Featured Articles about WhiteDove Herbals

WhiteDove Herbals Banks On Growing Herbal Market
By Hilary Lane
Featured in Boulder County Business Report

October 26, 2007 --

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.

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."

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WhiteDove Herbals Launches Naturight™, an OTC Natural Antacid with Calcium and Herbs

Provides instant relief and prevents acid rebound with long-term GI health benefits.

Boulder, Colorado (PRWEB) October 18, 2007 -- For anyone who suffers from heartburn, immediate symptom relief is essential; for chronic sufferers, the problem can go far beyond temporary discomfort to a host of severe health issues. Boulder, Colorado-based WhiteDove Herbals (www.whitedoveherbals.com), formulators of highly effective, all natural herbaceutical wellness products, is pleased to announce Naturight™ Natural Antacid with Calcium and Herbs. Naturight is the first Over-The-Counter (OTC) all natural antacid with calcium and herbs, featuring a certified drug facts panel, for the treatment of acid reflux, acid indigestion, heartburn, sour stomach and stomach upset due to hyperacidity. This quick-dissolving, great-tasting chewable antacid provides a safe, effective and gentle way to treat acid-related symptoms, combining fast-acting relief with long-term healing benefits essential for overall good digestive health. Says WhiteDove founder and CEO, John Hay: “We designed Naturight to liberate people from acid-related symptoms without disrupting normal digestive function. What makes Naturight truly unique is its ability to treat acid indigestion and prevent the acid rebound effect that commonly occurs with antacids and other prescription and OTC acid blockers.”

The Naturight Difference
Naturight works differently from conventional OTC and prescription heartburn treatments by going beyond symptom relief to addressing the problem’s source. A small valve, known as the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES), is located at the bottom of the esophagus as it enters the stomach. This valve opens each time we eat to allow food to pass into the stomach, and then closes to prevent stomach acid and bile salts from backing up into the esophagus. If the valve relaxes abnormally, malfunctions or becomes weakened, stomach acid can back up, or “reflux”, into the esophagus, causing heartburn symptoms to occur; heartburn that occurs frequently is commonly known as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD, and can eventually lead to more serious health problems.

We designed Naturight to liberate people from acid-related symptoms without disrupting normal digestive function. What makes Naturight truly unique is its ability to treat acid indigestion and prevent the acid rebound effect that commonly occurs with antacids and other prescription and OTC acid blockers.

Feel Better Naturally
Naturight uses acid neutralizing minerals including calcium carbonate and magnesium glycinate to quickly and gently eliminate just enough stomach acid at the LES valve to provide immediate relief, while allowing normal and healthy acid levels to remain. Over time, Naturight’s specially formulated, proprietary blend works to reduce tissue inflammation, protect and soothe the mucous membranes of the stomach, reduce excess acidity, ease nausea and promote healthy tone and peristalsis of the entire digestive tract. When Naturight is used to treat heartburn symptoms, damage to tissue caused by acid exposure is repaired, the LES is strengthened and valve function is improved, preventing further acid reflux. Since Naturight does not completely prevent or neutralize stomach acid, the common problem of acid rebound production, or the surge of gastric acid that occurs after a period of time when stomach pH is not acidic, does not occur once use is discontinued.

Healthy Digestion Protects Good Health
Naturight represents a departure from acid blockers, known as Proton Pump Inhibitors or PPIs (Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid) and H2 Blockers (Tagamet, Pepcid AC, Zantac), which eliminate or shut down stomach acid production, and from conventional antacids (Tums, Rolaids) that can neutralize all acid present in the stomach. Naturight only eliminates the excess stomach acid, leaving enough acid present to allow for proper digestion, nutrient absorption and the elimination of harmful bacteria that are commonly ingested with food. Certain levels of acid are essential in order for the stomach to digest proteins and to eliminate bad bacteria and allow good bacteria to thrive. Good bacteria aids in producing immune-boosting antibodies that provide a powerful defense against everything from minor stomach ailments to a host of serious and degenerative illnesses.

Safe, Effective and Gentle
Research shows that prolonged use of conventional antacids and acid blockers may contribute to severe secondary illnesses including colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), leaky gut syndrome, Barrett’s Esophagus, polyps, some cancers, and more. And while these treatments may not be intended for long-term use (some are recommended for periods no longer than 14 days), many people stay on them for long periods of time to hold off the acid rebound effect that they cause. Naturight can be used to mitigate the acid rebound effect that is often associated with discontinuing use of antacids, H2 blockers and PPIs. Naturight can be used for instant relief or as long as needed to restore LES function, to heal damaged tissues and to improve overall health of the entire digestive system.

Naturight has a suggested retail price of $6.99 per 12-count box. Naturight’s quick-dissolving formula leaves no chalky residue and comes in a great-tasting Cherry flavor that provides a pleasant, highly palatable taste. For more information about Naturight Natural Antacid or WhiteDove Herbals, please contact Launch Marketing at 303-444-5820 or via email at launchmarketing @ msn.com. Additional information can be found at www.whitedoveherbals.com.

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Celestial Seasonings Veteran Helms Alternative Medicine Company
by Karen Mitchell
Featured in ColoraodBiz

In business, as in life, there’s a time to start something new and a time to say goodbye. Boulder entrepreneur John Hay is attuned to the rhythms of the cycle.

