Ascenta: Transparency, sustainability
Ascenta
Transparency, sustainability
By: Timothy Avery
Issue: September 2010
While many in the business world are still struggling to shrug off the aftermath of the recession, one plucky Canadian enterprise is experiencing “exponential growth,” thanks to the vision of its founder to use the business to improve the health of humans and the environment and create social change through health.
Dartmouth, N.S.-based Ascenta, manufacturer of Canada’s leading omega-3 fish oil brand NutraSea, is enjoying surging Canadian sales and expansion into the U.K. and United States, says vice-president of sales Rene Leclerc.
Leclerc says sales are up by 200 per cent going into the U.S. market. That compares favourably with the mere two-per-cent boost for older, established competitors.
Ascenta is engaging and retaining their customer share largely thanks to its innovative Pure Check program. Through Pure Check, Ascenta provides real-time access to third-party testing by a range of independent labs of every lot of products it makes. The company organizes quality control data into three parts: label claim, oxidation and purity. Pure Check, launched in 2007, is a key feature of the company’s website. It provides test results in a consumer-friendly format with explanations of technical terminology.
Consumers are not the only ones that see the value of Pure Check, “Retailers tell us, Pure Check is a breath of fresh air,” Leclerc told Nutrition Business Journal in a recent interview. “You’re bringing in new customers.”
Earlier this year, Ascenta hosted a gala luncheon for the UK media at London’s renowned Fat Duck restaurant. Chef Heston Blumenthal served his famous 15-course menu, which included Ascenta’s NutraSea in one of the dessert items.
Ascenta president and founder Marc St. Onge remarked at the time: “We are known as the company that makes fish oil taste good. This is not your grandmother’s cod liver oil.”
Indeed, in line with Ascenta’s commitment to encouraging sustainable resources, it’s no longer all about fish oil for the company. In May, it introduced NutraVege, a vegetarian omega-3 supplement.
“Until recently, the vegetarian options for omega-3 lacked potency and did not provide the same benefits as omega-3 derived from fish”, said St-Onge. “NutraVege uses new and potent omega-3 sources that deliver the amount of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) our bodies need for optimal health.”
And speaking of sustainability, it’s no secret that there has been growing concern about the long-term availability of fish stocks, due to overfishing and environmental factors. Ascenta sees no cause for alarm. Raw material for its fish oil products are derived from the abundant stocks that lie off the coast of Peru. Due to prudent management, says Ascenta Vice President Marketing Alexandra Orozco, the area has been declared a sustainable resource for well into the future. Ascenta has strategically focused on using the most sustainable sources of omega-3 and has progressively worked towards diversification to avoid putting pressure on any one resource. The company has recently introduced several new sustainable omega-3 sources such squid oil, algal oil, and echium oil.
MISSION STATEMENT
Healthier bodies lead happier lives. With this in mind, Ascenta develops innovative natural health products unsurpassed in quality and purity. Ascenta strives to be the best at delivering innovative, honest and environmentally sound natural health products made of the highest quality ingredients and that promote the health and happiness of our customers.
Ascenta believes that being an industry leader comes with certain responsibilities. The team is committed to upholding these principles on which it was founded:
- Ascenta believes in conducting business with integrity, honesty, and respect. In a competitive world, business relations can be mutually beneficial and provide a positive experience for employees, customers, and business partners.
- Ascenta believes in advancing standards for manufacturing and quality control. Ascenta never uses the words “good enough.” Excellence is always a work in progress.
- Ascenta believes in all aspects of health, diet, lifestyle, and natural healing. We go beyond the scope of our products to bring our customers information and share ideas for leading healthier, happier lives.
- Ascenta believes in a greener future and operates in a sustainable manner. From the sourcing of raw materials, to everyday office printing practices, the environment is at the heart of our business.
HISTORY
With an extensive entrepreneurial background including experience in research, health sciences, and nutraceuticals Marc St-Onge saw an emerging opportunity within the fish oil industry. With recent advances in fish oil processing and growing evidence in the medical literature Marc spent 16 months creating what would become Ascenta, a company focused on emerging opportunities in pharmaceutical grade fish oil supplementation. With omega-3 identified as a foundational nutrient for optimal health and disease prevention the category was set to explode.
The company launched half way through 2003 while Marc was still attached to Signature Supplements, his existing venture into nutraceuticals. Over the years of 2003-08 the omega-3 category outpaced virtually every other category in the natural health products industry featuring year over year growth between 10 and 20%. Through innovation and effective sales and marketing Ascenta has solved the category’s major obstacle – compliance. Great tasting fish oils free of fishy taste, smell, or repeat factor is the defining quality of Ascenta’s innovative product line.