Shaklee History
1894 - 1956
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Dr. Forrest
C. Shaklee was born in November 1894. He was born with tuberculosis and doctors
all agreed he was not likely to survive. His parent’s faith in things natural
led them to move north where fertile soil produced quality nutritional
substances. They put aside medications in place of the family’s food from the
farm garden.
Dr.
Shaklee said his health improvement was not a miraculous cure, as some people
said, he said it was slow but it was sure. At the earliest possible age
he was
made to understand that wellness has everything to do with good nutrition, a
healthy environment and exercise.
When Dr.
Shaklee was asked why he decided to study chiropractic medicine instead of
becoming a medical doctor he said, “I never belittle the medical profession
but we are in two separate fields of endeavor. They are trained to treat disease
and I’m interested in building health.”
Dr. Shaklee
opened his first practice in Rockwell City, Iowa in 1915. He spoke to his
patients about their diets, which was unusual for the time, and devised detailed
nutrition diaries to monitor patient’s progress.
Pictured to right, one of the early Shaklee offices.
Dr
Shaklee’s first product in 1915 was called “Vitalized Minerals” in which
he isolated natural compounds from vegetables for their mineral values.
He was
joined in the same year and kept contact with the young Polish biochemist,
Casimir Funk, who called his compounds “vitamins”
This was the first use of
the word vitamins.
Dr. Shaklee was a chiropractor who went through school with his friend, B. J.
Palmer, the father of chiropractic care. Dr. Shaklee also held degrees in
nutrition, biochemistry, philosophy and divinity.
In 1924, Dr
Shaklee built a complete health care center with a staff
of chiropractors,
osteopaths, internist, general practitioners and surgeons. The picture on the
right is Dr Shaklee and his friends in front of the Curtiss plane he used to
visit patients around the state.
For the first time
Dr. Shaklee’s formulations for food supplements were packaged and dispensed.
In 1928, he
developed a sensible diet regimen he recommended to all his patients. This diet
was similar to the Food Guide pyramid currently recommended by the United States
Department of Agriculture, with emphasis on grains, fruits and vegetables and a
minimum of fats and sugar.
In January
1929 he was ordained a minister and in 1933, he officially received his doctor
of divinity degree. His deep concern for the spiritual part of life eventually
took shape as the Shaklee philosophy.
He practiced
chiropractic until he was 65 years old. Then he launched the Shaklee Corporation
to market the products he spent his lifetime developing.
His dream was to share the products and better health with the world.
Dr Forrest C. Shaklee, Sr. and his two sons,
Forrest, Jr. and Raleigh launch the Shaklee Products company in 1956.
Shaklee History
1956-Present
| 1956 |
Founded as Shaklee
Products in Oakland, California, by Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee,
Sr., and his two sons, Forrest, Jr., and Raleigh. |
| 1960 |
Basic-H, the first
household product, phosphate-free, concentrated and biodegradable
all-purpose cleaner introduced. |
| 1962 |
Expanded facilities
located on National Avenue, Hayward, California. |
| 1964 |
First Shaklee Convention held at the Jack Tar Hotel in San
Francisco. |
| 1971 |
Forrest C. Shaklee
Research Center established in Hayward, California. |
| 1972 |
Shaklee Products, Inc., renamed as Shaklee Corporation. In the
decade of growth in the 1970's, sales went from $20 million to over
$320 million. |
| 1973 |
Shaklee Corporation becomes a publicly held company. |
| 1974 |
Shaklee Corporate Headquarters moves to Emeryville, California. |
| 1976 |
Shaklee Japan and Shaklee Canada established. |
| 1977 |
First listed on the New York Stock Exchange on 8/2/77. |
| 1979 |
Grand Opening of the Norman
Manufacturing Facility in Norman, Oklahoma. Closure of National Avenue
and Corsair manufacturing facilities in Hayward. |
| 1980 |
Corporate headquarters are moved
to Shaklee Terraces in San Francisco. |
| 1981 |
25th Anniversary observed with Silver Jubilee Year Celebration. |
| 1984 |
Shaklee is the "Official Nutrition Consultant to the U.S. Ski
Team" which wins more medals at the Winter Games in Sarajevo than
any other competing country. |
| 1986 |
Shaklee acquires Bear Creek Corporation.
Shaklee products fuel the
Voyager pilots in their record-setting first to fly round the world,
non-stop, non-refueled.
|
| 1988 |
Daedalus Flight uses Shaklee
Performance, a new maximum endurance sports drink, and sets world
record for human powered flight. |
| 1990 |
Shaklee is one of only seven corporations named as Official Sponsors
of the 20th Anniversary of Earth Day; receives Family Circle
magazine's "Green Chip" award as one of the nation's ten
most environmentally conscious companies. |
| 1992 |
Shaklee Mexico opens. Four Team Shaklee cyclists chosen to represent
the U.S. at the Summer Games. |
| 1994 |
Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Dr. Forrest C.
Shaklee.
Community Caretakers program founded in honor of Dr. Shaklee's
continuing commitment to the greater good.
|
| 1996 |
Shaklee celebrates its fortieth anniversary as a leader in the
multilevel marketing industry.
Shaklee-sponsored
athletes compete in the Centennial Games in Atlanta and earn 4 gold, 6
silver and 1 bronze medals.
|
| 1997 |
Shaklee and Yamanouchi
Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. break ground for new pharmaceutical
manufacturing plant in Norman, Oklahoma.
