Many of the herbs used in our formulas can only be sourced from China where medicinal herbs have grown naturally for thousands of years. During a recent visit to China, I had the privilege of visiting the city of Bozhou in Anhui province. Bozhou is home to arguably the largest Chinese herb market in the world, where they grow nearly 165,000 acres of herbs with 1 million people engaged in the planting, processing, and distribution of herbs. I was in Bozhou with our head herb master/buyer Mr. Zhang, who travels more than 300 days out of the year meeting with farmers, inspecting crops, and collecting herb industry news.
One major feature of Bozhou is its impressive herb trading complex. Officially the Kang Mei Chinese Medicine City (Kang Mei is a publicly traded company and the largest supplier of raw herbs to China's hospitals), the complex is about 6 1/2 football fields long and includes 1000 herb shops and 6000 stalls. The central facility is separated into common herbs, precious and expensive herbs, and an area similar to a farmer's market where smaller herb producers can showcase and sell their crops.
At the trading complex I had the unique opportunity to observe Mr. Zhang in action. As he does in our fields, at the herb stalls Mr. Zhang used true organoleptic means - sight, taste, and smell to determine quality. He could not only identify all of the herbs, processed or not, but could tell the quality and freshness purely by smell, and sometimes even threw in a good lick or nibble to gauge potency!
While the herb market was interesting and fun, I also met some wonderful farmers in Bozhou. Mr. Zhang introduced me to his friend Wang Pan Pan. She is a 5th generation herb farmer in Bozhou and cultivates a small farm owned jointly by her entire family. Because it is a late harvest herb, I was able to visit Pan Pan’s Chrysanthemum field. Bozhou’s Chrysanthemum is famous for its medicinal properties, being “cooling” and good for the eyes. Another farming family I met were the Dus, who happened to be peeling and coring Peony roots finally harvested after 6 years. Peony roots are a common ingredient in our formulas, and is considered a heat clearing herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
What I realized after meeting these gracious people is that each one was optimistic and full of purpose. I appreciated and was humbled by their entrepreneurial spirit, their authenticity, and their obvious pride and satisfaction with their work. Although we operate and make our products at a much higher level, I felt a kinship with these new friends in Bozhou. No matter the level of resources, they and I, and all the hardworking people I work with in the U.S. and abroad, are all doing what we believe in.