Good GNC Health Store Essay Example

INTRODUCTION

The theme of this research paper will be an analysis of the GNC stores. The focus of the research will be applied with regards to Ethos, Pathos and Logos. The motivations that caused the opening of the first GNC store will be reviewed. The expertise applied by Jerry Horn as CEO during the formative years of the GNC franchise will be explored. The perspective that was applied by David Shankarian with regards to functional medicine will be evaluated. The works of Connor (2015), Hyman (2013), Institute for Functional Medicine (2015), New York Times (2015), Shurlett and Aoyagi (2012) were accessed in the composition of this research.

BACKGROUND

GNC was created by David Shakarian almost eighty years ago. When Shakarian opened GNC, he was a specialist in the production of health foods and yoghurt. The health foods that he applied as food supplements to the yoghurt were grains and honey. As a result of the success that he had marketing health foods and yoghurt, GNC was able to rapidly expand throughout the United States. The introduction of other competitors in the marketplace and ineffective management caused GNC to stop expanding during the 1980s (Shurlett & Aoyagi 252).

Ethos

Subsequent to the tenure of Jerry Horn as CEO, GNC had been reborn and continued in its growth phases. Horn was a specialist in retail efficiency. He eradicated over a third of the products that GNC had been marketing. Horn applied his experiential knowledge to the management of GNC. Horn introduced products that were essential for hair and skin beauty. As Horn applied his expertise, the GNC stores become more interesting to the serious athlete and bodybuilder market segment. Horn was in communication with the officials in the FDA and set his objectives toward attracting clients who were fitness oriented. Horn applied his expertise in business management and created a franchise of the GNC stores (Shurlett & Aoyagi 363).
Horn was able to ensure that GNC continued its growth phase throughout the entire decade of the 1990s. This application of Horn’s expertise caused the GNC stores to increase to more than 2,000 outlets nationwide. Horn also enabled the GNC organization to merge with other organizations. One of the mergers included the Live Well organization, which had been accomplished in order to present high end beauty and health products. Horn also developed relationships with suppliers who would produce new health and beauty care products that could be marketed only in the GNC stores. Horn brokered a deal with Rite Aid Drug Stores that caused them to become a partner of the GNC brand. Horn applied his skills in order to ensure that GNC would be marketing a novel line of vitamins that were designated as Pharm Assure. Horn assured that these Pharm Assure vitamin products that would be marketed in in collaboration with the GNC and Rite Aid stores (Shurlett & Aoyagi 363).
After Horn’s intervention in the growth process, GNC was sold to Numico and began a public offering. Afterward, GNC was promoted by Apollo Management on 2003. In 2007, the Ontario Teacher Pension Plan purchased GNC. Shakarian passed away in 1984, prior to being able to see the organization that he founded become the most important health and wellness products organization in the United States. GNC is presently the most extensive retailer of nutritional supplies. These nutritional supplies include herbal, mineral and vitamin products. These items are presently marketed in addition to energy, diet and sports nutritional products (Shurlett & Aoyagi 457).
GNC has been able to excel as a franchise due to its excellent customer service and outstanding product quality. GNC is one of the most well recognized organizations that is dedicated to the enhancement of the lifestyles of others. GNC has accomplished the improvement of the lifestyles of others by providing education with regards to nutrition and providing products that people need (Shurlett & Aoyagi 457).

Pathos

When Shakarian initiated the first health food store in the 1930s, he knew that people needed yoghurt. Yoghurt has been discovered to be one of the food products that restores the body’s biotic equilibrium. Bio tics are beneficial bacteria that are found in the human body, particularly in the digestive tract. Shakarian excelled because many people came to him with digestive tract problems. This is where the yoghurt came into action (Shurlett & Aoyagi, 252).
A number of people in the United States have always been suffering from gas, acid reflux disease, heartburn, diarrhea, bloating and constipation. Many of Shakarian’s clients found that the visits to the doctors could not alleviate these symptoms. However, the clients discovered that consuming his yoghurt products was able to cure not just one of these symptoms, but all of the symptoms. The majority of the public was unaware that the digestive tract problems were the causal attribute of a number of other problems that are manifest in the human body. Simple digestive problems have been shown to cause cancer, dementia, autism, mood disorders, chronic fatigue, acne, immunological disorders, arthritis and allergies. Many of Shakarian’s first customers found that by consuming his yoghurt and health food products, they were be able to have healthier digestive tracts. In ensuring that his clients had healthy digestive tracts, Shakarian was able to alleviate the symptoms to the diseases that none of the doctors had been able to alleviate. Shakarian knew that the key to having a healthy body was consuming yoghurt products. Shakarian discovered that the consumption of yoghurt led to a healthier digestive tract and satisfied customers (Shurlett & Aoyagi, 252).

