One of the mainstays in the herbal market has been the presence of herbal teas and one of the veterans of the herbal tea market has been Traditional Medicinals, Sebastopol, CA, a company with roots in the business since 1974. Back then, the company was selling bulk herbs in bags. Then, according to president Lynda Sadler, “we heard the cry for convenience,” and the company moved into the tea bag segment. Today, Traditional Medicinals is focusing more and more on organics. “It just has not been possible to purchase 150 organic ingredients before now and still not all the herbs we use can be sourced organically. We are trying to use as many organic American sources as possible and as much organic as possible,” she said, but qualified, “We do not jump on the organic bandwagon at the risk of our herb specifications. We believe in and support organically grown herbs but we are a traditional herbal medicine company and efficacious herbs are our first priority.”

The company manufactures 44 teas, including four OTC products, “Breathe Easy,” “Cold Care P.M.,” Gypsy Cold Care” and “Smooth Move.” The rest are sold as dietary supplements and include diverse products for women’s health, cold and flu season and energy, just to name a few. Recently, green tea has been a top seller for Traditional Medicinals, with 40% growth last year. New products launched late in 1999 include two new green tea products, Organic Roasted Green Tea and Organic Every Day Green Tea, as well as Organic Echinacea Elder and Organic Golden Ginger. Debuting at this month’s Expo West event will be a “California Chai” tea and “Ginger Energizer,” a tea for enhancing energy.

Most of Traditional Medicinals’ teas are multi-herb blends, which provide greater benefit than do single herbs, according to Ms. Sadler. Blends are formulated according to specific rules of combining herbs, used in traditional systems of medical herbalism that have a long history of safe and beneficial use around the world. Traditional Medicinals relies on the national pharmacopoeias of various countries for defining the specific grades and qualities of medicinal herbs used in its many different tea formulations. Ms. Sadler commented, “We don’t mess with the ‘nature’ part of standardization. We use the whole herb, not just the so-called standardized constituents, taking a more holistic herbal approach. Our customer is the true ‘natural’ who wants authentic herbal solutions as close to nature as possible.” Products are sold in individual tea bags in moisture proof, light-proof paper with a two-three year shelf life. “We also have just-in-time manufacturing procedures. The products should be as fresh as when they’re packaged,” she said.

Traditional Medicinals’ products are available throughout the U.S. and in Canada, where they sell 22 teas. “We also have export markets here and there,” said Ms. Sadler. “We have had a lot of interest but there are many regulations to contend with. However, we have developed an export strategy that will address the worldwide interest we get in our tea line.”

-E.S.