PARK CITY, Utah, Oct 27, 2003 -- Nutraceutical International Corporation (Nasdaq: NUTR) today announced its selection by Forbes Magazine for a second consecutive year as one of 200 Best Small Companies in America for 2003, as featured in the October 27, 2003 issue. Nutraceutical received the ranking of 114.

The 2003 Forbes 200 list ranks companies by weighing various factors, including growth in sales, earnings and return on equity. According to Forbes, only companies with a "net margin (excluding nonrecurring and extraordinary items) or five-year average ROE" of 5% or more made the list.

Bill Gay, chairman and chief executive officer of Nutraceutical, commented, "We are honored to be recognized for a second consecutive year as one of the leading small companies in America by making the Forbes 200 list. We believe that we continue to maintain a leadership position in providing quality branded nutritional supplements to health and natural food stores through our continued focus on building a solid company with strong fundamentals. We thank all our employees and customers who have contributed to make this happen."

Nutraceutical is one of the nation's largest manufacturers and marketers of quality branded nutritional supplements sold to health and natural food stores. Nutraceutical sells its branded products under the brand names Solaray(R), KAL(R), NaturalMax(R), VegLife(R), Premier One(R), Sunny Green(R), Natural Sport(R), Nature's Life(R), ActiPet(R), Action Labs(R) and Thompson(R) to health and natural food stores in the United States, and to distributors and stores worldwide. Under the name Woodland Publishing(TM), Nutraceutical publishes, prints and markets a line of books and booklets to, among others, book distributors, national retail bookstores and health and natural food stores. Nutraceutical manufactures and/or distributes one of the broadest branded product lines in the industry with over 3,000 stock keeping units (SKUs), including over 600 SKUs exclusively sold internationally.

In addition to its branded products, Nutraceutical manufactures bulk materials for use in its own products and for sale to other manufacturers and marketers in the nutritional supplement industry under the trade names Monarch Nutritional Laboratories(TM) and Great Basin Botanicals(TM). Nutraceutical also distributes the products of certain third parties, and owns and operates neighborhood natural food markets under the trade names The Real Food Company(TM) and Thom's Natural Foods(TM) and health food stores under the trade name Arizona Health Foods(TM).

The statements contained in this release, including those regarding the Company's business strategy, cost improvements, operating efficiencies, industry performance, customer loyalty or support and the impact of these activities on the Company's future success, and all other statements that are not purely historical, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Many of the factors that will determine the Company's financial results are beyond the ability of the Company to control or predict. These factors include, among other things, changing domestic and international market and political conditions, product competition, the nature of product development, adverse publicity regarding the consumption of nutritional supplements, changes in laws and regulations, adequacy and availability of insurance coverage, availability of raw materials, dependence on distributors and customers, litigation, limitations on future financings, increased costs, the Company's ability to manufacture its products efficiently, sales and earnings volatility, acts of war and terrorist activities, and the uncertainties relating to acquisitions. Actual events or the Company's actual results could differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. All such forward-looking statements are based upon information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein. For further details and a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, see the Company's SEC filings, which are updated from time to time, copies of which are available upon request from the Company at 435-655-6106.