 About Us Vitamin Cottage was established in 1955 by Margaret and Philip Isely when they borrowed $200 from Margaret's mother. They started by going door-to-door in Golden, Colorado, selling whole-grain bread and lending nutrition education books to people they met. The Isely's knew that after reading the books, those same people would be open to ordering vitamins and bulk foods. So a week later, they would return to take additional orders for those items, which they sold on consignment from a local health food distributor. Their door-to-door business was so successful that, within six months, they were able to open their first retail outlet called The Builder's Foundation. In 1963, they purchased a building that looked like a country cottage in Lakewood, Colorado and since they were primarily selling vitamin supplements they renamed their new store Vitamin Cottage. In the 1960's living a healthy lifestyle wasn't very fashionable and the Iselys struggled to make a living selling vitamins, natural foods, and related products. During this time, their eldest son joined the business and began investigating ways of buying products at better prices. He was very successful at this and developed a structured group buying philosophy, which is still in practice today. Buying products at better prices has allowed Vitamin Cottage to always offer everyday affordable prices to their customers' needs. Margaret passed away in 1997, but the business is still family-owned and operated by her children and grandchildren. They strive to carry on her legacy, an important part of which is treating employees with respect and paying them a decent wage. Over the years, Vitamin Cottage has grown from a "mom and pop" business to a 28-store chain with over 800 employees in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Every year we add more stores, which reflects our ability to continually meet our customers' needs. In 2004, we launched a new Internet/mail order department, which brings the Vitamin Cottage difference to people around the world. Education and customer service have always been cornerstones of the Vitamin Cottage philosophy. We believe that in order for people to achieve optimal health, information needs to be easily accessible. We emphasize teaching nutrition to our employees and in turn, our customers. They know they will always receive knowledgeable customer service when they shop at Vitamin Cottage. We are so committed to providing education for our customers that every store has an on-site nutritionist who will provide FREE customer nutrition consultations. We also sponsor several education seminars every month on a variety of health and nutrition topics. Margaret believed that everyone should be able to afford the products that they need in order to take care of their own health. Therefore, selling quality products at everyday affordable prices is extremely important component of the Vitamin Cottage philosophy. Every product goes through a strict review process to ensure it meets our quality standards before we sell it. There are some products we will not carry because they contain certain nutrients or ingredients that we think are of questionable quality or safety. Starting with whole-wheat bread, we now offer a wide variety of over 25,000 quality products including natural groceries, vitamins, herbal supplements, and beauty aids. Fifty years after the Iselys founded the company, the goals of Vitamin Cottage remain the same. We focus on providing exceptional customer service, an extensive source of nutritional and health information, the highest quality products, and everyday affordable prices for our valued customers. We invite you to experience the Vitamin Cottage difference. | 
