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                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.1

                  NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT

                  This NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT (this
"AGREEMENT") dated as of October 14, 1999, between VITAMINSHOPPE.COM, INC., a
Delaware Corporation (the "CORPORATION"), and Michael C. Brooks, residing at
_________, _______, _____ _____ (the "PARTICIPANT").

                              W I T N E S S E T H:

                  WHEREAS, the Corporation desires, in connection with the
Participant's service as a Non-Employee Director of the Corporation, and in
accordance with the Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors of
VitaminShoppe.com, Inc., effective as of August 1, 1999 (the "PLAN"), to provide
the Participant with an opportunity to acquire shares of the Corporation's Class
A Common Stock, $0.01 par value (the "CLASS A STOCK"), on favorable terms and to
thereby align his or her interest in the continued progress and success of the
Corporation's business with those of the Corporation's shareholders. Unless
otherwise defined herein, all capitalized terms used herein shall have the same
definitions as set forth under the Plan.

                  NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises, the mutual
covenants herein set forth and other good and valuable consideration, the
Corporation and the Participant hereby agree as follows:

                  1. Confirmation of Grant of Option. Subject to the terms of
the Plan and this Agreement, the Corporation hereby grants to the Participant
the right to purchase (hereinafter referred to as the "OPTION") an aggregate of
38,475 shares of Class A Stock, subject to adjustment as provided in the Plan
(such shares, as adjusted, hereinafter being referred to as the "SHARES"). The
Option is not intended to qualify as an incentive stock option under Section 422
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

                  2. Exercise Price. The exercise price for the purchase of the
Shares covered by the Option will be $11.00 per Share, which equals the Fair
Market Value of such Shares on the date such Options are deemed granted pursuant
to the Plan, subject to adjustment as provided in the Plan.

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                  3. Exercise of Option. The Option shall be exercisable on the
terms and conditions hereinafter set forth:

                     (a)   The Option shall become exercisable as to the
following amounts of the number of Shares originally subject thereto (after
giving effect to any adjustment pursuant to the Plan), on the dates indicated:

                            (i)   as to 12,825 Shares on or after October 14,
              2000;

                            (ii)  as to 12,825 Shares on or after October 14,
              2001; and

                            (iii) as to 12,825 Shares on or after October 14,
              2002.

                     (b)   The Option may be exercised pursuant to the
provisions of this Section 3, by notice and payment (including, but not limited
to, by a "cashless" exercise) to the Corporation as provided in Section 12
hereof.

                  4. Term of Option. The term of the Option shall be a period of
ten (10) years from the date hereof, subject to earlier termination or
cancellation as provided in this Agreement. This Option, to the extent
unexercised, shall expire on the day immediately prior to the tenth anniversary
of the date hereof. The Participant shall not have any rights to dividends or
any other rights of a stockholder with respect to any shares of Class A Stock
subject to the Option until such shares shall have been issued to him or her (as
evidenced by the appropriate entry on the books of a duly authorized transfer
agent of the Corporation) provided that the date of issuance shall not be
earlier than the date this Option is exercised and payment of the full purchase
price of the shares of Class A Stock (with respect to which this Option is
exercised) is made to the Corporation.

                  5. Non-transferability of Option. The Option shall not be
assigned, transferred or otherwise disposed of, or pledged or hypothecated in
any way, and shall not be subject to execution, attachment or other process,
except as may be provided in the Plan. Any assignment, transfer, pledge,
hypothecation or other disposition of the Option contrary to the provisions of
the Plan, or any levy of execution, attachment or other process attempted upon
the Option, will be null and void and without effect. Any attempt to make any
such assignment, transfer, pledge, hypothecation or other disposition of the
Option or any attempt to make any such levy of execution, attachment or other
process will cause the Option to terminate immediately upon the happening of any
such event; provided, however, that any such termination of the Option under the
foregoing provisions of this Section 5 will not prejudice any rights or remedies
which the Corporation or any Parent or Subsidiary may have under this Agreement
or otherwise.

                  6. Exercise Upon Death. If the Participant dies while holding
an exercisable Option, such Option shall remain exercisable by his or her estate
(or other beneficiaries, as

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designated in writing by such Participant) until the end of the exercise period
under the Option, unless the Committee shall otherwise provide at the time of
the grant of the Option. At any time during the one year period following the
Participant's death, the Corporation shall have the right in its sole discretion
to purchase, and the estate or beneficiary of the deceased Participant shall
have the obligation to sell to the Corporation (i) any outstanding Option
exercisable by the estate or beneficiary at the then Fair Market Value of a
share of Class A Stock less the exercise price and (ii) any shares of Class A
Stock held of record or beneficially by the estate or beneficiary through the
exercise of an Option at their then Fair Market Value.

