Healthspan is a UK's largest mail-order supplier of
vitamin
Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...
s, minerals and
health supplement
A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement a person's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources, or that are synthetic ( ...
s. Established by Derek Coates in 1996, the company is based at the Healthspan House on the
Channel Island
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consist ...
of
Guernsey
Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
.
History
Healthspan Direct was founded by Derek Coates in 1996, with an initial catalogue of 10 products, eventually expanding to more than 150 products including nutritional supplements, herbal range products, skincare and cosmetic products (under the Nurture name) and veterinary supplements (as VetVits). In 2001, the company was renamed Healthspan.
In March 2022, the Norwegian company Orkla Health acquired 100% of Healthspan's shares for £65 million on a cash and debt-free basis.
Lawsuit and Acquisition of Healthy Direct
In 2004, the Healthspan filed a lawsuit against Healthy Direct, another health supplement supplier based in Guernsey, claiming that the company had changed its name from C.I. Nutriceuticals Ltd. in order to profit from Healthspan's brand value. The application was dismissed. In 2008, Healthspan purchased Healthy Direct in what was reported to be "an eight-figure deal", making Healthspan the UK's biggest direct supplier of nutrition supplements.
Potential Sale and the LVCR
In January 2011, it was reported Coates was exploring the possibility of selling Healthspan for a price of around £150 million, with between 10 and 12 potential buyers submitting bids. Coates cited personal reasons related to a desire to reduce his workload, but stated that the existing management and workforce would not be affected. When four jobs were eliminated a week later, Healthspan denied that they were related to an impending sale, and were instead a result of the completed integration of Healthspan and Healthy Direct products. In 2011, the UK also announced it was ending the
Low Value Consignment Relief
When goods are imported into a European Union country from a non-EU territory, those goods may be subject to customs duty, excise duty and value-added tax.
Value-added tax is an EU tax adopted by the member states of the European Union. However, ...
(LVCR) loophole, which allowed retailers to avoid paying tax on goods exported from the Channel Islands to the UK that were under the value of £18. Healthspan challenged the decision, citing that countries located outside the EU, including Switzerland, Cyprus, Hong Kong, the USA and China, were not affected by the ruling. The company also announced that, following its legal challenge, it would begin exploring relocating its distribution operations, although its headquarters would remain in Guernsey.
In May 2011, it was announced that the company was no longer for sale, with the elimination of the LVCR being one of the main reasons, contributing to "too many uncertainties to maximise the value of a sale." Plans to sell the company were reported to have been put on hold for "at least two or three years." Coates also announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Healthspan in order to focus on other business interests and his personal life, although he would remain with Healthspan as the company's Group Chairman. He was replaced by former Deputy Chief Executive Graham Case, who was in turn replaced in early 2016 by Tim Pethick who left in 2018. The current CEO is Martin Talbot.
Healthspan Leisure
In 2004, Healthspan began to invest in the tourism industry in the Channel Islands, with the purchase and refurbishment of three hotels - the Braye Beach Hotel on
Alderney
Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide.
The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...
, and the Fermain Hotel and the 37-room La Favorita in Guernsey - under the name of Healthspan Leisure. The company made it possible for tourists to book the hotels directly through their existing call centers. The same year, it also acquired Rockhopper Airlines, which flies from and within the Channel Islands to the United Kingdom and Europe, changing the airline's name to
Blue Islands
Blue Islands Limited is a regional airline of the Channel Islands. Its head office is in Forest, Guernsey, and its registered office is in Saint Anne, Alderney. It operates scheduled services from and within the Channel Islands to the United ...
. While Healthspan was exploring the possibility of a sale in 2011, Healthspan Leisure was renamed as the Vista Hotels Group.
Disputes
In 2008, Healthspan was criticized by ''
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
'' who asked a panel of experts to take the Nutriprofile, the company's dietary questionnaire, entering in a healthy diet. The experts felt that the company was suggesting more supplements than were actually needed. Healthspan responded that the "Recommendations on diet and lifestyle in the Nutriprofile are scientifically validated."
Healthspan has also been criticized by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), who have made rulings against the company on several occasions for claims made about the company's products.
