Gaia launches flavor-masked turmeric supplements that can be added to both savory and sweet foods

14-May-2015 - Last updated on 15-May-2015 at 15:48 GMT

Gaia sources much of the turmeric it uses from its own fields in Costa Rica

Turmeric is a spice used in food, and its active constiuents, curcuminoids, are featured in supplements. A new product launch from Gaia Herbs seeks to straddle that divide, with powdered turmeric supplements standardized for curcumin content that can be added to foods and beverages.

Todd King, vice president of marketing for Gaia, said the new offerings build on the previous success Gaia has had with the botanical.

“We have an existing a line of turmeric products that are the fastest growing segment of the turmeric market, which itself is in a very rapid state of growth,” King told NutraIngredients-USA.

“People are learning the benefits of turmeric, not just from a culinary standpoint but as an ingredient that can support their overall health,” he said.

Flavor masking

But it is Gaia founder Ric Scalzo’s interest in things culinary that led to the new line of products, King said. Scalzo helped direct the blending of the new formulations that effectively mask the bitter, astringent taste of turmeric, which is welcome in curries but might be offputting on cereal or in yogurt. The new formulas are called TumericBoost: Restore and TumericBoost: Uplift and feature ingredients in addition to turmeric such as allspice, cinnamon and vanilla to make a mild tasting powdered supplmement that can be added to smoothies or foods, King said.

The products are based on Gaia’s blend of turmeric root powder, turmeric root extract and black pepper extract to enhance the bioavailability of these hard-to-absorb ingredients. The Restore blend also features a prebiotic blend that includes fructooligosaccharides.

Enhanced traceability

The new product launch also gives Gaia a platform to tout its expanded traceability program, King said. The company offeres a way for consumers to trace the origin via lot numbers of the ingredients used in the product they bought. In the case of amny of Gaia’s products, the raw material comes from Gaia’s own farm in Asheville, NC. Gaia sources its turmeric from fields it cultivates in Costa Rica, but the demand is such that turmeric from other sources is needed, too, King said.

King said that Gaia’s commitment to transparency is one of the things that keeps customers coming back. The company’s website, called meetyourherbs.com, shares not just sourcing information, but has details about its producton processes too, he said.

“The biggest piece of this website that is new is we have opened our process. We have details about all of the testing we do. If a lot doesn’t meet our specifications it is trashed,” he said.

“For the good of thw whole industry we have done a lot of things that other companies don’t do. Most companies wouldn’t put all of their proprietary information for public view on a website.

“Our founder’s vision is if you are completely transparent in how you do things you are so much better off than if you are trying to put a marketing spin on things. It’s what we hope everyone in the industry will do. I can’t think of another industry outside of the natural products industry that is doing this. Maybe Patagonia,” King said.