Natren

With humble beginnings in the home of husband and wife team, Yordan and Natasha Trenev, Natren was destined for success because of Natasha Trenev's background. Her family supplied yogurt to King Peter II and continuing generations of the royal family of Yugoslavia, where she was born. Natasha's parents decided to come to the United States when she was eight years old. Almost immediately upon arrival, her father founded Continental Culture Specialists. Continental's yogurt product is still found in grocery stores around the nation.

After graduating from UCLA, Natasha followed a generations-old tradition and joined her family's business, which benefited from her enthusiasm for several years. She then took her knowledge of live cultures, and expanded her work. Knowing that the bacteria used to produce yogurt could fight existing ailments, she set out to offer these bacteria in a concentrated, more potent form than found in foods. Natasha called these bacteria "probiotics," which means "for life" (as opposed to the widely known term "antibiotic," or "against life").

Yordan Trenev was also familiar with the benefits of certain bacteria; he had also worked at Continental Culture Specialists. Certain that his wife's business venture would succeed, Yordan worked diligently to support the operation. Despite working full-time, he drove many miles each day to transport the dry ice needed to keep the bacteria viable in the Trenev's home.

Today, Natren owns the pharmaceutical-grade building in which the company's probiotics are produced. In keeping with their commitment to excellence, Natren's International GMP certification (audited by Australia’s TGA: Therapeutic Goods Administration) guarantees the ingredients and potency listed on the product labels. Without independent audits from government agencies that enforce the International Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention Standards (PICS), other companies' GMP certification cannot guarantee the same degree of product quality.

Twenty-five years of growth are also apparent in other ways. Instead of the two employees with which it began, Natren now boasts a staff of 50+ employees and has an extensive product line of more than 70 products.