Story - RNA Corporation

July 1983

Founder Muhammad Akhtar leaves his position as Director of R&D at an industry leading hair care brand to start a small lab that focuses strictly on innovative formulations.

"I left my executive role to focus on my true passion - researching new applications (RNA)."

August 1989

RNA moves into a 13,000 square foot warehouse in order to cater to customer demands. RNA takes its first steps into manufacturing, using manual machines for filling, capping, and labelling.

January 1990

RNA expands to meet customer growth and relocates to a Blue Island Illinois warehouse, once used to make American heavy machinery.

June 1995

RNA upgrades to semi-automated manufacturing of bottles and jars, and offers new formulation categories of professional hair care and skincare.

November 1997

RNA acquires half of its current facility taking up 130,000 square foot of space in order to compound more batches and offer hot filling capabilities.

January 2001

RNA acquires the entire facility it currently operates in, consisting of 300,000 square feet that holds all aspects of it's business.

April 2004

RNA offers premium grade skincare formulations and begins tube filling operations.

Tube filling options allow customers to bring to market extremely high quality shelf stable formulas, in a portable and user friendly container.

June 2006

RNA offers vertical and horizontal form fill and seal manufacturing, meaning sachets, pouches, and flexible packaged goods.

Sachets and pouches opens a new door for consumers to test less expensive options of a product, with the hope of becoming brand adopters and advocates.

June 2010

RNA begins offering FDA approved formulations for topical skincare, body care, and therapeutic pain products, opening a new door into functional topicals.

"FDA topical formulations required a new set of processes and procedures, but opened up a new category for our brand partners to grow their portfolio of products."

May 2012

RNA moves into providing full turnkey services, allowing brand partners to focus on marketing, sales, and listening to the voice of the customer.

"Turnkey is something we've always wanted to do, but implementing it forced us to overhaul our supply chain. Now we can better serve our customers with faster lead times, higher quality components, and lower overall costs."

February 2017

RNA earns a perfect Intertek GMP audit score, and is recognized for its continuous improvement efforts.

"Getting ISO 9001 and ISO 22716 certified demonstrates our dedication to quality and continuous improvement."

November 2017

RNA begins working with hemp derived ingredients, making it one of the first to experiment with this novel ingredient for body and skin care.

"It's rare in our industry to find a new ingredient that goes beyond the marketing hype and actually works - we jumped on the opportunity to be a leader in this new category."

Dan, Co-founder of Relume

March 2020

Within days, RNA converts more than 10 filling lines to produce sanitizers and disinfectants. It continues its operation in the midst of a global pandemic, supplying healthcare workers and front line responders.

"We had to do our part to help those around us. We've been formulating sanitizers for over a decade, so we responded quickly with safety in mind. Our workforce stepped up, took the precautions, wore the masks and face shields, and together we helped produce PPE when it was needed most."

Dan, Co-founder of Relume

May 2020

RNA adds an additional 150,000 sqft warehouse facility to help optimize it's turnkey operations.

"Our new warehouse helps us run a more efficient turnkey business, using this large space to receive new inventory, stage packaging for production, and also have ample space to perform incoming quality control."

Dan, Co-founder of Relume

This is a 40 year history of how we went from a tiny lab to a full service brand partner.