Bio-Health news and views:-

Our view on Climate Change: It's Enough To Make You Sick!: Click here to read the article (adobe file).

Our Environment and how to care for it: Click here to read the article (adobe file).

In an article for Integrated Health (Vol 8 No 46: Aug 2007), June Crisp speaks out for common sense on the new Supplement Rules: Click here to read the article (adobe file).

Green to the core

Small health product manufacturer Bio-Health is reaping the rewards of its comprehensive sustainability policy in ways it had not expected. June Crisp reports (Environment Business, Nov/Dec 2006)

My business partner (Vic Perfitt) and I have always had strong feelings about protecting the environment. That is one reason we bought Bio-Health, a small herbal medicines and supplements manufacturer that uses only nautral, additive-free ingredients, in 1996.

As a company, we have very strong links with the environment because of the type of business we run. The ingredients used in our products are sourced from Nature, and it is in the interests of the company that we do everything we can to help preserve the future of plant life and the environment. However, we have also recognised the many benefits of being a green company, such as cost savings, improved staff morale, and industry recognition, as well as satisfaction in the knowledge that we are doing all we can to help protect the planet.

Bio-Health's green project began in March 2004 when we realised that more than 80% of Kent companies employ less than 50 people. A memmber of staff suggested that if all SMEs contributed to environmental improvement in some small way, much could be achieved. We decided to embark on our own sustainable business programme. And, keeping small changes in mind, we systematically looked at each section of the company to see what changes we could make.

Everything was taken into consideration, from purchasing through to despatch. We quickly realised that it wouldn't be difficult for the company to make a more concerted effort to cut back on energy and wasts and that it may also save the company money in the long term.

We started with waste, recycling as much as possible. All waste paper is now collected, shredded and used as packaging material as an alternative to plastic chippings. All pallets, cardboard, ink cartridges, computers and parts are removed for recycling. And we have installed a composter to recycle all our production waste (herbal ingredients) and office kitchen waste. We use the compost on a wild flower garden that we planted next to our factory last year.

To cut down on fuel use and carbon emissions, we reviewed our sales approach and saved fuel by replacing the sales reps' store visits with a tele-sales operation.

Reps used to call on five to eight customers daily, covering many miles by car, whereas the telesales team call more than 30 customers from one office. We have engaged three local herbalist trainers in the North, South and Midlands, who make visits to stores following arrangements by the telesales team.

This has eradicated pointless drop-in sales visits. In addition, we always try to source from local suppliers wherever possible to help reduce mileage, and we encourage staff members to car-share.

We have also reduced company petrol consumption by offering staff free bicycles and helmets to cycle to work. We pay staff £1 for every day they cycle into work. This initiative has resulted in a further campaign to encourage the local council to introduce cycle paths in the local area because the roads on Medway City Estate attract lots of traffic. This campaign is ongoing and we have succeeded in gaining the support of other companies on the estate and the local press.

To save water, a small alteration to the flushing mechanism on toilets and urinals was made, reducing water usage by 85%.

We made as many cutbacks on waste and energy as possible. We then realised that making better use of the space in our factory and warehouse would help to improve energy efficiency and took steps to review the layout. We decided to invest in a mezzanine floor and initiated changes to the packing and dispatch areas to improve efficiency.

Herbal Industry entrepreneur, June Crisp, takes centre stage with Christine Hamilton at Annual 'Women in Business' Lunch - January 2006

June Crisp, of Rochester-based herbal medicine producer, Bio-Health, joined celebrity ‘battleaxe’ and wife of ex-Tory MP, Neil Hamilton, as a guest speaker at Kent Business Link’s ‘Women in Business’ luncheon on 12th December.

June, who is Sales & Marketing Director for Bio-Health, talked to women who were present at the event about overcoming the challenges and pitfalls of business in her presentation, which was entitled ‘A Healthy Career’.

A business woman who has been at the forefront of Sales & Marketing in the herbal medicine and dietary supplements industry for many years, June was approached by Kent Business Link to discuss challenges she has faced in business as well as environmental policies that she has introduced within the company. June is a co-owner of Bio-Health, which she purchased in 1996 following a period working with other well-known manufacturers in the industry.

June described how her quest to develop pure, additive-free herbal medicines has led her to build a network of herb suppliers across the world, as well as getting to grips with the necessary scientific tests that are required to check safety and efficacy. She added that though it had been an extremely rewarding career, it was not a challenge for the faint-hearted.

