The world’s finest
supplements.
Supplements powered by the sun.
At ProCaps Laboratories, we manufacture our products at our headquarters in Henderson, Nevada — a facility powered by one of the largest private solar installations in the supplement industry, long before sustainability became standard. We design our operations with environmental responsibility in mind, minimizing waste, optimizing efficiency and reducing our reliance on non-renewable resources wherever possible.
Still owned by its
founder.
MEET ANDREW LESSMAN
More than 45 years ago, Andrew Lessman and the company he founded, ProCaps Labs, became leaders in the dietary supplement industry providing an alternative to the additives and low quality of typical products. In fact, many well-established ingredients we now take for granted today were originally introduced by Andrew decades ago.
Andrew endeavors to be a voice of reason encouraging ethical products amid an industry overrun by contract manufacturers and deceptive claims on social media. ProCaps remains one of the few companies making all its products, including their additive-free nutritional supplements and wellness products — all produced in their 100% solar-powered facilities in Henderson, Nevada.
The early days.
Long before ProCaps Laboratories existed, Andrew Lessman had a vision — to help educate the medical profession so, instead of merely treating disease, they would work to enhance health. In 1979, just as consumers were beginning to appreciate the crucial role of vitamins in the quality of life, Andrew — an avid athlete, biochemist and law student — was asked to give a series of seminars for doctors and other health professionals.
These seminars focused on the exciting biochemical research being published on the benefits of supplements. Although Andrew had not begun making his own supplements, he quickly realized (as did those attending his seminars) that most of the products available were of low quality and made without regard to the latest scientific research. Therefore, Andrew used his background in biochemistry to create vitamins for his own needs as well as those of fellow athletes, friends and the health professionals he had met during the seminars.
Just as they are today, the vitamins Andrew created in 1979 were perfectly balanced with exceptionally active components — and they were the only 100% pure, additive-free vitamins in the world. Andrew also achieved another goal — to make vitamins so gentle to the digestive system they would not cause stomach upset. Over the next 10 years, interest in Andrew’s supplements became so widespread that he closed his successful law practice. Committing himself exclusively to the production of his vitamins, he named his new company The Winning Combination. From 1979 until the early 1990s, The Winning Combination’s primary clients were — as the name suggests — elite athletes, celebrities, and professionals in the fields of fitness and medicine.
“Quality could not be maintained if the products were permitted to languish on store shelves.”
— Andrew Lessman, ProCaps Founder
The word spreads — directly.
By the mid-1980s, Andrew Lessman and The Winning Combination (which later became known as YourVitamins, and ultimately ProCaps Laboratories) were confronted with a formidable challenge: how to bring the product line to an increasingly widening and receptive market without diminishing the line’s unparalleled quality. Andrew knew quality could not be maintained if the products were permitted to languish on store shelves or sit in a huge mass-market warehouse. Andrew had to find a way to spread the word about his products while retaining direct control over how they were handled and stored. It was the only way he could truly assure the quality and potency of his products.
Andrew found that multilevel marketing was not an option. Individual distributors had neither the expertise nor the training to adequately represent any product in which hard science plays such an integral role, nor did they have the facilities to properly store the product. That left him with one alternative — Direct Response Marketing.
“If you make the best products in the world, the strongest bridge between you and a new customer is education.”
— Andrew Lessman, ProCaps Founder
Direct. Informed. Trusted.
Quite simply, Direct Response Marketing eliminates the middle-man and allows the consumer to go straight to the manufacturer in order to make a purchase, without the intermediate step of going to a store. It is simple, straightforward, 100% efficient and absolutely reliable. Andrew could, and still does, maintain complete control over the quality, safety, potency and storage of his products, while the customer controls every other aspect of the transaction.
Andrew’s earliest direct response advertisements were placed in leading magazines and newspapers, as well as on radio and television. These ads strictly adhered to Andrew’s premise that, “if you make the best products in the world, the strongest bridge between you and a new customer is education.” The advertisements were information-rich with no hype or exaggerated claims — just straight science and straightforward facts. These ads were very well received, and the company began to grow rapidly as more and more people grew dissatisfied with ordinary retail supplements and sought a higher-quality alternative.
