“The area is beautiful and conducive to growing the kind of herbs that we need to grow,” said Kyle Bliffert, president and CEO of Gaia Herbs. “We moved to North Carolina for a reason. Being nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, our herbs are grown in a very pure and clean growing environment, which is the foundation of Gaia Herbs.” 

Founded nearly 40 years ago, Gaia Herbs relocated to Brevard in the mid-1990s, drawn by the region’s climate, soil, and connection to wellness culture. Today, the company operates a vertically integrated system that stretches from greenhouse seedlings to finished supplements shipped to consumers and retailers nationwide.

“We’re literally seed to capsule,” Bliffert said. 

The process begins on Gaia’s 270-acre farm where more than five million plants and 45 types of herbs are cultivated each year. These plants are harvested and either dried or processed fresh, in the case of some common herbs like milky oats, American skullcap, and nettle. Some of the fresh herbs harvested at Gaia Herbs travel from field to processing in as little as an hour. That rapid transition is critical because the herbs begin degrading almost immediately after harvest, explains Kate Renner, director of farm operations.

“Gaia Herbs attempted to source milky oats from just down in Georgia a couple of hours away,” said Renner. “Even in that transit time from two hours on the road, we’re starting the compost cycle.”

Whether dried or fresh, the next step of the process is extraction of the active ingredient from the herb, which is then concentrated and combined with other ingredients and glycerin before being placed in a Liquid Phyto-Cap. 

“A trademark of our business are these Liquid Phyto-Caps that contain a concentrated herbal ingredient combination,” said Bliffert. “We take those finished capsules, we bottle them, label them, and then ship them directly to consumers and also to retailers like Whole Foods market and e-commerce partners.” 

More than 100 different products are listed on the Gaia Herbs website, providing a variety of benefits from immune support to heart health. The operation supports approximately 93 employees in Brevard, with most living in Transylvania County. The company also provides produce grown on the farm to employees and donates vegetables into the local community.

Beyond employment, Renner said the company sees itself as a steward of the surrounding ecosystem.

“We’re really lucky to be right at the headwaters of the French Broad River and Cathey’s Creek,” Renner said. “Being a part of this watershed, it’s really important to us to protect it. We also feel like we are impactful in this community by the stewardship action for those downstream, not just in our waterways, but also the bees and the pollinators and the birds and all the other inhabitants that share this farm with us.”

The farm is Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC), a certification that reflects years of work rebuilding and maintaining soil health on the property. Jayme Torres, head of commercial for Gaia Herbs, said even employees unfamiliar with agriculture quickly recognize the difference.

“I didn’t know that soil could sparkle from the rich nutrients that are in it,” Torres said. “It’s just a testament to the great things that Kate and her team are doing, and the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Cathey’s Creek, that really help to nurture the soil health.”

The company grows a variety of herbs on-site, though not every ingredient can be cultivated in Western North Carolina. Crops such as turmeric are sourced internationally from organic growers in climates better suited for those plants. Even then, company leaders say their farming experience in Brevard informs how they evaluate outside suppliers.

“When you do it well, and you know how to do it well, you know how to source from others that do it just like you,” Torres said. 

The farm and its partners are critical to the quality and efficacy of Gaia Herbs’ final product. Put simply: “Fresh potent herbs are more effective,” Bliffert said.

The company’s emphasis on quality also drives its decision to keep manufacturing in-house despite the added complexity and expense.

“We could source these raw materials from less expensive options internationally and other places,” said Bliffert, “but we choose to make the investment in the quality and efficacy so that we can have the single best herbal products on the planet.”

The connection between place and product remains central to the company’s identity.

“The farm is the foundation of our product,” Bliffert said. “It’s beautiful. It’s organic. It’s regenerative. It is the foundation and the heart of our entire business operation.”

Learn more at GaiaHerbs.com.