Herb businesses: get big or get out???

Hi VH!

You are right, it is a very important topic and a very complex one. The most important thing is not to be discouraged. My impression is that most herbalists take their work seriously and are willing to make the best efforts to protect their customers and run their business with integrity. 

The GMP standards are tough to live up to. Make sure you study them accurately and speak to larger companies in your area about how they have managed getting up to speed with the new laws. 

I know people don't want to talk about it too much. Fear comes up. But my hope is that we can deal with it reasonably and together as a community so that in the future we can all come together and provide a unified understanding of our practices and where/why/how we set our standards. That way, leaders in our community can advocate for changes in policy based on what's true and reasonable.

Thanks for posting your question. Please keep asking. I would suggest companies such as The Herbalist in Seattle (they have a poppy swap store) or Red Moon Herbs in NC. They are mid-size companies who have to be in compliance and are run by lovely people who I am sure would love to help. I think Red Moon has some info on their website as well.....

Good luck!

Hi MF!

We have a link here in our Terms and Conditions area of the site.

Thank you VioletHerbs for bringing up this subject.  This is why I came to PoppySwap...because I was looking for more information on how to grown my business.  Part of this growth for me involves learning how I can legally run my business because I have a lot of business plans for the future.  I wish more business owners responded to this post because it's so important!  Admittedly I didn't think too much about the legalities when I first started but now after learning more about business I feel that it is important.

I contacted a herb business that manufactures their products close to where I live and was pretty much told that I needed to sell someone else's products and that I couldn't have a home based business.  i was really discouraged and that was why I turned to PoppySwap and other Herbal community websites to get some help.  Unfortunately I haven't gotten a lot of information this way either and find it really disappointing that we aren't talking about this. 

One of my big issues has been labeling my products.  At first I just put whatever not knowing really what i should be doing but now understand that the FDA does have labeling regulations that I should be following.  From my understanding, any product that is to be applied to the skin and is external use is considered a "cosmetic" and the FDA has a whole section on their website about labeling for cosmetics. 

For internal products (tinctures, extracts, syrups...etc..) these need to be labeled according to the FDA regulations for dietary supplements.  included should be the words, "dietary supplement", as well as nutrition facts, and a FDA disclaimer...among the basic label information. 

In addition to labeling, the whole GMP's seems daunting for me.  I get my herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs and have been told by others that we can get the analysis certifications from the companies we purchase herbs from.   Keep track of batches and having a numerical system to track all of this is another step in creating Good Manufacturing Practices that I feel are reasonable things I can do in my business.  As far as testing the final batches - that's another story and one in which I don't know how a small home based business owner can afford. 

Please share your insights, comments concerns ladies.  This is a wonderful community that has much to offer and I wholeheartedly agree with everything VioletHerbs has talked about and hope you'll speak up on this important issue!!