HP Ingredients Releases Third HerbTV Video
LJ100 Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) is the subject matter of the third educational documentary video in the American Botanical Council’s (ABC) Adopt-an-Herb (AaH) Video Program. Available now on the HerbTV YouTube channel, “Tongkat Ali: Maintaining Healthy Testosterone in Men and Women”, features commentary from experts in integrative medicine, academia, and the botanical sciences as they discuss the history, cultivation, traditional and modern uses, research, and processing of LJ100. Created through an educational grant from ABC Sponsor Member Biotropics Malaysia Berhad, the video provides the most current scientific and clinical information available to the HerbMedPro database. “Biotropics Malaysia is honored to support the American Botanical Council’s Adopt-an-Herb video on Tongkat Ali,” said Haliza Ramli, CEO of Biotropics Malaysia. “For over a decade, we’ve advanced the science and safety of Tongkat Ali, helping to establish its credibility in the U.S. and globally. We also work closely with Malaysia’s indigenous Orang Asli communities to support ethical harvesting practices and empower local livelihoods — a key pillar of our responsible sourcing approach in preserving the biodiversity in one of the oldest rainforests in the world.”
Mark Blumenthal, ABC Founder and Executive Director, expressed his gratitude for the video and its sponsor, “ABC is deeply grateful to have the much-appreciated support of Biotropics Malaysia to continue ABC’s ongoing nonprofit research and educational mission to educate through the video medium, using science-based and traditional information to promote increased awareness of the responsible uses of herbal medicines."
Mama Bird Celebrates Anniversary with Redesign
Mama Bird is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with the debut of its completely redesigned packaging. Featuring a bright, playful, and approachable clean label, the company has focused on creating instantly recognizable branding for families looking for brain-boosting vitamins at every stage of life. Representing the completion of the rebrand from Best Nest Wellness, the new product look still prominently displays the brand's whimsical bird design which reinforces the nurturing spirit behind the company.
Neurologist, mother, and brand creator Dr. Mike Gupta, spoke on the inspiration behind the company's name and its mission of providing highly absorbable, bioavailable nutrients—including methylated B vitamins that cross the blood-brain barrier to support focus, mood, and development, “The brain is the control center for development and well-being,” said Dr. Gupta. “We chose the name Mama Bird to represent the desire to protect and nurture families in a way that fosters their highest potential.”
Nutriearth Inaugurates Manufacturing Site in France
Nutriearth has opened its first commercial manufacturing site in Carvin, France. Following a €7.45 million fundraising round, the new facility will house the company's R&D, quality, and production operations under pharmaceutical-grade principles to guarantee exceptional quality, hygiene and traceability. The state-of-the-art facility follows strict cleanroom standards, with independent and physically separated production lines for Nutriearth’s two vitamin D3 product formats and has the capacity to service the human nutrition, health, petfood, animal feed, functional foods, and nutraceuticals markets across the world. The Carvin location will produce the company's natural vitamin D3 in both oil and powder forms and serve as a local manufacturer of sustainable vitamin D3 for European producers, reducing dependency on imports from China and India.
“With this new facility, Nutriearth broadens its reach and becomes a major actor in the European and global vitamin D3 market,” said Jeremy Burks, CEO of Nutriearth. “Our method delivers the world’s only natural, sustainable, and highly bioavailable vitamin D3, setting new standards for human nutrition and planetary health. The Carvin site has the capacity to cover the vitamin D3 needs of over 50 million people, supporting healthier lives throughout Europe and around the globe.”
Chomps Opens Second Plant in Nebraska
Meat snack brand, Chomps, is expanding its manufacturing capabilities with the opening of its second state-of-the-art plant. Located in Beatrice, Nebraska the new location was developed in collaboration with Landmark Snacks, a trusted co-manufacturing partner, and is a 160,000-square-foot site scheduled to open in Q2 2027. The site will add up to 150 million sticks in annual capacity, allowing the company to boost its annual production capacity by 15% and meet the continued market demand for protein-forward, on-the-go snacks.
"The explosive growth we’ve experienced makes increasing our capacity not just a goal, but an essential step to meet the continuous, high demand for Chomps," said Rashid Ali, Chomps co-founder and CEO. "This facility is a major strategic move that will allow us to scale with intention, supporting both sustained momentum and future innovation.”
CarbonFree and Univar Solutions Announce Partnership
Global solutions provider, Univar Solutions, has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to distribute CarbonFree's domestically produced calcium carbonate material derived from circular-sourced raw materials, endurocal. Univar Solutions customers will soon have direct access to food and pharmaceutical-grade calcium carbonate with superior brightness and whiteness. Derived from carbon dioxide and calcium captured from domestic industrial waste gases and co-products like steel slag, endurocal requires no mining and is more cost effective than imported emissions-intensive calcium carbonate for quality-sensitive markets.
