Chris Oesterheld is assistant vice president with Parsippany, NJ-based Jiaherb, an NSF-GMP certified manufacturer of quality herbal extract and natural ingredients for the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food and beverage industries. Mr. Oesterheld began his nutraceutical industry career with Jiaherb in a sales capacity. In his current role, he has embraced the challenge and opportunity to be a part of a rapidly growing company that provides products backed by excellent customer service and fast delivery. His main functions involve working directly with customers and assisting with fulfilling botanical purchase requirements, overseeing the customer service and logistics departments and working closely with staff to ensure they provide 100% quality service to Jiaherb customers. Mr. Oesterheld is also directly responsible for marketing and operations in the U.S. He holds a degree in business administration and finance from Springfield College in Springfield, MA. He can be contacted at CO@JiaherbInc.com.
 
Health E-Insights: Where will the most significant growth occur within Jiaherb in the next few years?
 
Mr. Oesterheld: With the recent opening of our warehouse in California, we are concentrating more effort on expanding and developing the West Coast market. At the same time we are fulfilling all of our client’s needs on a daily basis as we continue doing what we do best: good customer service, fast response time, competitive pricing and material capacity.
 
Health E-Insights: If you could improve only one area of your company what would it be?
 
Mr. Oesterheld: At Jiaherb, we have a solid platform, and I love coming to work every day just as my colleagues do. Jiaherb has been in business for 11 years, but only three years in the U.S. Our focus is on building our name and educating both our clients and the industry on the unparalleled potential Jiaherb has in supplying high quality herbal products. We have some amazing people who make up our company.
 
Health E-Insights: What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization?
 
Mr. Oesterheld: The market value of our products is derived mainly from our headquarters in China. And the most important information we need to convey is what’s trending in the U.S. nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and food and beverage market.
 
Health E-Insights: In 50 words or less, why does someone buy your products?
 
Mr. Oesterheld: Clients buy from Jiaherb not only because of our outstanding customer service but also our ability to fulfill and quickly ship nearly any size order with all required documentation. Furthermore, our laboratories and facilities in China have the highest state-of-the-art equipment. We stand tall above all other manufacturers.
 
Health E-Insights: Where do the great ideas come from in your organization?
 
Mr. Oesterheld: Most ideas tend to flow through senior management. With over 500 employees globally, all ideas are shared and never discouraged because we understand that it takes more than one person to grow a company. If you surround yourself with good people then there is no reason you shouldn’t succeed tenfold. We definitely encourage our colleagues to think outside the box.
 
Health E-Insights: What is one daily challenge you face?
 
Mr. Oesterheld: Watching costs is an important challenge in any business. Of course it makes sense to keep costs low, but do we sometimes focus too much on the cost, and not enough on the impact and effectiveness of our marketing and business development activities? I believe every company battles with that question on a daily basis.
 
Health E-Insights: What is your greatest extravagance?
 
Mr. Oesterheld: I would have to say that my personal greatest extravagances are travel and electronics. I find myself always saving for a trip or a new tech product.
 
Sheldon Baker wants to interview you. Contact Sheldon at SBaker@BakerDillon.com. Follow him on Twitter @NutraInk and visit his website at www.BakerDIllon.com.