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Engage Global presents donations on Nov. 1 at the Utah Valley Convention Center.

Courtesy

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Engage Global's new product packaging of its supplement.

Jordan Carroll

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Earlier this month Engage Global held a conference at the Utah Valley Convention Center for the company’s relaunch. The invite-only event attended by more than 1,000 people proved the need, demand and ensured future success for a new health supplement available to the public, according to company leaders.

The supplement-based “member marketing” company based in Provo might sound like déjà vu to the business community — the concept is definitely not foreign in Utah. In fact, the state seems overrun with them.

Is there room for another company aiming to improve public health with its latest miracle product? Only time will tell, though Engage Global’s partners and employees seem more than optimistic — their dreams stop nothing short of getting listed for exchange on the Nasdaq.

“We’ve proven the concept, the company can run well. That’s why we launched it,” said Jason Golly, a partner with David Nemelka at Engage Global.

The company revolves around a sole supplement: Military Micronutrient Formulation (MMF). According to Golly, of Orem, it was developed after 9/11 for military use in response to the question, “Is it possible to protect the military from the inside out?” Golly said doctors and scientists came up with MMF — which is supposed to boost the immune system and protect from ionizing radiation — as the answer after five years of development with $15 million in funding from the defense budget.

Golly said during that process MMF underwent 10 clinical trials — nine of which were human. When he learned about the supplement, Golly wanted it for civilian use to sell in the private sector. After much passing of time, the company was able to gain an exclusive distribution agreement to procure and make the supplement. The next step involved purchasing the MMF intellectual property. Now Engage Global has redesigned the packaging from its original military use, rebranded the company name, along with its website, and now it’s ready to sell full-force.

Set up in the Riverwoods business park among many Utah County startups-turned-national-success stories, Engage Global’s product has actually been available since April 2014 during the process of the company’s three-phase rollout. Nearly three-fourths of sales are currently within Utah, with the rest coming from surrounding states in the West. With two dozen in-house staff, the company is set to expand and sell via “membership marketing” — shying away from the label of multi-level marketing.

“We want the story told and that can’t happen from a shelf,” Golly said in regards to a retail consumption vehicle.

Engage Global’s goals are to saturate the Utah market and have regional pockets of strength across the U.S. Golly hopes the company will be able to contemplate international expansion in its second year.

While the supplement is made in various places throughout the United States, the company hopes to bring the manufacturing end to Utah as well so that the formulation can be both made and packed in the state. With plenty of FDA-approved facilities, Golly feels the possibility is real.

Perhaps by Golly’s pure passion alone will the company ride to success — his excitement and enthusiasm for MMF and philanthropy can hardly be contained. The company plans to give back to the Special Olympics, an organization that has impacted Golly’s family personally. Engage Global wants to create micro-philanthropists who will be involved in selecting charities to which the company will award donations.

“We’re a generous nation, and we naturally want to give,” he said.

During the Nov. 1 event, the company issued several checks to charities, including $6,000 to the Foundation for Excellence in Education, $4,000 to Sportsmen for Warriors and $4,000 to Hand in Hand Outdoors.

“We want to stay true to our heritage. MMF was made to benefit men and women in uniform,” Golly said.