Remedy for success

Swiss partners plan global market for Flathead herbal remedies

Mountain Meadow Herbs, a Flathead Valley success story, has been bought by Swiss business partners and will begin marketing its herbal remedies globally in 2009.

Naturopathic doctor David P. Amrein and business specialist Dieter J. Tschan, from Berne, Switzerland, took ownership of Mountain Meadow Herbs on Oct. 1.

Amrein formed his own company, Dr. Clark Behandlungszentrum AG, in 1998, to offer natural remedies throughout the region. But, not completely satisfied with the quality of the product, labels and bottling of some special products he used to buy from other suppliers, he joined forces with Tschan to find a better source.

They launched into a months-long search of U.S.-based companies, heard of Mountain Meadow Herbs' reputation for quality, and began talking with founder Kathy Garber in July.

It soon was apparent Amrein and Tschan had found the right production facility to meet their standards for herbal remedies.

But the first order of business for the new owners was to open a retail store a couple of weeks ago. It is tucked into Mountain Meadow Herbs' bright, airy production plant just off U.S. 2 near Glacier Park International Airport.

"One of the first things is to open a store so local people have access to local herbal-based remedies and herbal tinctures," Tschan said. "Most people around here are attached to nature and like herbal remedies."

Wild Rose Health Foods had carried a selection of Garber's high-quality herbal tinctures and remedies, but this is the first Mountain Meadow Herbs branded store.

Garber founded Mountain Meadow Herbs five years ago and grew it to a $2 million business last year, with nearly all her commerce conducted within the Amish and Mennonite community by mail order and on-line.

With roots in her Amish upbringing, Garber grew up steeped in the traditions of natural healing. Her bent for exhaustive research and her determination to overcome her infant son's kidney damage, caused by an undiagnosed rare birth defect, propelled Garber into developing an herbal remedy that not only stopped the damage but actually restored kidney function.

Today, her 14-year-old son is healthy and working part time with his mother in Mountain Meadow Herbs. Garber's widely expanded offering of herbal remedies developed over the years as Amish and Mennonite customers spread the word about her unflagging commitment to integrity and quality, and her products' effectiveness.

Amrein and Tschan heard of that reputation during their investigation into U.S. companies and began talking with Garber in July. By October they had completed the purchase and Garber had moved into her current position as head of research and development.

"We wanted to purchase a production company in the U.S.A. so we would have direct control over quality of the products and start selling these products in Europe as well," Tschan said.

He and Amrein are convinced Garber's formulations will stand the test of globalization.

"I truly believe these are world-class quality. These products are truly top-end products," Tschan said. They wanted "not only a standard company with standard products but here we truly have a chance to buy better."

Tschan and Amrein met 12 years ago during university studies in Switzerland. They lost contact but eventually Amrein's medical background and Tschan's economics education brought them back together in this joint business venture.

Their first step for 2009 is to establish a European market for the herbal remedies, and have begun the arduous process of gaining government approval.

"David founded his own company in 1998 so he already has distribution channels and existing clients more than willing to buy first-class, outstanding herbal tinctures from the states," Tschan said.

Then they will expand across the globe.

"We are looking for international distributors everywhere," he said. They are in talks with a distributor in Dubai, and a contract with a Singapore distributor is all but sealed, he said. "That will help get us all over Asia, which we are too small to do ourselves."

Finally, they plan to grow their American market.

"We intend to get to be known outside the Amish and Mennonite community. Those are the main customers right now and they are great customers … they value and appreciate our products," Tschan said. "But outside that community we are not really well-known."

He said their goal is to have 50 percent of their domestic market come from outside the Amish and Mennonite community. A label with a standardized bar code should be finished within the first quarter of 2009.

Their mission, he said, is to help people in need by tapping into nature.

"We truly believe that natural-based herbal products outperform those of the pharmaceutical industry," Tschan said. "And now the local people can benefit from this, too."

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com