Introducing our Trailblazer of the month! Meet Elan M. Sudberg, the visionary CEO of Alkemist Labs. With a fervent dedication to authenticating plants, identifying botanical ingredients, and providing quantitative analytical services, he’s a true leader in the Food & Beverage, Nutraceutical, and Cosmeceutical Industries. He holds a chemistry degree from California State University Long Beach, a trail of journal articles on phytochemistry, and a reputation for shaping best practices in testing. Board member of AHPA and chair of the Hemp and Medical Marijuana committee, and recognized with the prestigious 2019 NutraChampion award, Elan is paving the way with his unwavering advocacy and expertise.
What are the most common misconceptions people have about our industry, and how would you debunk them?
Misconceptions 1, 2, & 3 are that we are unregulated, untested, and unsafe. This is factually untrue, mostly untrue, and untrue. This misinformation often comes from legacy media, most of which seem to think that if something isn’t regulated like a drug, it’s not regulated, and some in the medical community with the same bias.
- The dietary supplements industry is heavily regulated by the FDA. While the Agency is pretty busy reacting to absurd medical claims made by outlier brands, they are still actively auditing many of the links in the chain of custody of our industry, from suppliers through to brands, and are constantly taking brands down who need to be down.
- Dietary supplements are tested. In my experience, there is still a lot of correct testing that needs to be completed to ensure we have the highest quality ingredients in our industry so while that lie is mostly false, it has some truth in it. The truth comes from the ambiguity of the regulations which are sometimes exploited by the bottom feeders of our industry who deploy willful ignorance and use substandard test methods. This will unfortunately allow some poor-quality ingredients and products to falsely represent our beloved industry.
- Our products are safe. In a presentation by the American Herbal Products Association’s Dr. Merle Zimmerman on Supplement Adverse Event Reporting and Recalls, he shared data from the company SafetyCall that showed recall events by FDA regulated product categories: Medical devices, Biologics, Foods, Veterinary, Drugs, Cosmetics and Dietary Supplements. Ours was among the safest with the least recalls. The fact is that the supplement category has a far, far better safety record than pharmaceuticals and OTC drugs.
I think there is a way to debunk those misconceptions through radicle transparency at the consumer level. Our industry spends hundreds of millions a year on lab testing yet hardly shares that quality story. I think it’s just those old ways still persisting. Those old ways do a lousy job at debunking the misinformation that we are unregulated, untested and unsafe. So many brands in our industry don’t even have a page on their web site devoted to quality. Even more don’t share the Certificates of Analysis that shows test results on their ingredients and finished products. Nearly none of them offer QR code look up or lot #look up for specific C of As for the bottle in hand.
We have work to do but the path towards debunking it is clear and relatively easy to follow. We strongly encourage the brands that are already doing the right thing in products quality and testing to share it.
What do you think is the key to building authentic customer engagement and long term trust?
While this industry can’t legally say we are here to treat, prevent or cure illness, we all kind of know that’s why we are here. There are several ways to build authentic customer engagement and my favorite is vulnerability. Brands need to connect with their consumers and vulnerability is a gate that when open, draws the buyer in to satisfy curiosities of their own you as the seller might have already satisfied. Trust comes from transparency (another form of vulnerability). As I mentioned above, there is a massive void in our quality story. We simply don’t tell it. Studies have shown that consumers will make a choice to buy a product from a brand that is transparent over one that is not.
Can you share a memorable ‘aha’ moment from your career that changed the way you approach work?
Early in my career, my lab discovered a problem with an ingredient called Hoodia. To make a long story short my lab blew the whistle on many adulterated products, and I was an instant enemy of adulterators all around the world. I am proud to say that I am still an enemy to the adulterators all around the world. I was in my early 20s still studying chemistry in college and when I shared our negative findings in industry meetings, I was quickly attacked by seasoned entrepreneurs, PhDs and lawyers who were defending their adulterated products. Seeing that I was young and having trouble finding my voice, AHPA President Michael McGuffin took me aside and told me to take my proverbial shoe off and bang it on the table until I was heard. I have been walking around barefoot ever since (except in the lab of course). He saw the industry advocate within me and invited it to come out and get to work. Today, nearly 25 years later, I am still fighting for this industry and for global access to safe and effective natural medicines.
What’s the most unexpected source of inspiration you’ve found outside of our industry, and how has it influenced your work?
Psychedelics have played a big role in my inspiration outside of work. While I experimented far earlier in life than I hope my own children do, I strongly believe that my profound, mind blowing, ego murdering psychedelic experiences have helped shape who I am today and have kept me fascinated and in love with the power of plant and fungal medicines. Several years ago, knowing the trajectory of Alkemist Labs is something I can no longer really control on my own as we scale up to the next level, I felt it was time to take a large dose of Ayahuasca and break things… My intention was to ‘check myself before I wreck myself’. It worked… I surrender…
From this ‘letting go’ I am now better positioned to get out of the way and promote my excellent team to do what they do best and to invite new excellent team members and perhaps even strategic partners into Alkemist Labs as we continue to grow and earn the love and trust of this industry.
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Explore further details about Alkemist Labs by visiting their website at https://www.alkemist.com/