Wholesale health: Valley warehouse lures customers

Lifelong Gardnerville resident David Evans has literally built a niche for himself in the sports nutrition and health foods industry by converting part of his warehouse in south Gardnerville into a retail space that offers wholesale pricing.

"Ultimately, this is a cleaned-up portion of the warehouse to showcase our biggest items," said Evans, 38. "Our prices stay low as long as we don't have a fancy building."

The company, Peak Nutrition, was started seven years ago in Las Vegas by Evans' brother-in-law. Two years ago, Evans and wife Jennifer moved the operation to Industrial Way in Gardnerville. Last spring, they relocated further down the road to Southgate Drive and opened the retail portion of the warehouse, minimizing their overhead.

"We have good buying power after seven years, and we can pass that onto our customers," Evans said.

Walking into Peak Nutrition, customers will find about 600 square feet of display space brimming with nutritional products: Cytosport, Dymatize and BSN protein formulas, digestive enzymes, vitamins, fish oil and other health supplements.

Peak Nutrition also carries health foods like energy bars, oatmeal and sugar-free syrups, along with ginseng extract, acai, and mint chew for those trying to quit smoking.

"I have access to about 3,500 products, and anything that's not sold in here I can get my hands on in about 24 hours," Evans said. "The health industry has some good products and we've just kind of whittled them down."

Evans himself takes Udo's Oil, an omega fatty acid blend, along with red yeast rice, a combination that helps lower cholesterol, he said.

"I don't mean a little, I mean within 30 days going to your doctor and saying 'Wow!'"

Evans said the store's customer base is loyal, ranging from high school athletes to police officers to Nevada National Guard members who come down from Stead.

"They get a deal here and good customer service, so why would they go anywhere else?" he said. "We have been very fortunate."

The store also sees many elderly customers looking for bone-density and joint supplements.

"Gardnerville has a gem here. People don't have to go online and pay shipping," Evans said. "They can come in here and get counseled on what's best for their needs. I like to hone in on what they're trying to do and make sure they're buying a product safe for their age group."

Evans said the retail portion of the warehouse has opened up more public dialogue as well, including suggestions from customers.

"We had a gal who suggested mangosteen; she swears by it," he said. "We didn't stock it before, but now we do."

For all emergency and military personnel, Peak Nutrition offers an additional 7 percent discount.

"People out there buying sports nutrition and health products should come in and give us a shot at helping them," Evans said.

Peak Nutrition is located at 1482 Southgate Drive, Suite 109-B. Business hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information, call 782-2244.