“People will listen to an honest, respectful presentation without sensationalism.”
— Andrew Lessman, ProCaps Founder
Direct to television.
During the late 1980s, a new phenomenon in direct marketing began to attract America’s attention: Television Home Shopping. TV retailing was in its infancy when QVC approached Andrew Lessman to suggest that he be the first to offer nutritional supplements on television. Andrew was initially reluctant — wary of the aggressive tendency of TV selling and the natural bias of television toward visual products like jewelry and electronics. But ultimately, Andrew elected to go on-air himself, without relying on the borrowed interest of a celebrity, and without adapting his presentation for TV’s visual or “entertainment” requirements.
Avoiding audacious showmanship and exhortation, his appearances remained heavily informative and education-based. The audience response far exceeded anyone’s best expectations, confirming once again that people will listen to an honest, respectful presentation without sensationalism.
“It’s not important that you get the products I’m offering, but it’s very important that you get the information I’m sharing.”
— Andrew Lessman, ProCaps Founder
A move that changed everything.
After enjoying almost six years of unparalleled success at QVC, Andrew moved to the Home Shopping Network (HSN) in November of 1996. The move to HSN coincided with the company’s relocation from Santa Monica, California to a new state-of-the-art 125,000-square-foot facility in the high desert of Henderson, Nevada. The much larger facility and the desert’s extremely low humidity allowed Andrew to make perfectly pure products he had not previously thought possible — dramatically diversifying his product line to meet a much wider range of customer needs.
The move also afforded Andrew the opportunity to change his company’s name to something more representative of what the company had become. So, in 1997, Andrew made a gradual change from The Winning Combination to a name that would better describe where customers could go to get the world’s best vitamins — YourVitamins.
Always improving.
Today, Andrew is still passionate about nurturing and growing the company he founded in 1979 as well as providing the highest-quality, most effective supplements available. Based on cutting-edge nutritional science, new products continue to be formulated to enhance health, and new technology is being employed to deliver these nutrients more efficiently. To more accurately reflect Andrew’s dedication to improving health through the finest scientifically-supported supplements, Your Vitamins has now become ProCaps Labs.
Changing times,
enduring values.
WHAT SETS US APART
ProCaps Laboratories is constantly changing for the better, but the most important things never change. That is why ProCaps Laboratories continues to bring customers 100% pure, additive-free supplements based on solid and reliable science. No hype. No spin. No deceptive marketing tactics. And we are always available to answer your questions. Unlike most direct marketers who outsource their call centers to other states — or even other countries — ProCaps Laboratories has an in-house call center staffed with well-trained, deeply informed professionals to answer all customer questions and process all customer requests.
Since Andrew Lessman created his first supplement, ProCaps Laboratories has led the industry in research, development and innovation. Over the years, Andrew’s formulas have evolved based on new advancements in science and on the changing needs of our customers. Yet Andrew’s guiding principles continue to be the cornerstone of ProCaps Laboratories.
THESE CORE BELIEFS CONTINUE TO DEFINE OUR MISSION TODAY:
Enhance health naturally by sustainably and ethically creating the safest, purest and most effective nutritional supplements on earth.
“Thank you for helping the Andrew Lessman Foundation deliver over 70,000,000 one-month supplies of donated prenatal vitamins to women around the world. Vitamin Angels, our partners, and I sincerely thank and salute you!”
— Andrew Lessman, ProCaps Founder
Over 2 billion capsules —
70,000,000 one-month supplies donated.
We annually manufacture and donate hundreds of millions of prenatal vitamins to the nonprofit Vitamin Angels, helping ensure these supplements reach pregnant women worldwide. In fact, about 20% of these donations support mothers and babies here in the United States.
No supplement has a greater impact than a prenatal vitamin in the hands of a nutritionally challenged expectant mother. While many in the United States benefit from nourishing food and prenatal care, studies show that in developing regions — and even underserved communities here at home — a prenatal vitamin can make an enormous, often life-saving difference. In some cases, it may be the only consistent care a mother and her child receive, with research consistently confirming its profound impact on their health and survival.