“With so many factors to juggle just to gain access to the right ingredients, let alone the complications of transporting the herbs and the manufacturing process, it is a precarious business that is prone to significant cashflow problems and challenges. However, I have loved every minute of meeting those challenges and I am looking forward to taking on even more as our business continues to grow,” she said.

June also encouraged women at the lunch to embrace sustainable business practice. She pointed out that since Bio-Health has introduced eco-friendly policies, it has saved money, improved productivity and cut down on absenteeism.

Christine Hamilton discussed the many challenges she has had to overcome, including a major career shift when husband, Neil Hamilton, lost his parliamentary seat in 1997.

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Environment Awards

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Bio-Health in Finals for SEEDA Award

Directors June Crisp and Vic Perfitt, with Natasha Kaplinsky, at the Awards for Sustainable Business hosted by SEEDA.
Bio-Health SEEDA Case Study (adobe file)
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New Hope for Herbals

Kent-based supplement manufacturer Bio-Health sees the herbals directive as an opportunity, not a threat

- writes Jim Manson, Natural Products magazine, March 2003

There is an air of confidence at herbals specialist Bio-Health that confounds some of the gloomier predictions about the health food trade's prospects for the future. Last year the company invested over £100,000 in new state-of-the-art processing equipment at its factory in Rochester, Kent. This year it expects to invest a similar amount and plans to start a building programme to double the space at its manufacturing facility.

On a Mission

Bio-Health was formed in 1981 by David Smith. The company was set up to provide additive-free VMS and nutritional products, mainly for people with allergies or who prefer single-substance products. The company's Pure-fil range was soon being recommended to allergy sufferers by practitioners and doctors.

In January 1996, natural health industry veteran, June Crisp, became Bio-Health's major shareholder and set about developing Pure-fil's extensive range of unlicenced herbal medicines.

July 1996 saw Victor Perfitt, former owner of herbal medicine specialist Gerard House, also join Bio-Health. Perfitt immediately started work on transforming the company's factory into premises that would be licenced to manufacture medicines.

Once Bio-Health secured its licence it launched a range of 18 generic licenced medicines. "I have a real passion for generic herbs and always felt it was important to be able to offer a wide range of hight quality products to our customers", says Crisp.

We produce products under GMP conditions, which are very exacting in their own right, but we are also sensitive to the fact that our raw materials are delicate, natural products. By its nature, it is a very expensive process. Products have to be regularly tested by third party analysts, and if an MCA inspector visited today, just the visit would cost hundreds of pounds.

But, she says, the additional costs are worth it in the long run. "It's about reassuring both customers and retailers about the quality of the supplements they are taking."

Crisp argues that the industry "still has a long way to go to clean up its act", which is why she and Bio-Health actively welcome the Directives coming out of Brussels. "You can't continue to have a totally unregulated situation. So many things can, and have, gone wrong".

New legitimacy for herbals

Perfitt says that changes in the law affecting herbal remedies and food supplements were "inevitable". "Most of the problems the industry has experienced have been to do with poor quality, and so we are in favour of legislation that strengethens Quality and safety controls", he says.

Crisp is convinced that the Directive for Traditional Herbal Medicines Products is good news for the future of herbal medicine. "It fixes in law herbal medicine's status and gives it a new legitimacy. I think it's great that we're going to be regulated. Consumers need to have the confidence that they're getting what a product says on the label. It's also good news for retailers because they will be able to make claims for products that they haven't been able to before".

Bio-Health's support for the herbals Directive has not always made it popular with parts of the industry. Crisp comments: "I think because we have a licenced factory and are already producing products to GMP standards, some people think we're acting in an 'I'm all right Jack' way.

But we didn't start from a privileged position. We're a small British company with 20 people and a turnover of less than £1million. But we do believe in using the best quality, ethically sourced products - we don't use any irradiated ingredients - and have been prepared to invest in the best equipment.

However, this hasn't stopped some people trying to get our products delisted, which is particularly hard for us because we only supply to the independents. We choose not to be in the multiples".

Crisp says that part of the criticism the industry gets from consumer groups and the media is due to the way dietary food supplements have got 'muddled up' with medicines. "The fact that some high dose herbal and vitamin products are sold as food supplements just causes confusion for consumers. When you use very high doses of some vitamins, they cease to be dietary supplements and behave more like chemical drugs."

Despite the challenges the industry faces, Crisp remains positive about Bio-Health's future. "We've got a fabulous range of products which now includes 48 mono herbs and 18 licenced products, along with an additional range of vitamins and minerals products and herbal ointments. We've also got some very loyal customers in the independent retail sector who understand and appreciate what we're doing".

Reproduced by kind permission of Natural Products magazine, March 2003.