Shaklee and Yamanouchi
Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. officially open the state-of-the-art
Yamanouchi Shaklee Pharma (YSP) Research Center located in the
Stanford Research Park, Palo Alto, California.
|
| 1998 |
Shaklee introduces the Enfuselle Skin Care System with a
clinically-tested product line featuring four patent-pending
technology breakthroughs. |
| 2000 |
Shaklee officially opens its
environmentally state-of-the-art world headquarters in Pleasanton,
California. |
| |
Shaklee is certified as the nation's first Climate Neutral™
Certified Company by the Climate Neutral Network as a result of
Shaklee's achievement of a net zero impact on the Earth's climate.
Shaklee receives the Earth Day 2000 Environmental Business
Leadership Award from Earth Day New York and the Business
Environmental Network Award from Bay Area Action/Peninsula
Conservation Foundation.
|
Just 20 of the many reasons why Shaklee is
different.
Did you know . . .?
1.) Dr.
Forrest C. Shaklee was born in November 1894. He was born with
tuberculosis and doctors all agreed he was not likely to survive. His
parent’s faith in things natural led them to move north where fertile
soil produced quality nutritional substances. They put aside medications
in place of the family’s food from the farm garden.
2.)
Dr. Shaklee said his health improvement was not a miraculous cure, as some
people said, he said it was slow but it was sure. At the earliest possible
age he was made to understand that wellness has everything to do with good
nutrition, a healthy environment and exercise.
3.) When Dr.
Shaklee was asked why he decided to study chiropractic medicine instead of
becoming a medical doctor he said, “I never belittle the medical
profession but we are in two separate fields of endeavor. They are trained
to treat disease and I’m interested in building health.”
4.) Dr.
Shaklee opened his first practice in Rockwell City, Iowa in 1915. He spoke
to his patients about their diets, which was unusual for the time, and
devised detailed nutrition diaries to monitor patient’s progress.
5.) Dr
Shaklee’s first product in 1915 was called “Vitalized Minerals” in
which he isolated natural compounds from vegetables for their mineral
values. He was joined in the same year and kept contact with the young
Polish biochemist, Casimir Funk, who called his compounds “vitamins”
This was the first use of the word vitamins.
6.)
Dr. Shaklee was a chiropractor who went through school with his friend,
B.J. Palmer, the father of chiropractic care. Dr. Shaklee also held
degrees in nutrition, biochemistry, philosophy and divinity.
7.) In 1924,
Dr Shaklee built a complete health care center with a staff of
chiropractors, osteopaths, internist, general practitioners and surgeons.
For the first time Dr. Shaklee’s formulations for food supplements were
packaged and dispensed.
8.) In 1928,
he developed a sensible diet regimen he recommended to all his patients.
This diet was similar to the Food Guide pyramid currently recommended by
the United States Department of Agriculture, with emphasis on grains,
fruits and vegetables and a minimum of fats and sugar.
9.) In
January 1929 he was ordained a minister and in 1933, he officially
received his doctor of divinity degree. His deep concern for the spiritual
part of life eventually took shape as the Shaklee philosophy.
10.) He
practiced chiropractic until he was 65 years old. Then he launched the
Shaklee Corporation to market the products he spent his lifetime
developing. His dream was to
share the products and better health with the world.
11.) Shaklee
nutritional products are recognized by the government as food. Many
nutritional companies are considered drug companies.
12.) Shaklee
is the world's largest provider of vitamins and minerals, and is
considered to be the leader in the nutritional industry.
13.) Shaklee
has their own products clinically tested by outside, unbiased sources
(such as Yale University and Harvard University) providing scientific
proof that these products break down and are utilized by your body.
Hundreds of these tests are published in peer-reviewed nutritional and
medical journals such as:
a. The
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
b. The Journal of Nutrition
c. The Journal of the American Dietetic Association
d. The Journal of Applied Physiology, and
e. The American Journal of Cardiology
14.) Some
companies cite clinical studies, but their actual products have never been
tested because law does not require it.
15.) Shaklee
products are all balanced and are the most natural supplements available.
Being whole food, they contain essential known nutrients, unknown
nutrients, phytochemicals and enzymes.
16.) Shaklee
has its own research and development lab in Hayward, California, and a
second lab built in conjunction with the Stanford University in Palo Alto,
California.
17.) The
Shaklee manufacturing plant is in Norman, Oklahoma. -Most vitamin
companies just purchase their vitamins from a central lab and put their
own labels on them.
18.) Shaklee
spends in excess of $12 million per year on research and testing. Shaklee
has over 150 scientists on staff, and an advisory board consisting of
doctors, professors, and scientists from leading industries and
universities around the world.
19.) As many
as 176 separate tests for purity, potency and safety are performed on the
ingredients for a single product. All Shaklee product claims have
documented substantiation. Products undergo as many 262 separate quality
assurance tests throughout the manufacturing process.
20.) SHAKLEE PRODUCTS ARE 100% GUARANTEED!
If for any reason a Shaklee product is not satisfactory, return it to your
Shaklee Independent Distributor or Shaklee Corporation for exchange or
full refund.
We care about your health, your home, and your future. Please help us share Shaklee
with the world and help us educate people for the future of their health!
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