                  7. Exercise Upon Disability; Voluntary Termination. If the
Participant's service is terminated by reason of (i) Disability or (ii)
voluntary discontinuance of service, any then exercisable Option shall remain
exercisable until the end of the exercise period under such Option and all
Options not exercisable on the date of such termination shall be forfeited and
canceled.

                  8. Misconduct by Participant. If the Board of Directors
(excluding the Participant accused of such misconduct) determines that the
Participant has committed an act of embezzlement, fraud, dishonesty, nonpayment
of an obligation owed to the Corporation, breach of fiduciary duty or deliberate
disregard of the Corporation's rules resulting in loss, damage or injury to the
Corporation, or if the Participant makes an unauthorized disclosure of the
Corporation's trade secrets or confidential information, engages in any conduct
constituting unfair competition, induces any of the Corporation's customers to
breach a contract with the Corporation or induces any principal for whom the
Corporation acts as agent to terminate such agency relationship, neither the
Participant nor his or her estate shall be entitled to exercise any Option
whatsoever. In making such determination, the Board of Directors shall provide
the Participant an opportunity to appear and present evidence on the Optionee's
behalf at a hearing before the Board of Directors or a committee of the Board of
Directors.

                  9. Exercise Upon Other Termination of Service. In the event
the Participant ceases to serve as a director of the Corporation for any reason
other than as described in Sections 6, 7 or 8 above, within ninety (90) days
after such cessation, the Participant may exercise his or her Option to the
extent that it was exercisable on the date of such termination. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, in no event may the Option be exercised after the term set forth
in Section 4 has expired. To the extent an Option was not exercisable at the
date of such termination, or the Participant does not exercise such Option
within the time specified above, the Option shall be forfeited and canceled.

                  10. Merger, Consolidation or Change in Control of Corporation.
(a) Upon the occurrence of a Liquidity Event or a Change in Control, the
Participant shall have the right immediately prior to the effective date of such
Liquidity Event (or, if later, within 10 days of the Optionee's notification of
such event) to exercise any Option granted and still outstanding (and not
otherwise expired) in whole or in part without regard to any installment or
vesting provision of this Agreement, provided that all conditions precedent to
the exercise of such Options, other than the passage of time, have occurred. The
Corporation, to the extent practicable, shall give


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advance notice to the Participant of any such Liquidity Event. All such Options
which are not so exercised shall be canceled and forfeited as of the effective
time of any such Liquidity Event (or, if later, at the end of the applicable
10-day notice period). If the Corporation engages in a Business Combination
which is not a Liquidity Event, the Corporation may, in connection with such
transaction, at its option elect one of the following: provide for (i) the
continuance of the Option granted hereunder (either by express provision or, if
the Corporation is the surviving corporation in the Business Combination, as a
consequence of the failure to address the treatment of options in the applicable
agreements), (ii) the substitution of new options for the Option granted
hereunder (which new options grant the Participant the right to purchase the
securities they would have received had they held Class A Stock immediately
prior to the Business Combination) or (iii) acceleration of any outstanding
Options in which case such Business Combination will be deemed a "Liquidity
Event" and Options treated in accordance with the preceding sentences of this
Section 10.

                  11. Registration. The Corporation may register or qualify the
shares covered by the Option for sale pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, at any time prior to or after the exercise in whole or in part of the
Option.

                  12. Method of Exercise of Option. (a) Subject to the terms and
conditions of this Agreement, the Option shall be exercisable by notice in the
manner set forth in Exhibit A hereto (the "NOTICE") and provision for payment to
the Corporation in accordance with the procedure prescribed herein. Each such
Notice shall:

                            (i)   state the election to exercise the Option and
     the number of Shares with respect to which it is being exercised;

                            (ii)  contain a representation and agreement as to
     investment intent, if required by the Committee with respect to such
     Shares, in a form satisfactory to the Committee;

                            (iii) be signed by the Participant or the person or
     persons entitled to exercise the Option and, if the Option is being
     exercised by any person or persons other than the Participant, be
     accompanied by proof satisfactory to the Committee of the right of such
     other person or persons to exercise the Option;

                            (iv)  include payment of the full purchase price for
     the shares of Class A Stock to be purchased pursuant to such exercise of
     the Option; and

                            (v)   be received by the Corporation on or before
     the date of the expiration of this Option. In the event the date of
     expiration of this Option falls on a day which is not a regular business
     day at the Corporation's executive office then such Notice must be received
     at such office on or before the last regular business day prior to such
     date of expiration.



