Gaia Herbs, a leading natural herbal products brand in the United States, has been awarded the Gold medal in the Wellness Products category for Inc.’s Inaugural Best in Business List.
The list recognizes small- and medium-sized privately held American businesses that have made the greatest positive impact on their communities, their industries, the environment, or society as a whole.
Rather than rely on quantitative criteria linked to sales or funding, Inc.’s editors reviewed the companies’ achievements over the past year and noted how each made a positive difference in the world. Gaia Herbs was selected based on several philanthropic initiatives this year including donating more than 20,250 pounds of fresh Gaia-grown vegetables and herbs to local food banks, and more than 16,500 vegetable and medicinal herb starts to local community organizations including Hunger Coalition of Transylvania County, Bountiful Cities, and Eliada Homes.
Additionally, Gaia Herbs donated 220 gallons and 1,500 individual two-ounce spray bottles of hand sanitizers to local organizations and first responders of the pandemic, as well as 13,500 two-ounce bottles to every K-12 student in the Henderson County Public Schools district. Gaia Herbs also held two socially-distanced volunteer days for its employees to help assemble the back-to-school hygiene kits that included the donated hand sanitizer along with face masks and educational health information to help keep the local students and teachers safe. Gaia Herbs was selected from a very competitive applicant pool, with around 2,700 total entries and an acceptance rate in the low single digits.
“We are incredibly humbled and honored to receive this award, recognizing our commitment to using our business as a force for good and to making a positive impact in the world through our actions. It’s inspiring to see Gaia Herbs among so many companies who share the same vision of working to build a better future,” said Angela McElwee, President and CEO of Gaia Herbs. “We strive to sow the seeds of tomorrow through upholding our high standards of our social and environmental impact, transparency and accountability. This award reinforces our commitment to making a positive difference.”
Scott Omelianuk, Editor-in-Chief of Inc., says, “It’s been an incredibly challenging year for companies. Across industries, businesses have had to make brutally tough decisions and face unprecedented uncertainty. That’s why we knew 2020 called for a new recognition program, something to complement our annual Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. For Best in Business, companies have prioritized tackling today’s problems to lead us to a better future, even if they’ve struggled to stay in the black.”
Honorees for gold, silver, bronze, and general excellence across industries and categories are featured online at inc.com/best-in-business.