Functional medicine expert Bryce Wylde zeroed in on Healthy Heights as a best-in-class exhibitor from among the more than 3,000 exhibitors at Natural Products Expo West 2023. Wylde interviewed Healthy Heights CEO Steve Turner about Healthy Heights’ decision to replace inulin with Sunfiber. They also discussed how Healthy Heights’ use of premium ingredients factored into the company’s product development collaboration with Walmart.
A children’s functional food company, Healthy Heights is driven to be the best at what they do. Turner said the company intentionally chooses the best ingredients to achieve ultimate performance. Healthy Heights partnered with Taiyo International to use Sunfiber, which “has a ton of horsepower behind it as far as the science.” That partnership has proven to be a great synergy, because Taiyo’s mission aligns nicely with what Healthy Heights is driven to achieve.
Healthy Heights’ Grow Daily line is a product of 20 years of research, culminating in large-scale clinical trials. “Researchers were looking to identify what was missing in the diets of kids who had challenges in growth and development, and that’s what we put into this formulation to help generate healthier, lean growth. The vast majority of products aren’t designed that way. They have poor quality ingredients, high amounts of sugar and inefficient protein sources,” Turner observed.
Premium quality that fits with Walmart pricing
Healthy Heights runs counter to what a lot of companies in this space are doing. To cut costs, some manufacturers reduce package sizes and change to cheaper ingredients. Healthy Heights takes a different approach.
Healthy Heights’ products are designed to reach as many customers as possible while staying on the moral high ground. Turner explained to Wylde: “Through intentional decisions, we find ways to put ingredients together that are on the upper end as far as quality and performance, and still offer a product at a spectacular value to the end consumer.”
He continued, “We want to make sure that everything we’re putting into the hands of the consumer is driven by our values. The Happy Tummies product we developed in collaboration with Walmart is a great example.”
The collaboration started when Healthy Heights was approached by Walmart, and given basic parameters based on what was missing in the children’s probiotic market. Healthy Heights wanted to give consumers the best dollar value while remaining committed to delivering a product that fits with its beliefs.
They were able to use the same probiotic strain as an industry leader, with a higher quality soluble plant fiber (Sunfiber) than anyone else is using. Then they took it a step further by adding two grams of protein. Now they have a fiber / probiotic supplement, called Happy Tummies, that has a better prebiotic fiber and has twice the probiotic count people are used to seeing at the same price point. Because of its great flavor, it’s a kid-friendly substitute for sugary drinks.
Through ingredient and packaging changes, and other decisions aimed to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, Healthy Heights remains committed to working with the best in the industry and to staying at the top of their game.