* In 2008, a ruling was made against the company over statements made in a catalog mailing for health
food supplement
A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement a person's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources, or that are synthetic ( ...
s describing the properties of products including
selenium
Selenium is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Se and atomic number 34. It has various physical appearances, including a brick-red powder, a vitreous black solid, and a grey metallic-looking form. It seldom occurs in this elem ...
green tea
Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the '' Camellia sinensis'' that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China in the late 1st millenn ...
and
turmeric
Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...
. The ASA ruled that the information made unsubstantiated medical claims that could discourage consumers from seeking treatment for medical conditions and that the ad must not appear again.
* In 2008, a ruling was made against the company over an email advertising an
omega-3
Omega−3 fatty acids, also called omega−3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their ...
product for children called Brain Boosters. The ASA determined that the name implied that the product could dramatically enhance children's brain function, which wasn't medically substantiated, and that the ad must not appear again.
* In 2009, a ruling was made against the company over an e-mail stating that "more people buy their vitamins and supplements from Healthspan than any other supplier in the UK." The ASA determined that the calculations were based on estimates and averages for their competitors compared with their own sales figures, and that the claim was misleading, ruling that the ad must not appear again.
* In 2010, a ruling was made against the company over a pair of brochures that made a series of claims about the properties of nutritional supplements including
bilberry
Bilberries () are Eurasian low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae that bear edible, dark blue berries. They resemble but are distinct from North American blueberries.
The species most often referre ...
black cohosh
''Actaea racemosa'', the black cohosh, black bugbane, black snakeroot, rattle-top, or fairy candle ( syn. ''Cimicifuga racemosa''), is a species of flowering plant of the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to eastern North America from the ext ...
,
ginseng
Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as South China ginseng (''Panax notoginseng, P. notoginseng''), Korean ginseng (''Panax ginseng, P. ginseng''), and American ginseng (''American ginseng, P. quinquefol ...
,
echinacea
''Echinacea'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are native only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in wet to dry prairies and open ...
,
ginkgo biloba
''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million year ...
,
milk thistle
''Silybum marianum'' is a species of thistle. It has various common names including milk thistle, blessed milkthistle, Marian thistle, Mary thistle, Saint Mary's thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle (not ...
,
St. John's wort
''Hypericum perforatum'', commonly known as St. John's wort (sometimes perforate St. John's wort or common St. John's wort), is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is a hairless, Perennial, perennial herb with woody Root, roots, y ...
and valerian. The ASA found that the claims suggested properties of the products that were not medically substantiated, and that the ads must not appear again.
* In 2011, a ruling was made against the company over an advertisement feature in the form of a magazine article entitled "Top 10 supplements for healthy ageing - Different supplements suit different people at different stages of their lives." The article described the properties of various supplements, including
lycopene
Lycopene is an organic compound classified as a tetraterpene and a carotene. Lycopene (from the Neo-Latin '' Lycopersicon'', the name of a former tomato genus) is a bright red carotenoid hydrocarbon found in tomatoes and other red fruits and ve ...
,
glucosamine
Glucosamine (C6H13NO5) is an amino sugar and a prominent precursor in the biochemical synthesis of glycosylated proteins and lipids. Glucosamine is part of the structure of two polysaccharides, chitosan and chitin. Glucosamine is one of the mo ...
and ginkgo biloba. Another advertisement feature in the same magazine was headed "7 ages of man", and included properties of other supplements, including
saw palmetto
''Serenoa repens'', commonly known as saw palmetto, is a small palm, growing to a maximum height around .
Taxonomy
It is the sole species in the genus ''Serenoa''. The genus name honors American botanist Sereno Watson.
Distribution and h ...
. The ASA found that the claims suggested properties of the products that were not medically substantiated, and that the ads must not appear again.
* In 2011, a complaint was made against the company regarding a mail order catalog advertising supplements, including the Healthspan products Optiflex Glucosamine, Joint Synergex, Heart Synergex and Brain Synergex. In this case, the rulings were not upheld, as it was determined that Helathspan had displayed prominent disclaimers within the brochure, stating that their products were not intended as treatments, encouraging consumers to seek medical advice where necessary.