Boulder teamaker brews strong partnership in India

BOULDER — Ken Vickerstaff takes a David and Goliath approach to business. Bigger, he asserts, isn’t necessarily better.

“It takes a true entrepreneurial spirit to put a hand in the air and say, ‘Hey, guys, there’s a better way,'” says Vickerstaff, chief executive of Boulder-based teamaker Organic India.

By better he means more sustainable – both economically and agriculturally. The biblical analogy is especially apt since David, the proverbial little guy, is a shepherd who takes care of his flock. The Goliath in this story represents those forces that have traditionally governed agribusiness.

A veteran of the natural foods industry, Vickerstaff took on Gerber with Earth’s Best Organic Baby Foods and the dairy industry during his years at White Wave. Now he’s taking on giants like Celestial Seasonings and Yogi Tea in the specialty tea category, Metamucil with Organic India’s Fiber Harmony, and conventional vitamin companies like Centrum with the company’s Ayurvedic supplement blends.

Specialty teas are beverages made from brewed teas and sometimes herbal teas that contain natural flavorings and/or other product enhancements. The natural and organics industry will top $50 billion in the next two years, and demand for specialty tea – along with the company’s other product lines – piggybacks on the growing consumer trends in health and wellness, including a focus on plants that rate high in antioxidants like goji berries and green tea.

The company recently launched 18 varieties in the specialty tea category. Some of the exotic pairings include Red Chai Masala, Pomegranate Green and Sweet Rose. The combinations were invented by Caroline MacDougall, Organic India’s tea blender who is known for her work at Celestial Seasonings.

With the aid of private investors the company undertook a soft launch of its tea product line that began three years ago. It built its agricultural infrastructure and distribution networks in that time period. Vickerstaff declined to reveal startup costs or company revenues.

The bulk of the tea’s ingredients are grown on family and cooperative farms in India. All 18 varieties contain Tulsi, a primary Ayurvedic herb called “Holy Basil” in India, which is considered both stress relieving and energizing by its proponents. Also called the “Queen of Herbs,” Tulsi has been revered for its health-promoting value for 5,000 years.

Ayurvedic medicine is considered an alternative medicine in the U.S. and is the traditional medicine of India. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 70 percent of India’s population lives in rural areas, and about two-thirds of rural people use Ayurvedic medicine. Tulsi is used in nearly every household kitchen in those locations where Organic India has farms, according to Vickerstaff, who has spent time in the region.

The company’s demand for Tulsi cultivation has brought more than jobs to rural communities. The company’s relationship with farmers, Vickerstaff claims, “make fair trade look like a nursery rhyme,” because the company not only provides its farmers a “true and just living wage” but also has invested tremendous amounts of capital in certifying the company’s farmers. To earn organic certification the farmers have required education, economic assistance and manure-producing animals. Some farms needed wells, and Organic India continues to provide ongoing information on crop rotation, integrated pest management, composting and other organic farming techniques.

Organic India faced educational hurdles along the way. Convincing farmers that converting to organic would pay off in time proved especially difficult.

“They didn’t know why they shouldn’t grow sugarcane instead,” explains Vickerstaff. Sugarcane is a traditional cash crop in India known for its intensive pesticide needs.

The company chose to cultivate crops in India because – from a social and environmental conscience perspective – it made sense to establish a foothold in a Third World country with enormous agricultural resources. As the second-most populated country after China, “where India leads the world will follow,” Vickerstaff asserts.

“About 17,000 farmers commit suicide every year because they can’t pay their debts,” claims Vickerstaff, underscoring the tremendous abundance and staggering poverty that continue as India’s frustrating dichotomy.

The faces of Organic India’s farmers are featured on the company’s tea packages. Kailash Nath Singh appears on boxes of green tea. The company’s first organic Tulsi cultivator, Singh lives in the village of Asamgarh in Northern India.

He’s taken on a leadership role in convincing other farmers in the territory to convert to organic practices. The company’s advertising campaign featuring full-page color ads in various print media including Living Well and the Yoga Journal tell Singh’s story and the stories of other individual farmers who have impacted the company as much as Organic India has influenced their lives.

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