The main terms of the LOI partnership include:
- Marketing and technical support such as customer consultations and custom formulations
- CabronFree will supply endurocal volumes sufficient to support market demands, with benefits across logistics, cost structure, and material traceability
“At Univar Solutions, sustainability lies at the heart of what we do,” explained Kelly Gilroy, Vice President of Commercial Sustainability for Univar Solutions. “We understand the growing urgency from our customers for solutions that not only meet their stringent performance standards but also align with their environmental goals. By working with CarbonFree to champion low carbon, circular, cutting-edge ingredients, we are not just responding to the demands of today but are paving the way for a greener tomorrow.”
BAPP Publishes Guidance on Ashwagandha Root & Root Extract Adulteration
The ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP) has published a Laboratory Guidance Document (LGD) on the authentication and detection of adulteration of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root and root extracts. Ashwagandha, the second most popular Ayurvedic herb in the U.S., has been used by consumers for many solutions including an adaptogen for stress and anxiety, sexual stamina, overall body strengthening, anti-inflammation, immune system support and ranks third in retail sales in the Mainstream Channel (drugstores, supermarkets, etc.) and fifth in the Natural Channel in 2024, with more than $165 million in combined sales. Authored by La Lal Hinorani, Ph.D., Ganesh Saste, MSc, Mayur Nandikar, Ph.D., and Vallabh Mulay, Ph.D. from Pharmanza Pvt. Ltd. (Anand, Gujarat, India), with help from Sonya Cropper of Verdure Sciences (Noblesville, Indiana) and Stefan Gafner, Chief Science Officer of the nonprofit American Botanical Council (ABC), the BAPP Ashwagandha LGD details the chemical composition of ashwagandha and potentially confounding materials, including the roots of unrelated plants such as mucuna (Mucuna pruriens) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum).
Peer-reviewed by 20 experts in quality control of medicinal plants from non-profit organizations, contract analytical laboratories, and the herb industry in the United States and internationally, the LGD highlights the suitability and limitations of 22 different laboratory analytical methods published in the scientific literature for authenticating ashwagandha root and detecting adulteration. The ashwagandha root and root extract LGD is BAPP’s 17th Laboratory Guidance Document and the program’s 98th peer-reviewed publication.
Gafner explained the intention behind the reports release, “Ashwagandha has become one of the most popular ingredients in botanical dietary supplements. An especially rapid increase in sales was observed in the later months of the Covid-19 pandemic, when many consumers used ashwagandha to help them adapt to the stressful situations that the pandemic created. At that time, the production could no longer keep up with the demand, which led to an increase in the marketing of mislabeled and adulterated ingredients. Unfortunately, this misbranding and adulteration persisted, and we hope that this new BAPP LGD can help companies detect low-quality and adulterated ingredients before they are purchased to be used – and deceptively labeled as “root” in consumer products.”
A full version of the report is available here.
Felicia Opens First North American Plant
Better-for-you pasta brand, Felicia, has officially opened its first North American production plant in London, Ontario. With an investment of $55 million CAD, the 61,225 square-foot Canadian plant allows Andriani S.p.A. Benefit Corporation (owners of the Felicia brand) to enhance their production capacity, create new jobs for the local area, support Canadian suppliers and partners, and strengthen the company's international growth trajectory. The new facility was inaugurated on October 22nd with the "Roots & Routes" ribbon cutting ceremony. Stakeholders, dignitaries, media, and members of the community, were given an exclusive guided tour of the new site.
"The opening of our first production facility in North America is not just a business milestone, but a crucial step in our journey as a Benefit Corporation," says Michele Andriani, President and CEO of Andriani S.p.A Benefit Corporation. "Here in London, Ontario, we found the ideal environment to root our values and advance our global vision. This facility is the result of shared trust and collective passion, made possible by all those who believed in our project. At the heart of this achievement are institutions, partners, clients, and collaborators, to whom I extend my deepest gratitude. This moment marks the beginning of a new chapter in our story, one that celebrates the international ambition of the Italian supply chain as a driving force in the food transition, the transformative power of food innovation, and the cultural bridges we continue to build. This new facility allows us to bring our mission to life in North America, generating positive impact through responsible innovation that promotes health, sustainability, and well-being.”
JAMBAR Expands Retail and Distribution Partnerships
Fans of the organic energy bar company, JAMBAR, can now purchase their favorite products at over 200 new retail stores across the country. The nutrient-rich, certified organic, whole-food ingredient protein and energy bars will now be stocked at:
- Jewel-Osco: 82 supermarket locations throughout the greater Chicago area
- Shaw’s: 90 supermarkets across New England
- MOM’s Organic Market: Serving the Mid-Atlantic region with 27 stores focused on organic and climate-friendly foods
- Buehler’s Fresh Foods: 15 employee-owned locations across Ohio
The expansion of the brand's distribution network includes new key partnerships with Palko (Indiana), Quality Foods Distributing (Montana and the Northern Rockies), and KeHE Distribution Centers in Aurora, Colorado, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "We’re thrilled to see JAMBAR reaching more communities across the country,” said Jennifer Maxwell, founder and CEO of JAMBAR. “From the California coast to New England, our mission has always been to make clean, convenient, organic nutrition accessible to people who care about what they eat, how they move, and how they give back. Each new retail partnership helps us share that mission and continue fueling active, vibrant lives.”
