WhiteDove Herbals banks on growing herbal market

HYGIENE – When John Hay, president and chief executive officer of Hygiene-based WhiteDove Herbals, helped found Celestial Seasonings in 1971, “no one in the country knew what an herb was.”

Today, half of all Americans use herbs for medicinal purposes and have turned the herbal product market into a $4 billion business, according to the Maryland-based American Herbal Products Association. WhiteDove Herbals is banking on that.

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After helping his friend’s tincture company – Homegrown Herbals – Hay was asked to give it a face-lift “to bring their products to a new level.”

By January 2006 Hay brought in 25 investors who raised $1 million. He merged the 12-year-old Homegrown Herbals into WhiteDove Herbals and added new packaging, products, marketing strategy and a Web site – whitedoveherbals.com. The company retained 10 of its original employees – including master herbalist Linda Whitedove – and added Hay’s son, Peter, as vice president of operations. WhiteDove is raising $10 million from private equity pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms.

“Not many companies (are) doing what we’re doing – there’s lots of interest,” Hay said.

As founder or co-founder of several companies – Rudi’s Organic Bakery, Alfalfa’s, Celestial Seasonings and Cell Technology – Hays has solid business experience in the natural products field.

“My goal is to add herbs to mainstream products at a reasonable price,” he said. “Herbs have been used since the beginning of time. Billions of people have used them over thousands of years with great results.”

PowerBite, WhiteDove’s flagship product, is a sugarless chewing gum with Xylitol, which kills bacteria in the mouth and prevents tooth decay. The cost is $3.79 for 48 pieces. “We estimate that if PowerBite gets 1 percent of the chewing gum market it’s worth $20 million,” Hay said.

WhiteDove’s single-dose, liquid elixirs help with sinus, cough, energy and allergies. They retail at $13.69 for a box of 12.

“From a medicinal herb perspective, liquid form is the best way to take herbs. I think it’s an ingenious way of packaging a single dose. Currently herbs are sold in bottles and tinctures that you have to measure – this is more convenient,´ said Paul Bergner, director of Boulder’s North American Institute of Medical Herbalism.

Naturight, WhiteDove’s newest product, is the first natural antacid made with healing herbs and calcium to fight indigestion and acid reflux, according to Hay.

“The antacid business is twice as big as the entire organic food business – $18 billion wholesale.

Approximately 30 percent of the population takes antacids,” Hay said. “Just a half percent of the antacid market is $70 million. Sixty percent of all antacids are sold in drugstores and grocery stores.”

The company has plans to place its products in CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Costco and Wal-Mart in addition to its current retailers: Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage, King Soopers, the University of Colorado and Manhattan bodegas. It also partners with Rocky Mountain Herbals to sell its goods online.

“They’ve taken their products beyond regional and local. They have potential to be standby products,” Bergner said. “Herbal products are much better than taking over-the-counter medicines, which can be addictive and destructive.”

According to FDA regulations, herbal product manufacturers cannot make claims on their packaging or in advertising as to what the herbs treat. This is one of WhiteDove’s biggest challenges.

“We’re taking our herbal remedies to regulated clinical trials to get FDA approvals,” Hay said, even though he doesn’t want to see herbs turned into drugs. “We’re hoping to offer remedies and treatments without having the cost of prescriptions and doctor visits.”

Since Hispanics are the largest minority community, WhiteDove’s packaging is in Spanish and English. “Hispanic culture is centered around herbs. It opens up the entire Western Hemisphere (for sales).”

WhiteDove’s five-year growth projection is $200 million in sales, Peter Hay said. The company will also add up to 400 employees. “Our challenge is dealing with growth. We’re moving a mile a minute here. We’re processing more herbs and production loads, and we’re running out of space.”

To remedy that situation, Peter said the company has been searching for a new location during the past eight months. “We’ll be moving by winter – most likely to Gunbarrel.”