Sun Naturals history

1980:Acquired its parent, Arco Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Nature's Bounty also began a joint marketing program with Spiegel, Inc. in 1982, preparing a special mail order catalog of its products under the brand name Arco with Spiegel's endorsement.

The company had record net sales of $36.3 million in 1984 but lost $550,000 after having earned net income of more than $1 million in each of the two previous years.

In 1987 the FDA advised the company that its nasally administered vitamin B12 gel, called Ener-B, was a drug and thus illegal to market without the agency's approval.

The company began selling its products in supermarkets in 1988.

Also that year, Arthur Rudolph, who had yielded his position as chief executive officer in fiscal 1992, resigned as chairman of the company and sold his holdings, which consisted of about one-third of the common stock.

By 1993 the company also was offering personal care products, including shampoos, soaps, cosmetics, skin creams, fresheners, and lotions, under the Beautiful Visions name at discount prices.

According to a security analyst, the company lost sales and profits after a 1994 New England Journal of Medicine article challenged the benefits of taking Vitamin A and beta-carotene supplements.

1995:Changes its name to NBTY, Inc.

Scott Rudolph owned 16.7 percent of the common stock and Arthur Rudolph owned three percent in December 1998.

In 1999 NBTY joined Phar-More Inc., a deep-discount drug chain, in selling vitamins and other nutritional supplements over the Internet on a page linked to Phar-More's web site.