Enlyten:
strips, sports and beyond

Enlyten is a network marketing company which markets and distributes dietary supplement products with the same name.

It is a new company; its "pre-launch" was in January 2009, and an official US launch is planned for July 2009.

One amazing thing about Enlyten is that its products have been already used and readily endorsed by leading US athletes.

Moreover, an official US military health guide recommended (!) some of these products, and even mentioned manufacturer's website (!!).

Not bad for a company just making its first steps.

But how this could possibly happen?..

What distinguishes Enlyten from other companies, which do not get such attention?

This is because this company is different.

Let's have a short look back at the history, and then we'll discuss the products.

The company "behind" Enlyten is HealthSport, Inc. (HSPO.OB).

Back in 2008, when I was researching the topic of vitamin strips I saw the name of HealthSport, Inc. for the first time, and its story looked like a classic failure case.
At first, there were excited analyst reviews of a new product, optimistic forecasts, IPO.
Later on - lack of new orders, slumping sales and crashing stock...

The main product of Healthsport is electrolyte strips - also called sportstrips. These strips are intended for use after, or during heavy, prolonged physical activity, like marathon, or intensive training before a game, or the game itself.
After a heavy workout, to re-gain strength and to avoid muscle cramps, you need to replenish fluids - and electrolytes - in your body. Electrolytes are salts which are necessary for a proper functioning of body cells and organs. Read more about electrolytes here.

Sportstrips had a great success when NFL Buffalo Bulls players used them in 2007. Soon after the Bulls began using electrolyte strips by HealthSports, several other NFL teams began to order the product.

And then... Gatorade came into the picture with the claim they were the official electrolyte replacement sponsor of the NFL. This blocked the NFL teams from endorsing the product.

HealthSports is now in a lawsuit with Gatorade to prove that the use of electrolyte strips is not covered under the agreement Gatorade has with the NFL.

HealthSport signed several contracts with retailers to distribute Sportstrips, but due to the Gatorade intervention the growth of electrolyte strips business has almost stalled. Company's press releases name this "war" as the main factor for slow growth.

Until mid-2008 sport strips could be found in Sports Authority, GNC, and a few other supplement stores. I was writing my vitamin strips page in August 2008, and I could not buy sportstrips not online, nor in a store.

In August 2008 I concluded that HealthSport failed, and did not follow on any of its news - until I heard about Enlyten LLC a few weeks ago.

The things I heard ignited my interest in this company and this product.

Let me explain why.

These days HealthSport still produces Enlyten strips.

It does produce them - but it does not distribute them.

HealthSport changed its business strategy, and sold the Enlyten trademark to another company (T. Lynn Mitchell Companies LLC), which established Enlyten LLC, a network marketing (MLM) company.

What does it mean?

For a consumer, it means that these strips can only be purchased from an independent distributor, and not in a store.

For HealthSport this can mean the way to success.

Here is why - decide by yourself whether you agree or not. :-)

• While the MLM company (Enlyten LLC) will deal with marketing and distribution of products, the manufacturing company (HealthSport, Inc.) will concentrate on research and production. This should provide HealthSport with the leverage needed to accelerate its growth, and with resources needed for developing new products.

• Speaking about leverage and growth.
  In the first quarter of 2008, HealthSports sales were about $116,000.
  In the first quarter of 2009, sales were (attention, please!) - about $1.6 million!
  

• Just one week after selling the Enlyten trademark to T. Lynn Mitchell Companies LLC, in December 2008, HealthSport announced a completion of its second production line. Total production capacity of HealthSports now is 4 millions cassettes per month. One cassette holds 22 strips, and sells now for $10 - via MLM...

• It is true that today Healthsport is losing money.
  But look at these numbers.
  In the first quarter of 2008, HealthSports lost about $3 millions.
  In the first quarter of 2009, the loss was about $800,000.
  As of the future, the company management foresees to reach a break-even point by the beginning of a third quarter of 2009.

Why I am writing all this?

Because I believe that the new MLM company will become the major buyer of HealthSport's products, and this will push HealthSport's stock back to where it was several years ago.

But enough about stocks and financials - let's have a look at the product.

Here are several facts which show that Enlyten strips are indeed a unique, one-of-a-kind product.

• As was mentioned before, only the intervention of Gatorade prevented sportstips from being used by all NFL teams, after a very successful trial by Bulls.

• In 2007 Enlyten won the Best in Show award for Nutritional Products at NATA - the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Trade Show, which is the largest exhibition for athletic trainers in the world.

• SportStrips made by HealthSport have been mentioned and recommended for use by The Warfighter Nutrition Guide, an official document created by researches from the Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Military and Emergency Medicine of Uniformed Services University.
  The Uniformed Services University is the US federal health sciences university which prepares health professionals for the US military service.
  Here are two links to the Warfighter Nutrition Guide. You will need Acrobat Reader to see the documents; just search for the word "strips".
  • Chapter 14: Eating Globally
  • Chapter 15: Mission Nutrition for Combat Effectiveness

• Finally, here is a unique document, with an enthusiastic endorsement of Enlyten strips. (The document copy is courtesy of allstrips.com).
  
  This letter is from the US Military Academy, and was written by the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. He writes about excellent results reported by athletes who used the electrolyte strips during extensive training.
  Here is the letter; very impressive.

Let's note here that all these endorsements and recommendations were given to electrolyte strips, which are the "flagship" product of HealthSport. Success of sportstrips means that the buccal absorption route indeed works for electrolytes. (More about buccal and sublingual absorption - on pages about spray vitamins, and sublingual vitamins).

There are five more products available today: antioxidants, melatonin, energy, calorie burner and appetite suppressant.
When I will have credible documents showing the results from the use of these strips, I will publish them on this webpage.

So far I have tested - and tasted :-) - antioxidant strips.
Below is my review.

I'd like to make it clear: this is not an "official" review, but my private, personal opinion.

• The cassette with strips is impressively small.
  It is smaller than a small bottle of tablets, not to mention a bottle of liquid vitamins, and even a single gel pack. I think the mobility is a huge advantage of Enlyten strips.

• One cassette contains 22 strips. Serving size is 3 strips, which means a single cassette holds a 7-day supply, plus one strip.
  It would be interesting to know why they decided to put 22 strips there, and not 21...

• Strips are easy to take out of the cassette, they do not stick to it, or to each other. There is some kind of powdery stuff which prevents strips from becoming sticky, and which seems to be included into the strips.

• Antioxidant strips smell good, and they taste OK. The box claims "berry" flavor, and it is quite fair, considering the taste of sucralose, which I can barely tolerate.

• Strips become sticky - in the mouth. Directions say you need to place them between cheek and gum, or on tongue. I prefer tongue, because they stick to my gum... :-)

• A few words about ingredients.
  • Enlyten antioxidant strips contain vitamins C, D, B6 and B12. Usually, antioxidant supplements contain also vitamins A and E as they are well known antioxidants. Enlyten strips do not have them, and my guess is - because of taste and smell issues.

  • Proprietary blend included in antioxidant strips consists of five fruit or berry extracts, quercetin and coenzyme-Q10.
    Blends in other supplements usually have more ingredients. (..and I always wonder how well they all work well together..) I think Enlyten decided to limit their proprietary blend to extracts which work best while used on strips.

  • Not all ingredients in Enlyten strips are natural: there are artificial flavors and colors. But... you did not expect from these strips to be "all natural", did you?..
    This would be really awesome: to have all-natural, efficient, well-tasting, convenient for use dietary supplemtns in a form of strips.
    I guess Enlyten - and HealthSport - still have some challenges in front of them.. :-)

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