By Mahvish Irfan
Move over Centrum, there’s a newer vitamin brand that’s taking over shelves claiming to be better – and they’re proudly halal.
NoorVitamins, a brand of Noor Pharmaceuticals, the first and only halal-based pharmaceutical company
in the US founded in late 2011, is aiming to set the highest standards in the dietary supplements industry.
For CEO Dr. Mohamed Issa, having a halal product is not good enough – being the best is the goal.
“We are not going to stop at just being halal,” Dr. Issa states. “We want to make sure that we give our Muslim consumers and really all of our consumers the confidence that the products they’re buying are the best possible products irrespective of [whether it’s] halal or not.
“I think as Muslim consumers we are used to settling for halal, even though halal may be second best, but ‘at least it’s halal.’ With us, what we’re saying is that the halal product they’re buying is actually the best product on the market.”
Several of NoorVitamins products testify to this point. Take their newly released joint formula supplement. “There is no other joint formula on the market, whether halal or not, that competes with the scientific ingredients that are in our product,” Dr. Issa says.
Their multivitamin formula is also more competitive than Centrum’s formula though Centrum is known to be the leading multivitamin brand.
Additional products, including Omega-3 Fish Oil, Vitamin D3, Children’s Gummies Complete, Women’s Prenatal and more, are also supplements of a high caliber. New products will be launching in the coming months.
The inspiration behind creating NoorVitamins was to help Muslims live a halal and healthy lifestyle and help provide a better solution to the haram (forbidden) alternatives flooding the shelves of pharmacies nationwide.
“Myself and the other founders, all [of whom] are either doctors or pharmacists … noticed that many Muslims would be concerned and would question what kind of ingredients and sources of ingredients were in many of the products [supplements] they were taking,” Dr. Issa continues.
“We realized pretty quickly, once we did some investigation and really researched what the ingredients were, [that] a lot of the ingredients were being sourced from pork and alcohol which is obviously not acceptable.
“When we tried to find alternatives, there really wasn’t anything reputable or anything that really met our quality standards that we would feel comfortable giving to our own patients and families.”
Rather than giving up, a team of US Muslim physicians and pharmacists joined forces and worked together towards creating a solution that brought out the best combination of science and faith.
“We developed a company in the business of now making medicines and vitamins and supplements that are not only halal, but most importantly, really the best.”
There are a few key distinctions that make NoorVitamins stand above other brands, Dr. Issa explains.
“First and foremost, the fact that we don’t use any pork or alcohol based ingredients and the fact that we’re halal certified, that’s a critical differentiator.
“More importantly, we pride ourselves in making sure that every single ingredient that we use is of the highest quality and highest grade.
“We also ensure that our formulations that go into our vitamins are ones that have been clinically proven to be effective and safe … We make sure we use the right ingredients in the right doses and the right, scientifically proven formulations, so that’s obviously a big deal.
“The other thing that we also try to use is all-natural ingredients … in order to make a product that much healthier for our consumers.
“The last thing [is that] we are produced here in the U.S. under the strictest manufacturing guidelines with the FDA.
“[Altogether] what that means is that we not only pride ourselves on the products that we make, on the ingredients that we use, but also on the processing and manufacturing practices that we use as well to make sure we are giving consumers the best quality product that also happens to be halal.”
It doesn’t end there. Noor Pharmaceuticals is also a socially responsible company that takes charity and making a positive difference in the community seriously.
This past Ramadan, they ran a successful #NoorishTheHungry campaign under their NoorVitamins brand feeding thousands of hungry children in Palestine, Syria and Ghana. For every bottle of vitamins purchased, a child in need was fed.
Prior to this, 100% of retail profits were donated for 30 days in memory of four young Muslims recently killed for alleged hate crimes: Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, and Mustafa Mattan.
NoorVitamins is also partnered with Vitamin Angels, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing child mortality worldwide by advancing availability, access and use of essential nutrients to pregnant women, new mothers, and children under five.
“We are ecstatic and committed to help fill this worldwide nutrition gap!” NoorVitamins Facebook page exclaims.
With a commitment to delivering high-quality products, operating under strict religious guidelines, and giving back regularly to build a stronger community, NoorVitamins has become the leading halal vitamin brand worldwide.
But, in the near future, they just might be recognized as the best vitamin brand, period. In five years time, Dr. Issa plans for NoorVitamins to have a strong, reputable and competitive presence in the dietary supplements industry.
Currently, NoorVitamins products are found online and in 13 countries globally including in North America, South America, Asia and the Middle East. In the US, they are found in hundreds of pharmacies nationwide including in major retail establishments such as Walgreens and Whole Foods.
To purchase a NoorVitamins product online with no added shipping costs, visit noorvitamins.com. Stay regularly updated on exciting new products and charitable campaigns on facebook.com/NoorVitamins and @NoorVitamins on Twitter.
