Ethical Naturals Inc. (ENI) recently celebrated its 20th anniversary since the company was founded to identify product vulnerabilities and develop ingredients to demonstrate best practices within the botanicals industry.

In the fall of 2005, founders Cal Bewicke and Leo Liu sought to address solutions to the challenges that faced the botanical supply chain of the day, and have since developed a portfolio of research-supported branded ingredients that meet those expectations, Bewicke noted.

“At the time ENI was launched, levels of adulteration in the U.S. botanical market were rampant,” he said. “Little or no testing took place, and the testing that was done generally lacked the detail to detect even basic adulteration. It was sometimes described as the wild west of botanicals.”

For instance, ENI noted that in 2005 there were Ginkgo biloba extracts claiming to contain 24% flavoneglycoside content, selling for $30-$40 per kilogram, a price far below true production cost. ENI’s quality control director, Lora Xiong, worked with the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia and Eurofins to produce a report that tested 20 branded Ginkgo products and raw material samples, and a full review by Roy Upton, herbal expert and president of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Only six of 20 samples passed the screening and potency tests conducted by Eurofins, spurring the industry to improve quality practices.

“AHP worked directly with Ethical Naturals to raise awareness about the widespread adulteration that exists on the Ginkgo biloba extract market in the United States and provide ways for reputable manufacturers to identify good quality from adulterated materials,” said Upton. “We wish Ethical Naturals all the best for their next 20 years and commend them for the many efforts they have made in fostering quality and integrity in the botanical ingredient supplement chain.”

ENI was founded to supply premium, standardized extracts passed through a quality assurance program that defined identity, potency, and lack of contamination. The quality assurance program, ProfileProven, and the company’s testing lab, continue to guide the company’s mission and decisions made today.

“Ethical Naturals represents what is so great about our industry, said Loren Israelsen, founder and president of the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA).  “Cal Bewicke and his staff have built a reputation for being straight shooters, taking quality seriously and contributing to the betterment of our industry community. I have known Cal for many years, and it gives me great pleasure to salute him and Ethical Naturals on the occasion of their 20th anniversary.”  

“I congratulate my old friend Cal Bewicke and his partner Leo Liu on the 20th anniversary of their company, Ethical Naturals,” said Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council. “I have known Cal for over 40 years as a friend and colleague in the herb industry. I consider him to be innovative, earnest, honest, and ethical. Cal is one of a small group of six colleagues who encouraged me to create what became the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program in a meeting at SupplySide West in October 2010. I consider him to be one of the spiritual founders of what has become the world’s largest authenticity and anti-fraud education program dealing with botanical ingredients.”

Future-Proofing Supply Chains

ENI has never sought to become a trading company that shops around for the lowest price. They’ve chosen and audited their lineup of manufacturers in China, Europe, and the U.S. to develop quality specifications and long-term supply stability.

Their suppliers are working partners, transparently facing challenges related to raw material shortages, shipping outages, and tariffs, ENI reported, in a mutually beneficial relationship that also benefits the end consumer.

Solar-Powered Private Label Manufacturing

As ENI established its base of business, it began supplying finished products on a private label basis, and built out a facility for blending, encapsulation, and bottling, relying on Liu’s previous manufacturing experience.

The facility was cGMP certified by NSF and remains so to this day, providing direct service to several ENI customers.

Eventually, the facility became solar powered. “The private label ability has been very useful to our customers, but production systems use a lot of power, so solar was a clear choice for us,” said Liu. “It’s made a big difference in our energy bills and dis right in line with our environmental goals.”

ENI’s product lineup includes:

• GreenGrown glucosamine, a vegetable-sourced glucosamine produced by fermentation and protected by manufacturing and identity patents that assure the ingredient is fully sourced from vegetables
• AlphaWave L-Theanine, a source of purified L-theanine with relaxation and mental acuity benefits supported by three clinical studies, including human trials published in 2021 and 2024. The ingredient recently became the only form of L-theanine approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Authority, making it the only form allowed for sale for manufacturing in Australia
• Cranberex Cranberry Extract, a high-proanthocyanidins ingredient tested via the DMAC method and supported by clinical research from Rutgers University
• Polyphenol-C, a vitamin C enhanced with fruit berry polyphenols, shown to provide strong antioxidant support in clinical studies.

“The core members of our team have been with us since we founded the company and others for 12 years and more,” said Bewicke. “That really means a lot. We’ve gone through easy and tough times together, and experienced successes and failures. You learn how to laugh and share the friendship. So many of the great ideas behind our company have been contributions from the members of our team.”