Logos

Research has demonstrated that over 100 million people in the United States suffer from digestive problems. In addition, research has demonstrated that 40% of the primarily marketed drugs that are sold in the United States are marketed for the relief of digestive problems. There are over 200 frequently used over the counter products that are marketed as remedies for digestive tract disorders. However, all that these products achieve is to cause the consumer to buy more of the over the counter digestive tract medications. These is no permanent digestive system relief that is derived from the over the counter digestive tract medications (Hyman 1; Institute for Functional Medicine 1).
Research has demonstrated that the average human body is composed of almost three pounds of bacteria that are classified into five hundred distinct species. These bacteria create a significant chemical processing complex that enables the digestion of nutrients, the production of vitamins, the elimination of toxins and additional healing functions that enable the human body to maintain healthfulness. The bacteria in the body require being kept at a balance. If there are too many of the detrimental type of bacteria and too few of the good bacteria, the digestive system becomes imbalanced. The good bacteria in the body are designated as biotic. The detrimental bacteria which include the species of Bifdobacteria and Lactobacillus have the potential of seriously harming the human body over a period of time (Hyman 1; Institute for Functional Medicine 1).
In addition, research has manifested the importance of the digestive immunological system. The digestive immunological system serves as a protection from the environment. In the event that the digestive immunological system becomes imbalanced, research has shown that people can develop allergies to foods that should be normally digested. Lactose intolerance is an example of one of the disorders. When the digestive immunological system becomes imbalanced, the entire physical system becomes affected. Research has shown that yoghurt enables the body’s immunological system to maintain its biotic balance (Hyman 1; Institute for Functional Medicine 1).
Ethos
Considering all of the problems that GNC has been able to endure, the GNC brand and the GNC values continue to rise. GNC has been the focus of attention of a number of investigations and that have questioned the composition of some of their health food supplements. The Attorney General of the State of New York presented an allegation that GNC and other retailers were not forthright in the composition of some of the products that they market. GNC was able to overcome this particular allegation with regards to its Herbal Plus brand of garlic. It has been discovered that GNC garlic supplement has garlic (Connor 1; New York Times 1).
GNC has continued to maintain and grow its market share due to the quality of its being a national specialist in the marketing of probiotics. Probiotics is one of the primary ingredients that is contained in yoghurt. GNC offers a large selection of probiotics, one of the largest selections of probiotics that are available in the United States. There are a variety of probiotic supplements available that have distinct concentrations of beneficial bacteria. GNC has prospered as a legacy to David Shakarian due to its quality of offering the public probiotic solution. The probiotic solutions have been demonstrated to improve digestive function and increase the effectiveness of the human immunological system. Probiotics have been demonstrated to be one of the most rapidly increasing segments of the dietary supplement product line (Shurlett & Aoyagi 457).

Pathos

A number of Americans are unaware that their digestive system is imbalanced. This is attributed to the quality of foods that are being marketed to the American public. The American diet is wrought with high calories, nutrient deficient, high sugar and low fiber nutritional products. When the body’s digestive system is imbalanced, the harmful bacteria crave sweet products. The sweet products enable the harmful bacteria to reproduce faster. In the digestive system, the harmful bacteria find ideal living conditions in the majority of Americans. Consequently, the bacteria crave sugar, which cause Americans to crave sugar. In addition, there is the abuse of the products that are harmful to the regular digestive operation. These medications include Nexium and Prilosec, which block the acid production in the digestive system. A number of people in the United States also suffer from gluten intolerance. Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, corn, dairy and egg products (Hyman 1; Institute for Functional Medicine 1).
People develop gluten intolerance due to the digestive system imbalances that have not been properly treated. In addition, there are continuous minor infections and digestive system imbalances that take place with the predominance of the harmful bacteria in the body. The absorption of toxins that are found in the environment and consumed through fish and vegetables also cause imbalances. Toxins that include moulds and mercury enter the body through the foods that are consumed. Last but not least, the stress of working and studying can cause digestive discomfort. Considering all of these factors in conjunction, the body becomes susceptible to illness (Hyman 1; Institute for Functional Medicine 1).

Logos

Empirical investigations have shown that life begins in the digestive system. Effective physicians understand that prior to the treatment of any of the symptoms of gas, acid reflux disease, heartburn, diarrhea, bloating and constipation, the causal attribute must be treated. This is where GNC has been able to excel over the past eighty years. The products that are marketed by GNC are centered on probiotics. Research has demonstrated that the effective physicians apply functional medicine. Functional medicine is one of the disciplines that addresses the causal attributes of a disease. The causal attributes of illness are addressed by the application of a systems directed perspective. In the functional medicine relationship, there is therapeutic relationship that is produced between the physician and patient. Functional medicine is one of the medical approaches that views the patient holistically, not simple as a collection of symptoms (Hyman 1; Institute for Functional Medicine 1).
Studies have shown that the functional medicine practitioners spend time listening to the needs of their patients. In addition, the practitioners of functional medicine invest time reviewing the characteristics of their lifestyle that their patients live, reviewing their histories and environmental factors. The history and the environmental factors have the capacity of affecting a patient in a substantial way. This is the knowledge that had been accrued by Shakarian over eighty years ago and the application of the functional medicine approach has been one of the primary factors for GNC stores’ continuing success (Hyman 1; Institute for Functional Medicine 1).

CONCLUSION

The products that have been developed and marketed by GNC are based on the effective function of the digestive system. The majority of Americans have dysfunctional digestive systems. When the digestive system is imbalanced, the entire body is imbalanced. Probiotics can assist in the recuperation of the body’s balance. Effective digestive function is essential for good health. Good health is essential for life. The probiotics that can enable proper digestive health are available at GNC. Americans deserve to be at their best and GNC helps them to feel better.

Works Cited

Connor, A. “What’s in those supplements?” The New York Times, 3 February 2015. Web. 3 February 2015. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/sidebar-whats-in-those-s supplements/? r=0
Hyman, M. “How to fix your gut: 7 steps to intestinal health.” GAIAM Life, 11 February 2 2013. Web 3 February 2015. http://blog.gaiam.com/how-to-fix-yur-gut-7-steps-to-i intestinal-health/.
New York Times “Retailers are warned over herbal supplements.” The New York Times, 3 February 2015. Web 3 February 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/02/02/health/herbal_supplement_letters.ht ml
Shurlett, W. and A. Aoyagi. History of soynuts, soynut butter, Japanese – style roasted s soybeans. Lafayette, CA: Soy Info Center, 2012. Print