Hillestad Pharmaceuticals USA

What Hillestad Pharmaceuticals USA does

Hillestad Pharmaceuticals USA is a privately held nutritional supplement manufacturer founded in 1959 and headquartered in Woodruff, Wisconsin, operating under the consumer-facing Hillestad Labs brand. The company produces a broad catalog of dietary supplements and wellness products for individual consumers, wholesale distributors, and private-label/contract manufacturing clients. It is family-led, with Don Hillestad and Lucy Hillestad identified as founders, and reports a headcount in the 11–50 employee range.

The product portfolio is anchored by the flagship Summit Gold multi-vitamin and the Arise wellness line, which spans probiotics, omega-3, vision support, vitamin D, and condition-specific complexes including a recent entry into protein with Arise Wisconsin Supreme Whey. Secondary lines include the Lucy's Pantry cooking herbs sub-brand and a specialized dialysis nutrition range marketed through a dedicated dialyvite.net subdomain, indicating vertical specialization in renal nutrition alongside general wellness. Unit prices span approximately $5 to $57, placing products in the mid-market consumer supplement tier. The firm also offers factory tours at its Wisconsin facility as a brand-awareness and trust-building mechanism.

Hillestad monetizes through a hybrid go-to-market model: direct-to-consumer e-commerce via hillestadlabs.com, a distributor and wholesale network, and B2B private-label / contract manufacturing services. This three-channel structure diversifies revenue beyond a single sales motion and enables monetization of excess production capacity. As a long-standing, small-to-mid-scale regional manufacturer with no public financial disclosure, Hillestad is positioned as a stable, privately held niche operator rather than a venture-backed growth company.

Name

Hillestad Pharmaceuticals USA

Legal name

Hillestad Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.

Website

https://hillestadlabs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hillestad Pharmaceuticals USA is a family-owned nutritional supplement manufacturer founded in 1959 in Woodruff, Wisconsin, producing the Summit Gold and Arise lines of vitamins, whey protein, and wellness products for consumers, distributors, and private-label clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nutritional Supplements

NAICS

Food (Health) Supplement Retailers (456191), Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers (42421)

SIC

Wholesale-Drugs, Proprietaries & Druggists' Sundries (5122)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Condition Supplements (Sleep, Stress, Heart, Joint, Gut, Immunity) (CRADAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Food & Supplement Stores (CRAHAEAC), Sports & Performance Nutrition Foods Manufacturing (Protein Foods, Energy Gels/Bars) (AFAKAJAE)

Keywords

• Nutritional supplements
• Vitamin manufacturing
• Herbal formulas
• Private label manufacturing
• Contract manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Woodruff

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Direct Product Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of nutritional supplements, vitamins, herbal formulas, and personal care products through e-commerce website and catalog. Products include multi-vitamins (Summit Gold, Sterling, Summit Max), probiotics (Arise Probiotic), joint health formulas, and specialty supplements.
2. Private Label Manufacturing: Custom contract manufacturing services for businesses to create private label nutritional supplement products. The company offers custom formulation and manufacturing capabilities for wholesale and business customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hillestad Pharmaceuticals USA manufactures and sells a broad line of branded nutritional supplements, vitamins, herbal formulas, probiotics, weight management products, and personal care items (such as Foot Relief Cream) directly to consumers via its hillestadlabs.com e-commerce store and distributor network. In parallel, the company offers custom contract and private label manufacturing services that allow other businesses to source Hillestad-produced nutritional supplements under their own brands. Its flagship product is the Summit Gold multi-vitamin/multi-mineral, built on the proprietary Sea Plex base and produced as layered tablets.

Product overview

Hillestad Pharmaceuticals USA is a nutritional supplement manufacturer offering a diverse portfolio of dietary supplements and wellness products. The company operates primarily through two branded product lines: Summit Gold (their flagship multi-vitamin/mineral line) and Arise (a broader wellness line including probiotics, vision support, and specialized formulations). Beyond their proprietary products, they provide custom contract manufacturing and private label services to third parties. The product portfolio spans categories including vitamins (A, B, C, D, E), minerals, herbal formulas, joint health, digestive health, weight management, skin care, personal care, and home products. The company maintains operations in Woodruff, Wisconsin, with factory tours available to visitors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Summit Gold: Hillestad's flagship multi-vitamin and multi-mineral dietary supplement product, completely balanced with essential vitamins and minerals in a base of Sea Plex.
• Arise
• Lucy's Pantry

