Since 2003, HP Ingredients has focused on researching botanical extracts with the ability to promote human health.
We realize that our customers and prospects are likely quite curious as to how we select the ingredients to research, patent and launch as a proprietary branded ingredient.
When choosing a new ingredient there are many factors that come into play. It’s not just about market analysis, it’s also about an intuitive approach to consumer needs. Above all, from an ingredient supplier perspective our ‘acid test’ is ‘Is this a sexy product?’ What we mean by that is, does it have an attention-grabbing-and sustaining story, an origin story, that can be capitalized by savvy brand marketers when educating their consumers and product influencers. Will it capture the consumer’s imagination? Will it fill the current trends of sustainability and/or ‘upcycling?’
Another factor of increasing importance that we consider is — does the ingredient supply chain meet the stringent needs of a B Corporation? Because transparency and respectful treatment of the planet and people are right up there with profits. If we can fulfill those demands, then crossing the high bars set by the B Corps (Nestle, MegaFoods, Yogi Tea etc.) makes it easy for us to sell into the brands that do not require such stringency. That’s why we set the bar high by ensuring that all our products meet or working to meet strict organic standards, as well as Prop 65 California compliance.
Regarding the intuitive approach, let’s explore the case study of launching our first “flagship” product: LJ100®. Growing up in Malaysia, I often saw street vendors selling a traditional herbal tonic, Tongkat Ali which translates to “Ali’s walking stick”- a subjective name describing the product’s main benefit at the time – to enhance male virility from youth through and beyond male andropause. (It has since been shown to benefit women as well, in terms of weight loss, libido, and testosterone synthesis.)
The Orang Asli were selling Tongkat Ali in the street bazaars and stalls of Kuala Lumpur and small towns and villages as a rejuvenative primarily for men. I felt that there was a market need for this indigenous plant because there was historic and anecdotal evidence that it worked. But my father told me it was hocus pocus because there were no research and only the Orang Asli knew how to identify the plant.
Fast forward to year 2000, the Government of Malaysia and the esteemed MIT collaborated on a research project to identify the active compounds in Tongkat Ali responsible for testosterone synthesis. This resulted in a worldwide patent.
My intuition told me that Tongkat Ali was no longer “hocus pocus” because it was now verified by science. I took a chance and launched HP Ingredients in 2001 selling Tongkat Ali capsules online, and direct to consumers or to distributors. In those days, the need for double-blind peer-reviewed, published human clinical studies were not deemed necessary, so we relied on anecdotal and historical evidence. In 2003, I met with the research scientists who have been awarded grants from the Malaysian government to build this top of the line extraction facility. The active compounds were identified, extracted in a standardized form, mechanisms of action & first human clinical completed with safety/toxicity test. That was the birth of LJ100® Tongkat Ali extract, and HP Ingredients became the company who brought Tongkat Ali to North America.
Over the years, the Malaysian government had provided research fundings that enable us to continue to publish >25 human clinical trials.
All this work was collected for us to submit a (self-affirmed) GRAS application.
At the time of launch, we knew there was a need for a safe natural alternative to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), which in 2001 was the most common solution for men with low libido and other symptoms of andropause. Undeniably, the need was there for an endogenous product because the exogenous TRT therapy was causing side effects such as rage and mental confusion.
The LJ100 launch story exemplifies all the work that goes into introducing a new ingredient. And the work continues – as studies are performed, published and publicized to help our customers help their consumers feel good about using their products with our ingredients. This is us Delivering Herbal Science!
