As the third-generation member of this family business, Mr. Lau has been surrounded by herbs since infancy. His passion and respect for traditional Chinese medicine, as well as dedication to the advancement of traditional Chinese medicine, has led him to form enduring partnerships with farmers, wild-crafters, and processors who are committed to eco-friendly, sustainable practices to ensure the highest herbal quality, safety, traceability, and longevity. Mr. Lau currently serves as a board member of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and member of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for ISO/TC249 traditional Chinese medicine.

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Health E-Insights: What makes Nuherbs the leading Chinese herb supplier?
 
Mr. Lau: The Nuherbs difference is made possible by our enduring relationships with our partners whose values align with ours and are backed by rigorous testing to ensure that the herbs meet our demanding quality and safety standards. This has allowed us to scale and meet our customers’ demands, and be ahead of industry trends such as traceability and having the right systems in place to meet new regulatory requirements such as the Foreign Supplier Verification Program.  
 
Health E-Insights: Do you offer special services to your customers?
 
Mr. Lau: Yes, we offer two unique offerings. Supply-chain management for customers that have special requirements for the herbs they use, offering full transparency into their supply chain whether its seed-to-shelf or seed-to-extract. The other unique offering is Nuherbs Bespoke Extracts, where we do custom extracts as small as 50 kgs for ratio extracts, and the customer can choose the solvent, carriers, and other parameters of their herbal extract. It’s an excellent last-mile solution to get to organic product certification or clean label claims.
 
Health E-Insights: Should quality and safety still be a major concern about Chinese products?
 
Mr. Lau: Quality and safety should always be a major concern for food and supplement products, especially with the ensuing implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act. With this new regulatory paradigm, we are moving from a reactive to proactive framework, putting the onus squarely on the manufacturers to produce safe food and supplement products.  
 
Health E-Insights: What type of product testing do you utilize?
 
Mr. Lau: We have been proactively testing our herbs for pesticide residuals, heavy metals, micro-bacteria, and other quality indices. For our Nuherbs lab-tested herbs, if the herb is listed in the Chinese Pharmacoepia, we ensure that it meets the identity standards and active level requirements in it. This enables our customers more certainty through their qualification process, allowing for faster turnarounds, and allowing them to be ahead of their production schedules.
 
Health E-Insights: Is there a trend toward retail product manufacturers purchasing more Chinese herbs?
 
Mr. Lau: Yes. Because the sheer variety of Chinese herbs enables formulators and R&D departments to find the herb that they need to be on trend, whether it be a super fruit, adaptogen, or an antioxidant. Furthermore, we will be launching R&D services for extracts, including the ability to produce pilot batches.
 
Health E-Insights: What does the future hold for Chinese herbs in the supplement industry?
 
Mr. Lau: I think Chinese herbs will be a major part of the supplement industry because of the sheer diversity and availability of Chinese herbs. The challenging task for retail products manufacturers is how to use Chinese herbs in their formulations, while keeping aligned with their values, whether that be transparency, organics, or other certifications or systems. That is where having a partner like Nuherbs becomes valuable because we can provide materials that meet high quality and certification needs to help keep the brand and product promises.
 
Health E-Insights: What are the most popular herbs used in North America?
 
Mr. Lau: That’s a tough one. I think the most popular herbs in North America are the ones that cross over from supplements into foods, such as ginger, cinnamon, goji, and dandelion root.
 
Health E-Insights: Where will the most significant growth occur in your company in the next few years?
 
Mr. Lau: The most significant growth will occur in offering more supply chain work and custom extracts that are brand specific. We are focused on offering more value to our customers and their operations, so they can differentiate their products from the competition.
 
Health E-Insights: What are your proudest accomplishments in the past five years?
 
Mr. Lau: My friendships in this industry, learning more about sustainability through working with FairWild, and really positioning Nuherbs to grow with our partners by knowing where they are going based on trends and their needs. But, the number one accomplishment is bringing my parent’s vision about Chinese herbs to the forefront. This includes the quality, safety, and sustainability that they introduced 30-plus years ago and helping make that a reality. It feels great to be part of such a forward-thinking company.  
 
Sheldon Baker is CEO of the Baker Dillon Group LLC and has created numerous nutraceutical marketing communications and public relations campaigns for many well-known companies and brands. For Health E-Insights interview consideration or public relations consulting, contact him at SBaker@BakerDillon.com.