Sixty is the new 40, and 70 is the new 50.

Those assertions from an aging and persistently health-conscious baby-boomer generation have driven advances in the nutritional products industry and in companies such as Schiff Nutrition International Inc. (NYSE:WNI).

Consistent use of nutritional supplements can factor into offsetting heart disease, bone-mass loss and other health issues that mid-life adults face, according to a report by the Council for Responsible Nutrition. About half of all Americans use nutritional supplements, the CRN said. 

That bodes well for Schiff, which nearly doubled its quarterly profit and beat analysts’ earnings-per-share and revenue forecasts. The Salt Lake City, Utah-based company reported on Sept. 18 fiscal 2009 first-quarter net income of $3.2 million, or $0.11 a share, compared with $1.6 million, or $0.06 a share, a year ago. Revenue increased 17.4% to $47.8 million. Analysts had predicted EPS of $0.09 on revenue of $45.2 million.

Ian Corydon, research analyst for B. Riley & Co. LLC, said Schiff’s focus on its private-label lines helped the favorable Q1 2009 results. Schiff’s private-label sales increased about 80% year over year, Corydon wrote in a Sept. 19 report.

Corydon adjusted his estimates accordingly, increasing his second-quarter EPS forecast to $0.14 from $0.09 and his fiscal year 2009 EPS forecast to $0.52 from $0.50. He expects Schiff’s annual revenue to grow more than 13%, up from his previous estimate of 9.5%, due to “further gains in the private-label . . .

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