Founded: 2013 Headquarters: Frisco, Texas Top Executives: Logan Stout, CEO, Laura Brandt, President, and Mark Bennet, COO & General Counsel Products: Customized health and wellness products |
IDLife’s focus on the individual extends far beyond personalized nutrition. It applies to the company’s focus on impeccable customer service, a thriving internal culture and strong partnership with the sales team in the field.
An industry veteran before AGE 35, IDLife CEO Logan Stout had already seen tremendous success in the field at not one, but two different network marketing companies when inspiration came calling. Retired from the field, Stout was spending his day coaching youth baseball, playing golf and promoting his first book, Stout Advice. But something was missing. “I missed the interaction with people,” he shares. “I missed getting to help people.”
Following an interview on Fox Business, Stout was approached with an opportunity to help bring a new vitamin product to market. He was familiar with the health and wellness space from one of his past direct sales careers, but this product was different. The team behind it had spent seventeen years developing a customized supplement program designed to deliver personalized nutrition to every customer. “I was blown away by it,” he recounts. “It was raw, unique, different—I fell in love with the product.”
Stout and his team launched IDLife in 2013 and have had great success along the way, expecting a 100% growth rate for 2019.
“We’re the world’s only truly personalized vitamin platform. Other companies may have a questionnaire, but there’s no science or engine to it.” —Logan Stout, CEO
Nutrition That’s Personal
Through a comprehensive health questionnaire called IDAssessment, the company collects information regarding diet, lifestyle, body type, physical condition, health issues and medications. Those answers are then cross-correlated with an amassed database of thousands of third-party peer-reviewed studies that are updated regularly, and then they recommend a personalized supplement program—providing the nutrients the customer needs while excluding any that may be harmful based on that customer’s assessment. The company says these recommendations are the result of thousands of algorithms yielding more than 2.7 million possibilities, with each recommendation accompanied by a “why ?” button that explains to the consumer why each supplement is being recommended to them.
IDLife’s personalized vitamins are known as IDNutrition and include both an AM packet and PM packet with the customer’s name printed right on the package.
This customized approach allows IDLife to stand alone in a crowded health and wellness space. “We’re the world’s only truly personalized vitamin platform,” says Stout. “Other companies may have a questionnaire, but there’s no science or engine to it.”
Today, these customized recommendations can be even more personalized with the addition of IDLife’s Nutrition and Fitness DNA Test. Through a DNA collection kit, a customer can submit a sample and then receive a genetics report that serves as an “owner’s manual” to learn more about the diet and nutrition choices best suited to his or her genetic makeup.
“Anyone who’s taking vitamins that aren’t personalized doesn’t even know what they’re taking.” —Logan Stout, CEO
“Anyone who’s taking vitamins that aren’t personalized doesn’t even know what they’re taking,” says Stout.
Beyond its personalized vitamins and DNA test, IDLife has expanded its product line to include protein shakes, workout recovery drinks, weight management products, children’s vitamins, sleep enhancers, skin care and hydration, energy and men’s vitality-focused products—all free of soy, gluten and GMOs.
“We want products that work but are good for people long term,” says Stout. “The body rejects artificial ingredients, and they cause long term harm.”
Honor The Individual
IDLife’s focus on the individual extends far beyond personalized nutrition. It applies to the company’s focus on impeccable customer service, a thriving internal culture and strong partnership with the sales team in the field.
President Laura Brandt explains further, “At IDLife we honor the individual. It’s important to understand what IDLife stands for: Individually Designed Life.”
For customers, this means not only customized vitamins but also personalized service provided by a team of “customer advocates” that handle all customer service issues. “It’s our job to put ourselves in their shoes—for both our customers and our associates,” says Brandt. “If something is wrong, we take the customer’s word for it instantly, no questions asked.”
In the home office, Individually Designed Life looks like flexible schedules and attire, as well as a genuine appreciation for each employee. “We honor who they are and what they bring to the table,” continues Brandt. “We don’t put boxes around our employees. We allow them to grow in the areas they’re passionate about. They drive their direction and take ownership of their next role.”
Honoring the individual especially applies to IDLife’s field team, as both Stout and Brandt have decades of field experience themselves and understand how powerful a valued field team can be. “We’re committed to doing right by our associates and putting them first in every decision,” she says. “It’s easy to create an ‘Us vs. Them’ environment when you’re not in the field, unless the foundation of your culture is people first, inside and out.”
“Every great idea we’ve had, the field gave it to us,” adds Stout. “I was in the field, so I know what it’s like to not be heard. I tell our team that I’m not in the flow anymore, so come tell us what you need. They tell us what they want, and we roll with it.”
Someone can join IDLife for free, but the most common is through the two associate kits available, priced at $199 or $299. Both kits include a Success Toolkit that includes everything a new associate needs to get started. Initial and ongoing training is available through the associate back office and via virtual training resources on Zoom and Facebook. Additionally, the IDLife team is in the process of developing a new mobile application that will allow associates to access training and manage their businesses all in one system.
“As an industry, we have to make our technology better and make it easier to buy from us… We have to do the same thing, to find a way to offer great products that people want and meet consumers where they are today.” —Laura Brandt, President
“Our goal is to make it easier for associates,” says Brandt. “This new application will be available later in the fourth quarter and will include prefilled emails, text messages and marketing materials to make it easier for associates to share.”
High Tech + Low Tech
Stout and his team are proud of the personalized approach to health and wellness they’ve created with IDLife, but see their technology as an asset, not a core value. “Technology brings our products to life and enhances the experience for our customers,” he says. “But the fundamentals of getting a customer aren’t that different. It’s those associates who are willing to pick up the phone and have personal contact with people—that’s how you start relationships and get customers.”
Pairing a tried and true approach to leadership, team building and customer service with evolving technology seem to be IDLife’s secret sauce. That combination is timely and critical according to Brandt.
“As an industry, we have to make our technology better and make it easier to buy from us,” she says. “We love this industry and respect the companies out there doing it right. We have to do the same thing, to find a way to offer great products that people want and meet consumers where they are today.”