Hay, 61, has been a founder or key executive for some of Colorado’s most recognizable names including Celestial Seasonings, Alfalfa’s Natural Foods, Rudi’s Organic Bakery and Cell Technology.

Comes now his latest enterprise, WhiteDove Herbals, a hygiene company with 10 employees and a commitment to create herbal alternatives to everyday medicines. Its new product line features herbal gum, antacid and elixirs for treating common ailments.

WhiteDove, named for its spiritual context — and the last name of the company’s head herbalist, Linda Whitedove was established in 2006 with a few hundred thousand dollars in capital and a merging with Homegrown Herbals, a tincture company owned by a friend. The decision brought back Hay’s passion for the healing side of herbs that had excited him when he came to Colorado from New York in 1970.

"WhiteDove is in the right place at the right time, with so many baby boomers out there looking for alternatives to expensive prescription drugs that often have side effects," Hay says. "I’ve raised about $1 million to date, and we have 25 investors."

Hay expects WhiteDove to realize about a half million dollars in sales this year.

"It takes a couple of years to snowball, and we plan to be a $50 million company in the next five years," he says. "That’s still less than one-tenth of a percent of the antacid arena, a quarter percent of the gum market and between 5 and 10 percent of the herbal extract market."

The company’s first mass-market offering, PowerBite, with an all-natural sweetener Xylitol, already is available in local markets and coffee shops and has a coveted American Dental Association recommendation, with dentists as a targeted market. Naturight, the over-the-counter herbal antacid, is just coming onto the market and has virtually no competition, Hay says.

An added reward for the WhiteDove CEO is that his son, 26-year-old Peter Hay, manages operations at the company.

"The impetus for me is to do things for my children," John Hay says. "I’m planning to stay at WhiteDove for at least five years, growing it to a decent size."

An entrepreneur does not always have the best long-term managerial mentality, he says.
"Success for me is in being able to recognize a need from the humanitarian view and being smart about how to start something so cash flow works from the beginning," Hay says. "When you’re small, doubling in size is tricky. A good entrepreneur can start something from nothing."

Longtime fellow entrepreneur Steve McIntosh, president of Boulder-based Now & Zen Inc., notes two qualities that lead Hay to success.

"John cares, but he doesn’t worry excessively," McIntosh says. "He has a way of being sanguine that insulates him from the wear and tear of startups. He also has tremendous self-confidence, unhindered by a big ego, so he can be what I call ‘disarmingly charming’ as
he asks the most pointed questions. He’s able to gather information with a high level of
efficiency."

For Hay, who is a pastoral care minister at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Boulder and visits hospital patients, his belief in God is what centers him in his personal life and informs the way in which he conducts business.

"Many times you have to take risks in starting a new business," Hay says. "You have to have faith — but not blind faith — that you will do the best you can, then give it up, and hope you did the right thing."

Hay, whose family tree includes the founders of Coca-Cola and General Motors, says the apple may not have fallen far from the tree.

"Celestial (Seasonings) was the Coke of my generation, and now I’m suggesting that we look at the real value of herbs and how we can treat ourselves more gently," he says. "The product has shifted, but the principles are the same: good packaging, good marketing and good taste. It’s an important formula."

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Julie Matter
Launch Marketing
Tel. 303-494-4080
luanchmarketing@msn.com

WhiteDove Herbals and Rocky Mountain Herbals Partner to Launch Herbalcast.org

April 2nd, 2007, Boulder, Colorado: WhiteDove Herbals, formulator and manufacturer of high quality, efficacious, organic and wild-crafted herbal wellness products and Rocky Mountain Herbals, an online purveyor of fine herbal products, have recently partnered to launch Herbalcast.org, a podcast dedicated to everything herbal. The free weekly podcast features a wide variety of topics related to herbs, herbal products and herbal wellness practices. Listeners can subscribe to the podcast through the Herbalcast.org website, or through iTunes by using the keyword search.

Hosted by Keely Cormier, each Herbalcast will feature a guest speaker who will discuss an herbal topic through a question-and-answer format. The inaugural podcast features John D. Hay, founder and CEO of WhiteDove Herbals and an original co-founder of the venerated herbal tea company, Celestial Seasonings. In this podcast, Hay discusses the proven dental benefits of Xylitol, a therapeutic and all-natural sweetener recommended by the American Dental Association to prevent cavities, stop harmful bacterial growth and inhibit plaque build-up, thus promoting a cleaner, healthier mouth. Studies using Xylitol have demonstrated a dramatic reduction in new tooth decay, along with potential termination and even reversal of existing dental caries.

WhiteDove Herbals recently launched PowerBite, a new line of herbal chewing gum that is 100% sweetened with Xylitol. Available in three long-lasting flavors, including Peppermint, Cinnamon and Wintergreen, PowerBite will soon be in stores nationwide, and is currently available at www.rockymountainherbals.com

For more information on the herbal podcasts, or to hear a podcast, please visit www.herbalcast.org. Additional information on WhiteDove Herbals and PowerBite Gum can be found at www.whitedoveherbals.com.

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