Gaia Herbs emerges resilient after Hurricane Helene

Gaia Herbs, which operates its Mills River distribution and production facility south of Asheville and a 350-acre farm in Brevard County, escaped relatively unscathed and has already begun to emerge from a deluge that brought flash floods, landslides, road closures, power outages and water system disruptions to the region.

“First and most importantly, I am relieved to inform you that all 252 Gaia Herbs employees and their families are safe,” Kyle Bliffert, CEO at Gaia Herbs, shared in a statement issued on Oct. 1. “The challenge now is providing power and fresh water. We are working together to provide our employees with the necessary supplies.”

The Mills River fulfillment facilities were closed in the wake of the storm for safety assessment, but the company continues to receive orders through its website and handle inquiries by email until phone service returns.

"We recognize this will delay shipments of any orders placed in the past week and thank you for your patience as we focus our attentions on recovering our local area,” the company posted on LinkedIn.

In an Oct. 4 update, Gaia shared that power had been restored and that it was testing critical systems including bottling and fulfillment systems. While the safety of employees and their families remains first priority, Gaia is activating its automated robotics picking system to begin shipping a limited number of orders shortly.  

The farm was also spared major impact. A small creek that runs through the property overflowed, causing some erosion and flood damage, but most of the herbs had been harvested prior to the storm, Bliffert informed. 

Among the herbs growing in Brevard—some cultivated, some wild harvested—are American skullcap, ashwagandha, astragalus, bacopa, black cohosh, California poppy, Chinese skullcap, echinacea, ginseng, ginkgo, goldenseal, gotu kola, grindelia, hawthorne, holy basil, lemon balm, nettle, oats, parsley, passionflower, valerian and vervain.

The Gaia greenhouse, which is nursing many of next season’s herbs, had been operating on a generator since Sept. 27, and crews quickly jumped into clean-up mode.

“We are working to restore the farm to its natural beauty and will be ready to plant these herbs on time next Spring,” Gaia said. “Our Gaian family, our Farm, and our company are resilient, and we realize how fortunate we are to be able to share the good news that our staff is safe, and our facilities received minimal damage.”

Gaia will continue to update its social media platforms as recovery efforts continue and the company returns to full operations in the coming weeks.