Almost every quality problem in herbal manufacturing originates in raw material, not in the plant. Herbal material is naturally variable, seasonally priced, and in several categories systematically adulterated. Sourcing discipline is therefore the most consequential part of what we do, and the part a buyer is least able to inspect, which is exactly why we document it.
How material is accepted
Incoming material is checked for botanical identity, foreign matter, moisture and ash values, and, where a standardised extract is specified, for the marker constituent at the stated percentage. Each lot arrives with a supplier certificate of analysis, which we treat as a starting point rather than a conclusion.
Material that fails specification is rejected, not blended down to average out. Blending substandard material into good material is the shortcut that makes cheap extracts cheap, and it is undetectable in a finished product without testing.
The ingredients where adulteration is real
Shilajit is among the most faked ingredients in Indian herbal supply, and the fakes can carry heavy metals. We re-test every lot in house regardless of the supplier certificate. Curcumin is routinely sold as a 95% extract when it is closer to kitchen turmeric at 2 to 5%, a twenty-to-fortyfold difference we verify by assay.
Ashwagandha is often supplied with leaf material mixed into what is sold as root. Spirulina from poorly controlled cultivation can carry microcystin, a genuine hepatotoxin. Saffron is adulterated with dyed safflower. In each of these we test rather than trust.
Seasonality and price volatility
Herbal raw material is an agricultural commodity. Amla is cheap in season and dearer out of it. Garcinia, saffron and glucosamine all move materially with the market. This matters to you because a quotation given in one quarter may not hold in the next, and we would rather explain that than quietly reduce the extract load to protect a price.
If you are planning annual volumes, talk to us about scheduled call-offs. Committing to a volume lets us buy in season, which is usually better for both of us than repricing every order.