Hollister, Garrity build healthy business

These days, you can find mangosteen products in warehouse, grocery and natural-foods stores.

That is in large part because Gary Hollister and Aaron Garrity brought the western world's attention to the health-enhancing properties of this Malaysian fruit through the drinks and other products made by their Lehi-based company, XanGo.

Research shows that the pericarp, or rind, of the mangosteen is rich in natural xanthones, which are significant antioxidants. Naming the company after these xanthones and the mangosteen that produces them, Hollister, Garrity and their partners have seen the company grow from 14 employees to 600.

The network-marketing company also boasts 350,000 distributors working in 13 international markets.

The founders achieved all of this by investing their own money and working at a furious pace to set up operations with a credible, experienced German manufacturing partner before imitators got word of the company's potential.

To further protect its market, XanGo's founders filed patent applications before the company opened for business. These patents on beverages, compositions and methods of making mangosteen-based nutraceutical products should protect the company as it works toward its stated goal of reaching annual sales of $1 billion by 2009.