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                            (b)   Payment of the purchase price of any shares of
     Class A Stock, in respect of which the Option shall be exercised, shall be
     made by the Participant or such person or persons at the place specified by
     the Corporation on the date the Notice is received by the Corporation (i)
     by delivering to the Corporation a certified or bank cashier's check
     payable to the order of the Corporation, (ii) by delivering to the
     Corporation properly endorsed certificates of shares of Class A Stock (or
     certificates accompanied by an appropriate stock power) with signature
     guaranties by a bank or trust company, (iii) by having withheld from the
     total number of shares of Class A Stock to be acquired upon the exercise of
     this Option a specified number of such shares of Class A Stock, (iv) by any
     form of "cashless" exercise or (v) by any combination of the above.

                            (c)   The Option shall be deemed to have been
     exercised on the date the Notice was received by the Corporation with
     respect to any particular shares of Class A Stock if, and only if, the
     preceding provisions of this Section 12 and the provisions of Section 13
     hereof shall have been complied with. Anything in this Agreement to the
     contrary notwithstanding, any Notice given pursuant to the provisions of
     this Section 12 shall be void and of no effect if all of the preceding
     provisions of this Section 12 (including this subsection (c)) and the
     provisions of Section 13 shall not have been complied with.

                            (d)   The certificate or certificates for shares of
     Class A Stock as to which the Option shall be exercised will be registered
     in the name of the Participant (or in the name of the Participant's estate
     or other beneficiary, if the Option is exercised after the Participant's
     death), or if the Option is exercised by the Participant and if the
     Participant so requests in the Notice exercising the Option, will be
     registered in the name of the Participant and another person jointly, with
     right of survivorship, and will be delivered as soon as practical after the
     date the Notice is received by the Corporation (accompanied by full payment
     of the exercise price), but only upon compliance with all of the provisions
     of this Agreement.

                            (e)   If the Participant fails to accept delivery of
     and pay for all or any part of the number of Shares specified in such
     Notice, his or her right to exercise the Option with respect to such
     undelivered Shares may be terminated in the sole discretion of the
     Committee. The Option may be exercised only with respect to full Shares.

                            (f)   The Corporation shall not be required to issue
     or deliver any certificate or certificates for shares of its Class A Stock
     purchased upon the exercise of any part of this Option prior to the payment
     to the Corporation, upon its demand, of any amount requested by the
     Corporation for the purpose of satisfying its liability, if any, to
     withhold state or local income or earnings tax or any other applicable tax
     or assessment (plus interest or penalties thereon, if any, caused by a
     delay in making such payment) incurred by reason of the exercise of this
     Option or the transfer of shares thereupon. Such payment shall be made by
     the Participant in cash or, with the consent of the Corporation, by
     tendering to the Corporation shares of Class A Stock equal in value to the
     amount of the required withholding. In the alternative, the Corporation
     may, at its option, satisfy such withholding requirements by withholding
     from the



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shares of Class A Stock to be delivered to the Participant pursuant to an
exercise of this Option, a number of shares of Class A Stock equal in value to
the amount of the required withholding.

                  13. Approval of Counsel. The exercise of the Option and the
issuance and delivery of shares of Class A Stock pursuant thereto shall be
subject to approval by the Corporation's counsel of all legal matters in
connection therewith, including, but not limited to, compliance with the
requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and the
requirements of any stock exchange upon which the Class A Stock may then be
listed.

                  14. Resale of Class A Stock. (a) If so requested by the
Corporation, upon any sale or transfer of the Class A Stock purchased upon
exercise of the Option, the Participant shall deliver to the Corporation an
opinion of counsel satisfactory to the Corporation to the effect that either (i)
the Class A Stock to be sold or transferred has been registered under the
Securities Act of 1933, and that there is in effect a current prospectus meeting
the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act which is being or will
be delivered to the purchaser or transferee at or prior to the time of delivery
of the certificates evidencing the Class A Stock to be sold or transferred or
(ii) such Class A Stock may then be sold without violating Section 5 of said
Act.

                      (b)   The Class A Stock issued upon exercise of the Option
shall bear the following legend if required by counsel for the Corporation:

                  THE SECURITIES EVIDENCED BY THIS CERTIFICATE HAVE NOT BEEN
                  REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED. NO
                  TRANSFER OF SUCH SECURITIES MAY BE MADE UNLESS SUCH TRANSFER
                  IS MADE IN CONNECTION WITH AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                  UNDER SUCH ACT OR PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION FROM THE
                  REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF SUCH ACT.

                  15. Reservation of Shares. The Corporation shall at all times
during the term of the Option reserve and keep available such number of shares
of the Class A Stock as will be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of this
Agreement.

                  16. Nonguarantee. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be
construed to confer any right with respect to continuation of service as a
director of the Corporation or nomination to serve as a director of the
Corporation, nor shall it interfere in any way with any rights which the
Participant or the Corporation may have to terminate his or her directorship at
any time.

