| Type | Subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories |
|---|---|
| Industry | Nutritional supplements |
| Founded | Monterey County, California, USA (1992) |
| Headquarters | Abbott Park, Illinois, USA |
| Key people | Anthony Almada and Ed Byrd (Co-founders); Bill Phillips (former CEO) |
| Products | Creatine monohydrate, dietary and sports supplements |
| Website | eas.com |
EAS (formerly known as "Experimental & Applied Sciences") is a large distributor of performance based nutritional supplements with approximately 300 staff, annual sales exceeding $300 million dollars and offices/distributors in 54 countries.
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EAS was founded in Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California in 1992 by a biochemist named Anthony Almada, and a businessman named Ed Byrd. After discovering the possible benefits for athletes of creatine monohydrate supplementation, in December 1992 they acquired a kilogram of creatine and began trials.
In 1993 Almada and Byrd released the first commercially available creatine supplement, designed specifically for strength and muscle enhancement, under the EAS brand name Phosphagen. That same year their discovery caught the eye of Bill Phillips, publisher of Muscle Media 2000 (usually referred to as "MM2K"), and he began to write about its benefits in the "Natural Supplement Review" and his subscriber based newsletters. In 1994 he purchased EAS from Almada and Byrd.
Phillips' subscriber base was the perfect platform to which to tout his new acquisition, and it was from here that EAS growth really began. He promoted the company's products through heavy editorial-style advertisements in MM2K, and led by products like Myoplex, Phosphagen and HMB this eventually made EAS at one of the leading players in the nutritional supplement industry.
In 1999 North Castle Partners purchased EAS for $160 million. Phillips retained about a third of the company, which he sold in 2004.[1]
In 2005 EAS was purchased by Abbott Laboratories for approximately $320 million in a cash-for-stock transaction and now exists as a solely-owned division of Abbott, who also make Similac and Ensure.[2] EAS' product line under Abbott now focuses on sports bars and drink mixes, and other similar products. Abbott has expanded the stores offering EAS products from niche stores such as GNC to mainstream stores such as Wal-Mart and Target.
In March 2011 Abbott laboratories exited the European and the international market with the EAS brand. The exit included the closedown of the Canada and UK country business’s and regional distribution in Europe. European product manufacturing also ceased in 2011.