Om Organics distributes India-grown tea from Boulder

BOULDER — If there’s any doubt that Boulder is cutting edge in terms of natural foods products, here is another point for the defense.

Boulder is home to Om Organics, the sole U.S. distributor of Tulsi tea, an ayurvedic herb that is billed as a stress reliever and adaptogen.

The term adaptogen is used by herbalists to describe a treatment that could help the body adapt to stresses of various kinds, from temperature extremes to psychological stress.

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Tulsi tea is relatively little known in this country, but it has been revered for thousands of years in India, where it is used for colds, fevers and various ailments.

“It’s an herb that promotes overall health, vigor and well-being,” said Tom Newmark, president of New Chapter, a dietary supplement company based in Brattleboro, Vt. “People wouldn’t worship it and grow it in their own homes if it wasn’t giving them benefits.”

In 1997 IITC Organic India Pvt. Ltd. was founded in India, with Tulsi tea as its flagship product. Organic India has more than 10,000 acres under contract farming agreements in India and produces a range of certified organic foods, spices, teas and herbs.

Organic India formed Om Organics in 2001 to distribute Organic India’s line of teas and herbal supplements in the United States. Its staff of five full-time and four part-time workers in Boulder market and distribute the products it from a 6,000-square-foot warehouse.

Om Organics distributes six Tulsi teas and nine herbal supplements to approximately 300 natural foods stores across the country, and just recently closed a deal with Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market Inc. for distribution on the East Coast.

In Boulder, the Organic India line is sold at Pharmaca, Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage and the Boulder Co-operative Market.

Om Organics’ roots go back to the early 1990s in Lucknow, India, the capital of Uttar Pradesh and approximately 250 miles from Delhi. Lucknow was the home of H. W. L. Poonja, a spiritual teacher known as Papaji, who attracted followers from all over the world.

Prashanti de Jaeger, a Papaji devotee who is Om Organic’s director of Vedic research and education, was the originator of the line of herbal supplements Organic India that bought in 2001.
In 1995 an Israeli student of Papaji, Bharat Mitra, formed the company Indo Israel Trading Corp., which specialized in imports and exports between India and Israel.

Along came Holly Hoffman, the daughter of Edgar Bronfman Sr., whose family founded liquor conglomerate Seagram. Hoffman went to India in 1996, and she decided to invest money in the Indo Israel Trading Corp. in the late 1990s and changed its direction to the production and distribution of organic-certified herbal teas and supplements. Hoffman is one of the directors of Organic India and Om Organics.
“We have created a unique business model, a company whose priority is consciousness and awareness, whose growth and success is only possible if all elements of the company succeed – the earth, the farmers, the workers, the associate partners and the customers,” Hoffman wrote in an e-mail from India.

Jack Ruane, a member of Om Organics’ board of directors and its former chief executive, estimates that Organic India put at least $1 million into the startup of Om Organics, most of which has been spent on marketing.

“Sales are under a million, but we aim to break over a million in the next two years,” Ruane said.
Part of the difficulty of marketing an unfamiliar herb like Tulsi is that people need to be educated about it. That can be as simple as giving them a taste. Whole Foods in Boulder provided free tastes to shoppers during December.

“The Tulsi teas have gained a consistent following because people have discovered how soothing it is,” said Mary Kennedy, a Whole Foods assistant team leader.

In June 2004, Om Organics and Organic India expanded production to become an herbal supplier to pharmaceutical companies. At the same time, they incorporated a new drying technology used for both herbs and fruits. This fall Om Organics will start distributing dried mangos and papayas and continue to market its herb and tea lines nationwide.

“Our intention is to at least generate $25 million in annual revenue,” Ruane said.
Trinity Rizzi, Om Organic’s national sales and education director, said that through market-driven conservation everyone can effect change.

“We the people have a great capacity to create more beauty and sustainability simply by knowing the sources and the resources of what we are buying.”

Om Organics
3245 Prairie Ave., Suite A
Boulder, CO 80301
(720) 406-3940
www.omorganics.com