                  17. Notices. Each notice relating to this Agreement shall be
in writing and delivered in person, by air courier or by certified mail to the
proper address. All notices to the Corporation or the Committee shall be
addressed to them at VitaminShoppe.com, Inc., 444



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Madison Avenue, Suite 802, New York, NY 10022, Attn: President and Chief
Executive Officer. All notices to the Participant shall be addressed to the
Participant or such other person or persons at the Participant's address above
specified. Anyone to whom a notice may be given under this Agreement may
designate a new address by notice to that effect.

                  18. Benefits of Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the
benefit of and be binding upon each successor and assign of the Corporation. All
obligations imposed upon the Participant and all rights granted to the
Corporation under this Agreement shall be binding upon the Participant's heirs,
legal representatives, successors and assigns.

                  19. Severability. In case any provision of this Agreement
shall be held illegal or void, such illegality or invalidity shall not affect
the remaining provisions of this Agreement, but shall be fully severable, and
this Agreement shall be construed and enforced as if said illegal or invalid
provisions had never been inserted herein.

                  20. Governing Law. All questions pertaining to the validity,
construction and administration of this Agreement shall be determined in
accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

                  21. Incorporation of Terms of Plan. This Agreement shall be
interpreted under, and subject to, all of the terms and provisions of the Plan,
which are incorporated herein by reference.



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                  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has caused this Agreement
to be executed in its name by its President and its corporate seal to be
hereunto affixed and attested by its Secretary or its Assistant Secretary and
the Participant has hereunto set his or her hand all as of the date, month and
year first above written.

ATTEST:                          VitaminShoppe.com, Inc.

                                 By:
------------------------             ---------------------------------
Secretary                            Name:    Kathryn H. Creech
                                     Title:   President and Chief Executive
                                              Officer

                                 ---------------------------------
                                 Michael C. Brooks

                                 ---------------------------------
                                 Social Security Number




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                                    EXHIBIT A

                NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR STOCK OPTION EXERCISE FORM

                              --------------------
                                      Date

VitaminShoppe.com, Inc.
444 Madison Avenue, Suite 802
New York, NY 10168
Attention:  Secretary

Dear Sirs:

                  Pursuant to the provisions of the Non-Employee Director Stock
Option Agreement, dated October 14, 1999, whereby you have granted to me a stock
option to purchase 38,475 shares of the Class A Common Stock (the "CLASS A
STOCK") of VitaminShoppe.com, Inc. (the "CORPORATION"), I hereby notify you that
I elect to exercise my option to purchase ______________ of the shares covered
by such Option at the exercise price specified thereon. In full payment of the
price for the shares being purchased hereby:

                  1.       I am delivering to you herewith:

                           (a)      a certified or bank cashier's check payable
to the order of the Corporation in the amount of $_________; $_________ of this
amount is the purchase price of the shares, and the balance represents payment
of withholding taxes as follows: Federal $_________, State $_________ and Local
$_________ OR

                           (b)      a certificate or certificates for [        ]
shares of Class A Stock of the Corporation, which have a Fair Market Value as of
the date hereof at least equal to the option exercise price, and a certified or
bank cashier's check, payable to the order of the Corporation, in the amount of
$_________, which represents payment of withholding taxes as follows: Federal
$_________, State $_________ and Local $_________. Any such stock certificate or
certificates are endorsed, or accompanied by an appropriate stock power, to the
order of the Corporation, with my signature guaranteed by a bank or trust
company or by a member firm of the National Association of Securities Dealers,
Inc.




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                           (c)       OR

                           (d)      Please retain __________ shares of Class A
Stock of the Corporation covered by the Option which have a Fair Market Value as
of the date hereof at least equal to the option exercise price. I am delivering
to you herewith a certified or bank cashier's check, payable to the order of the
Corporation, in the amount of $_________ which represents payment of withholding
taxes as follows: Federal $_________, State $_________ and Local $_________.

                  In the event the amounts designated above are insufficient for
the withholding of federal, state and local taxes, I hereby authorize the
Corporation to withhold in accordance with applicable law from any regular cash
compensation payable to me the balance of any taxes required to be withheld by
the Corporation under federal, state or local law as a result of my election
herein. Further, I acknowledge that I am purchasing these shares for investment
purposes only and not for resale.

                                         Very truly yours,

                                         ---------------------------------
                                         Michael C. Brooks

                                         Address for notices,
                                         reports, dividend checks
                                         and other communications to
                                         stockholders:

                                         [                       ]
                                         [                       ]
                                         [                       ]






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================================================================================



                 Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors of

                             VitaminShoppe.com, Inc.

                       NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR STOCK OPTION

                                   Granted To

                                MICHAEL C. BROOKS

                                   Participant

38,475                                       $11.00
------------------------                     ------------------------
Number of Shares                             Price per Share

DATE GRANTED:  October 14, 1999              EXPIRATION DATE:  October 13, 2009

================================================================================