the fluid in small amounts and for just a few days after childbirth. But cows produce large volumes of colostrum – sometimes up to nine gallons, far more than their calves require. Bovine colostrum is also believed to be much richer in nutrients than the human form.

Since the mid-1990s Imu-Tek has packaged colostrum for human-use under contract for other health food companies. The company continues to reap about about two-thirds of sales from the animal market, but believes human sales will drive more growth.

In recent years Imu-Tek’s overall business has seen “double-digit” growth, said Susan Dyjak, who co-founded Imu-Tek with her husband Henry Dyjak. However, the human side of the business has contributed up to 35 percent growth, she said.

“We’ve been one of those nice guys — we tell everybody else what it’s all about, they go out and do it, and we’re just stuck here making it all the time,” Susan Dyjak said.

Now the Dyjaks are ready to grab some of the action for themselves.

The company has contracted with Fort Collins-based marketing agent Ron Weininger to spearhead a national sales campaign. Much of the early push will occur in Florida and Arizona, both states heavy in well-to-do retirees.

“They tend to be higher users of dietary supplements,” Weininger said.

Weininger declined to say which retailers would carry the product, because some negotiations are still in process. “Our targets are going to be all of the majors, as well as smaller health and nutrition stores,” he said.

Imu-Tek’s product will come in three different forms — capsules, powder and chewable tablets. The company has not set a price, but a common price range from other producers is $20-$25 for a bottle of 120 capsules.

The current market in the United States for immune booster supplements – the category includes Echinacea and zinc – is about $500 million, said Grant Ferrier, editor of Nutrition Business Journal.

“If they (Imu-Tek) introduce a good product with good backing and good distribution, and have a compelling health message that resonates with enlightened consumers, they could certainly make a $10 million business in a couple of years,” Ferrier said. “Whether that could grow to $50 million or $100 million, that’s another question.”

The dietary supplement business, which boomed with double-digit growth years in the late 1990s, has apparently hit a wall, according to Ferrier.

Ferrier estimates 5 percent of the public are “motivated, consistent” buyers of supplements. For the most part, the needs of that 5 percent has been met.

The balance of consumers are skeptical and hard to reach with health messages, Ferrier said.

“It’s an uphill battle in consumer education,” he said. Furthermore, many medical doctors are shy about recommending herbal supplements.

Still, sales spikes can occur with any supplement product if it gets the right attention.

For instance, the herbal product St. John’s Wort bolted in the late 1990s from $50 million in sales to $300 million in a two-year period after it gained publicity as a means to fight off depression.

Similarly, melatonin turned from a $20 million product to $100 million in just two years in the mid 1990s when it was publicized as a natural sleep aid. Glucosamine, believed to help with joint flexibility, now accounts for $700 million in annual sales; it was just $100 million about five years ago.

Weininger said one of his marketing tactics is to promote bovine colostrum through positive news coverage.

If he’s successful, Imu-Tek’s future could be as sweet as mother’s milk.

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