Natural Course : Merchants Are Ready to Meet Demand as Herbs’ Popularity Grows

The health-in-a-bottle rage has long been identified with vitamins and other anodynes. Now, a boom in consumer interest in herbal products is pushing more of those over-the-counter remedies into the retail mainstream.

U.S. sales of natural products--a category that includes organic food and dietary supplements such as vitamins and processed herbal extracts--totaled $11.5 billion in 1996, a rise of 25%.

Herbal products accounted for much of that increase, said Heather Granato, managing editor of Natural Foods Merchandiser, a Boulder, Colo.-based industry trade magazine that provided the sales figures.

“Herbal products are selling faster than any item in the natural products category,” Granato said. “Nearly 60 million Americans use herbs for everything from the flu to the discomforts of menopause.”

Americans have long heard stories of the cardiac benefits of garlic consumption and the energy-boosting qualities of ginseng. Now, manufacturers and retailers are selling more herbs such as gingko that proponents believe may be aids to mental keenness. Some of the more popular preparations are drawn from plantechinacea, which is said to have qualities effective in fighting the common cold.

Drugstores and health-food supermarket chains such as Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats are among the retailers cashing in on the growing demand for herbs in powdered and pill form. Consumers are also buying herbal tonics because the liquid form is absorbed faster by the body, Granato said.

Elixir Tonics & Teas, a West Hollywood store with its own line of herbal goods, is one retailer well-positioned to meet demand for the liquid products, Granato said.

“As this retail sector becomes more competitive, niches will become increasingly important because independent operators will have to distinguish themselves from drugstore and health-food chains,” she said. “The Elixir [store] operation is a pioneering specialist in tonics.”

Elixir stocks 140 different herbal products, about half of which are in liquid tonic form. Elixir product prices average between $25 and $30. Each bottle contains a month’s worth of herbal extract.

For some consumers, tonics are an appealing alternative to pills, powders and capsules because they can be mixed with juices or other drinks. Elixir also offers its own array of mixed herbal drinks at an in-store tonic bar: There’s Mind Over Muddle, a gingko preparation, and Yin From the Cold, a nonalcoholic echinacea cocktail.

By law, manufacturers and retailers cannot make explicit health claims for herbal products, but they can allude to benefits.

For example, echinacea cannot be touted as a remedy or cure for the common cold, but retailers are allowed to note that certain research studies have shown that cold sufferers recovered more quickly after consuming the herb.

The history of herbal treatment intrigues Elixir co-owner Jeff Stein, who said: “Western medicine effectively deals with symptoms of illness, but Chinese herbal medicine is more oriented toward maintaining health. We started the business because the aging baby boom population is now much more interested in maintaining health and vitality.”

Stein, a herb user for seven years, is an experienced Southland merchandiser who operated a sportswear store called Camp Beverly Hills for 17 years before closing the retail operation in 1993.

He is now marketing and distributing products with the Elixir Tonics & Teas label to other retailers. Some of Elixir’s tonic products will be available in 15 Nordstrom stores in September. Much of that tonic line is produced by a partner in China. In addition, Elixir’s line of teas will be available in more than 100 Nature Co. stores nationwide in August.

Elixir isn’t the only business benefiting from growing consumer interest in herbal products. The Newsroom Cafe, a Los Angeles restaurant, has been offering herbal drinks since its 1995 opening.

The restaurant and juice bar have been so successful that owner Mark Geller plans to open a Newsroom Cafe in San Francisco later this year.

Geller also expects Elixir to expand.

“Elixir is a complete herbal source, and considering the demographics--the aging of America--their business will grow,” he said.

George White can be reached via e-mail at george.white@latimes.com