Committed to purity, potency and transparency, the company is actively working to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy, balancing profit and purpose.

Number of Employees: 287

Company Description/Mission:

Founded in 1987, Gaia Herbs began with seven elixirs intended for specific purposes such as rejuvenation, digestion, and stress. As interest continued to grow in natural medicine, Gaia Herbs grew along with it. In 1992, farming operations began in the Boston suburbs; by 1996 operations had outgrown this farm and were moved to Brevard, NC, chosen for the rich soil and natural spring creek at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where Gaia Herbs continues production and manufacturing today.

With a commitment to purity, potency, and transparency, Gaia Herbs’ traceability tool, Meet Your Herbs, enables healthcare practitioners and consumers to see “what’s in the bottle” from ingredients to testing protocols completed at the company’s ISO-certified lab.

2022 marked 35 years since Ric Scalzo founded Gaia Herbs, an herbal industry leader rooted in quality, transparency, and environmental stewardship.

Gaia Herbs has been a Certified B Corp since 2018, meeting a high bar for transparency and social and environmental accountability through the non-profit B Lab.

In 2022, Gaia Herbs became a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), a legal entity that bakes into its certificate of incorporation its specific “Public Benefit” and requires companies to report on progress and metrics to shareholders every two years. “Converting our legal structure to a Public Benefit Corporation ensures our mission is locked and goes one step further to show accountability to all stakeholders,” the company said.

Gaia Herbs’ specific public benefit is “improving human health and well-being through natural products produced using sustainable and ethical methods.”

“I joined Gaia Herbs with a commitment to quality and the company’s legacy of innovation at the front of my mind,” said Jim Geikie, who was appointed CEO in 2021. “Gaia Herbs has root strengths in agriculture, manufacturing, quality and compliance, which we continue to advance as the foundation of our company.”

“At Gaia Herbs, we are continuously looking for new ways to serve consumers, while ensuring all our supplements are held to the highest purity and potency standards,” he continued. “We are proud to offer the world’s first traceability platform, Meet Your Herbs, and continue to invest in educational tools to help practitioners and consumers learn about ‘what’s in the bottle’ and how our products are ‘Made to a Gaia Standard.’ Beyond consumers, we take pride in the community we work in and seek to raise the bar on environmental sustainability and corporate citizenship as an employer and member of our western North Carolina community.”

Social & Environmental Impact

In 2022, the Gaia Herbs farm achieved the Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) standard at the silver level by the Regenerative Organic Alliance based on its commitment to environmental farming practices as well as farm worker treatment. The company hopes to achieve the ROC gold standard by 2025.

“Our commitment to fight climate change is at the heart of everything we do,” the company said in a statement. “Regenerative agriculture is the single most important thing we can do to not only stop climate change, but also reverse climate change by trapping carbon in the soil. We are also actively engaged in state and federal policy to push for a just transition to renewable energy.”

Gaia Herbs is also a Blue Zones Certified Worksite, a designation that recognizes the company’s efforts in promoting healthy and sustainable lifestyles within its workforce and the greater community.

“In communities where Blue Zones principles are practiced, it has been shown to have life longevity much higher than most of the world. And we have continued to innovate across our business from advances in sustainable packaging and our climate action plan to herbal access programs,” the company said.

In its 2023 Social & Environmental Impact Report, Alison Czeczuga, director of social impact and sustainability, wrote: “After 35 years, we are committed more than ever to realizing our mission and focusing on our impact triad of Personal Wellbeing, Planetary Health, & Responsible Business Operations.

“We depend on the natural environment to produce our products,” she continued. “We are keenly aware that we cannot have healthy people on a sick planet. That is why we strive towards environmental regeneration in everything we do. As a Public Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corp, we operate our business with all stakeholders in mind, including our employees, the community, our suppliers, the environment—not just shareholders. We make decisions holistically, prioritizing people and planet above profit.”

Gaia Herbs has spent two years of research, permitting, and consultations to develop and implement a plan for an onsite composting technology that will account for 70-80% of its waste stream, turning herbal “waste”—spent material (called marc) that is left over after the extraction process—into high-quality, organic compost that can be utilized on the Gaia Herbs farm.

The company also recently added 27 certified ethically traded ingredients, bringing its total to 35, including ingredients that are certified ROC, FairWild, and Fair for Life.

Gaia Herbs also became a certified partner and brand holder for FairWild, and is currently in the process of being audited to be Fair for Life certified. “These certifications ensure that both a fair price is being paid for certain ingredients, as well as the ecosystem for which they are grown in is being managed in a way that will ensure the future of the herb trade,” the company said.

FDA Invite and First ‘Wellness Ambassador’

In August, Gaia Herbs issued an open invitation to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to inspect and evaluate the company’s practices and products, in a marketing campaign designed to highlight the company’s product integrity and transparency.

The campaign will launch with a full page ad in the New York Times, followed by organic and paid social content featuring the Gaia Herbs farm, onsite laboratories, and its manufacturing facility.

“Our research shows that consumers are confused about how to assess product quality and think that all herbal supplements are essentially created equal. This is simply not true,” said Geikie. “For 35 years, Gaia Herbs has valued transparency and welcomed scrutiny of our rigorous processes and intentional methods. This invitation to the FDA dramatizes that commitment and helps to inspire consumer confidence and trust. We salute the FDA for their vital regulatory role as we do other industry watch-dogs who exist to protect our consumers.”

In September Gaia Herbs partnered with philanthropist, author, and world renowned supermodel Gisele Bündchen as the company’s first “Wellness Ambassador.”