Products and services

• Summit Gold Multi-Vitamin & Multi-Mineral Hillestad's flagship balanced multi-vitamin and multi-mineral dietary supplement containing essential vitamins and minerals in a proprietary Sea Plex base, sold as layered tablets (160, 300, and 500 count) for general family health.
• Arise Probiotic Dairy- and gluten-free probiotic supplement containing Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Bifidobacterium Lactis in an inulin base, available in 90- and 180-capsule sizes, supporting healthy digestive function.
• Arise Chewable Probiotic Chewable digestive health probiotic containing two viable bacterial strains intended to help maintain balanced intestinal flora in tablet form (90 tablets per bottle).
• E-Z Trim Weight Management Aid Three-in-one weight management dietary supplement formulated with Brindleberry (Garcinia Gambogia) extract, milk and soy protein blend, Coenzyme Q10, L-Carnitine, and fiber blend, sold in 20.3 oz containers.
• Balance Vitamin E Layered tablet providing natural Vitamin E combined with the proprietary Sea Plex base plus Calcium and Selenium, intended to complement multi-vitamin and multi-mineral regimens (120 tablets).
• Vitamin E-400 Antioxidant supplement supplying 400 IU of natural-source Vitamin E along with Selenium and Wheat Germ (225 tablets).
• Women's Change Complex Combination dietary supplement containing Black Cohosh Extract, Genistein, DIM, Broccoli Powder, Calcium, Magnesium and Vitamin D3 to support nutritional needs during natural aging in women.
• Herbal Liver Support Herbal dietary supplement containing Turmeric Root, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Artichoke Leaf and Milk Thistle extracts formulated to support the liver's natural detoxification function.
• Herbal Formula I - Blood Pressure Herbal dietary supplement formulated to help maintain blood pressure levels that are already within the normal range.
• Best Berries Convenient tablet supplement combining extracts of Blueberry, Black Currant and Bilberry with freeze-dried Cranberry and Cherry to deliver berry-derived antioxidant nutritional value.
• Eye Complex II with Lutein Eye health dietary supplement combining Lutein, Taurine, antioxidants and additional nutrients formulated to aid in supporting healthy eyes.
• Foot Relief Cream Topical cosmetic cream containing Australian tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, camphor, menthol and oil of clove, formulated to penetrate quickly and refresh hot or tired feet, available in 2 oz and 4 oz jars.
• Arise Omega-3 Concentrate Omega-3 fatty acid dietary supplement supporting cardiovascular and general wellness under the Arise product line.
• Arise Gluco-Balance Dietary supplement in the Arise product line formulated to support healthy glucose balance.
• Arise Vitamin D 5000 High-potency Vitamin D supplement delivering 5000 IU per serving within the Arise product line.
• Arise Wisconsin Supreme Whey Protein dietary supplement featuring whey protein sourced from Wisconsin, highlighted on the company's homepage as the newest addition to the Arise protein line.
• Custom Contract and Private Label Manufacturing Services Custom contract and private label manufacturing service for businesses seeking to produce their own branded lines of nutritional supplements and herbal formulas, leveraging Hillestad's Wisconsin-based formulation and production capabilities.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Standard Process: Mid-sized, family-owned U.S. whole food and nutritional supplement manufacturer with vertical integration and a practitioner/DTC channel mix. Comparable to Hillestad in scale, founding heritage, vertically integrated manufacturing, and multi-channel distribution.
• Davinci Laboratories: U.S. nutritional supplement manufacturer offering branded products plus private label and contract manufacturing services. Closely comparable to Hillestad on the custom contract manufacturing side and mid-market vitamin/supplement portfolio.
• Priority One Vitamins: Smaller U.S. nutritional supplement manufacturer targeting health practitioners and consumers with a broad multi-vitamin and specialty supplement line. Comparable in size, category breadth, and DTC/practitioner-channel mix to Hillestad.
• Allergy Research Group: Niche U.S. supplement manufacturer offering specialty-condition formulas and private label services with practitioner and DTC channels. Closely comparable to Hillestad in scale, proprietary-formulation focus, and multi-channel specialty distribution.
• Biotics Research Corporation: Privately held U.S. manufacturer of whole-food and specialty nutritional supplements sold through healthcare practitioners. Comparable mid-sized, vertically integrated manufacturer with similar premium positioning and proprietary formulations.

Broad incumbents

• NOW Foods: One of the largest U.S. natural product manufacturers, offering vitamins, supplements, and personal care across broad SKU breadth. Overlaps with Hillestad in product categories and private label services, but at meaningfully greater scale and broader distribution.
• Nature's Way: Established U.S. supplement brand with broad herbal, vitamin, and probiotic portfolio sold through mass retail and health channels. Comparable product categories and DTC/retail hybrid model, but with significantly larger distribution and brand recognition.
• Life Extension: Direct-to-consumer supplement brand with a deep vitamin, mineral, and specialty-condition product range. Overlaps with Hillestad's Arise line (probiotics, omega-3, vitamin D, eye health) and Summit Gold multi-vitamin positioning, but with stronger digital marketing and subscription infrastructure.
• Solgar: Long-established premium vitamin and mineral brand with a similar heritage-and-quality positioning to Hillestad's Summit Gold. Comparable product categories (multivitamins, specialty supplements) and overlapping health food store distribution.
• Nature's Sunshine Products: Long-established U.S. direct-selling and DTC herbal and nutritional supplement company with broad product range. Comparable in heritage, multi-category supplement focus, and DTC/distributor hybrid model, though operating at greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hillestad Pharmaceuticals USA