By Ryan Di Lello
Instead of cutting a red ribbon, CEOs and Gov. John Huntsman Jr. took machete hacks at a giant Tahitian vine Friday at the opening of Tahitian Noni International?s first visitor?s center.
Over 2,000 Tahitian Noni distributors from over 63 countries gathered at the company?s corporate headquarters in the Provo Riverwoods to celebrate the opening of the company?s new visitor?s center and caf?.
Gov. Huntsman presented a letter to CEO Kerry Asay, congratulating the company on being one of the fastest growing companies in Utah history. He thanked company leaders for their generous contributions to the community.
?This is not only about profitability, it?s not only about a good product, it?s not only about reaching out globally and finding new market opportunities ? it?s about helping people in need at the end of the day and I?m glad that you?re aware of that,? Huntsman said.
The new visitor?s center features a caf? that will serve healthy foods and fruit juices based on Tahitian Noni products.
Kim Asay, founder and vice president, said the caf? is designed to be a pilot plan for a larger group of cafes where they will continually experiment with new ideas for foods and menu items.
?We kind of think of it as a healthy Starbucks, but no coffee, just lots of good healthy things to eat,? Asay said.
The company already has a similar caf? in Tokyo, and in addition to the Provo caf?, plans to open six more cafes in Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Brazil, Atlanta and Dallas this year.
?Our goal is to have 100 operating cafes worldwide within the next five years,? said Sean Whitney, regional general manager and vice president.
The new Provo visitor?s center also has an amphitheater that holds over 300 people where guest artists, including BYU performing groups, are scheduled to perform every Friday night.
?The idea is really to build a community center where all of Utah county can come and hang out, eat at the new caf?, enjoy the shows and learn about who we are,? Whitney said.
According to their Web site, Tahitian Noni International reached its highest sales in company history in April 2005 and the opening of these cafes has added greatly to the sales increase. The company has grown from $40,000 in its first month of sales in 1995 to $2 billion in cumulative sales in June 2003.
The 9-year-old company has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Tahiti, Japan and China, and sales offices in 35 countries, according to their Web site.
