Shaklee
Shaklee Corporation is an American manufacturer and multi-level marketing distributor of natural nutrition supplements, weight-management products, beauty products, and household products. The company is based in Miami, Florida, with operations in several countries.
History
Founding
, a chiropractor and nutritionist based in his home state of Iowa, and later in Oakland, California, created the first vitamin in the United States labeled "Shaklee's Vitalized Minerals" in 1915. In 1956, Shaklee founded the Shaklee Corporation with his two sons to manufacture nutritional supplements. Shaklee chose the multi-level marketing business model to market their product. Starting in 1956, Shaklee began marketing organic, biodegradable cleaning products.Expansion, divestiture, and changes of ownership
Shaklee Corporation was a publicly traded company in the late 1970s and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1973, the firm relocated its business offices from Hayward, California, to the Watergate office complex in Emeryville. In 1980, the company relocated again to the One Front Street skyscraper in San Francisco's Financial District. In 1982 Shaklee was included in the Fortune 500 list. The company expanded its business operations in 1986 by acquiring Bear Creek Corporation, a direct marketing firm known for its Harry and David Fruit-of-the-Month Club, from RJR Nabisco for $123 million. In 1989, Shaklee sold a 78 percent stake in Shaklee Japan to the Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Company for $350 million while retaining a licensing agreement and continuing to collect royalty payments from the Japanese operations.In March 1989, Shaklee Corporation received an unsolicited acquisition proposal from a group led by Minneapolis financier, Irwin L. Jacobs. At the time, analysts estimated Shaklee Corporation's potential leveraged buyout at $35 a share. The Jacobs group had acquired a 14.98 percent stake in the company. Shaklee declared a special dividend of $20 a share. Some observers viewed this as a "poison pill" defense against the takeover, although the company stated otherwise. Shaklee's corporate bylaws included provisions that were triggered when an investor reached a 15 percent ownership threshold.
Shortly after, Jacobs increased his stake, however Shaklee Corporation subsequently announced its acquisition by Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical for $28 per share in a deal valued at approximately $395 million. Yamanouchi's existing partnership with Shaklee Japan was cited as a factor in the acquisition. Following the announcement, Jacobs declined to challenge the offer and the acquisition was finalized, making Shaklee a privately held company. In 2000, the company moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Pleasanton, California.
In 2004, Yamanouchi sold Shaklee Corporation to American multi-millionaire Roger Barnett, managing partner of Activated Holdings LLC and a member of the Wolfson family, for $310 million. Around the same time, Bear Creek and the Harry and David line was sold to investment firm Wasserstein Perella & Co. for $260 million.
Shaklee has made environmental sustainability a part of its public brand messaging. In 2022, the company announced the launch of a body care collection described as "clean" and “anti-aging.”