In the ongoing quest to raise the quality bar in the nutraceuticals industry, Synergy Production Laboratories^™ (SPL), Moab, UT, a division of The Synergy Company^™, is in a class by itself. Thirty years of research and the creation of far-reaching technologies and groundbreaking raw materials have made SPL the “company to watch” when it comes to certified organic and kosher, whole-food dietary supplement ingredients.

SPL is a grower, processor, formulator and supplier of certified organic and ethically wildcrafted, raw, concentrated bioactive ingredients. Extensive research, significant investment and undaunted creativity have yielded an astonishing array of organic, raw, fresh freeze-dried and CO2 cold-temperature-dried whole-food ingredients. In its impeccable products, its ethical business practices, its commitments to its customers, its environmental sustainability programs and its drive to excel, the company embodies the vision of its founder, Mitchell May, PhD.

The Synergy Vision
More than 30 years ago, Dr. May survived a near-fatal accident, against all medical odds. Due to his nearly miraculous healing and his gratitude for the gift of life, he dedicated himself to nontraditional healing for thousands of individuals. From this compassionate work, he honed his guiding vision: a world of empowered people living full and vital lives on a planet thriving with sustainable and organic practices. This vision infuses every aspect of Synergy’s business: organic ingredients, unparalleled quality control and assurance, responsive commitment to customers and uncompromising environmental responsibility.

As part of the original parapsychology research team at the UCLA Medical Center, Dr. May discovered evidence of the vital forces of plants, beyond their isolated phytochemical and biological components, which led him to deeply investigate plant-based healing modalities in diverse cultures around the world.

After seven years of research (1972–1979), Dr. May formulated the original green superfood, Pure Synergy^®. This work laid the foundation for the next two decades of global botanical research that resulted in SPL’s comprehensive, bioactive and organic raw material line. To bring these cutting-edge ingredients to market, Dr. May pioneered and developed the demanding Synergized^® brand protocol. This demanding standard includes heirloom seed selection and organic cultivation, proprietary freeze-drying and CO2 cold-temperature-drying as well as state-of-the-art, natural processing, rigorous QA and QC testing and Ultra Fresh Packaging^™ vacuum-packaging technologies. All Synergized^® processes optimize and retain the bioactive potencies of fresh-processed plant materials.

Over the next 20 years, through a combination of research and development, joint ventures, technology transfers and exclusive partnerships, SPL built a trusted global infrastructure, managed with the traditional care and intensity of a family business.

The company’s custom-designed, FDA-registered, certified organic, kosher, cGMP-compliant and 100% wind-powered OTC facility has received multiple national, state and local awards for its manufacturing excellence and its contributions to environmental improvements. Among these are the EPA Green Power Award and the Excellence in Manufacturing Award for Environmental Consciousness (twice) from the State of Utah. The company underwrites a spectrum of environmental sustainability and youth education programs, and plants thousands of trees to compensate for the unavoidable impact business has on the atmosphere. SPL’s location in Moab, with its pristine, high-desert air and low humidity, offers ideal conditions to protect and preserve the life-giving properties of the company’s unique raw materials.

SPL’s Synergized^® brand provides a sophisticated range of whole-food ingredients abundant in highly valuable phytonutrients, rich in health-enhancing colorful pigments and concentrated in a wide spectrum of naturally occurring bioactive compounds. The Synergized^® ingredients are extremely versatile, allowing numerous consumer product applications, and are among the most sought-after ingredients in the global nutritional supplements industry. They include:

- 100% organic co2 cold-temperature-dried pure grass juice powders (barley, wheat, oat, alfalfa, kamut)
- 100% organic fresh freeze-dried sprouts grown from heirloom seeds (a wide range of cruciferous vegetables, grains and legumes as well as almost any custom variety)
- natural vitamin c products (100% organic acerola standardized to 25% naturally occurring vitamin c and wildcrafted camu camu, standardized to 20% naturally occurring vitamin c)
- 100% organic fresh freeze-dried vegetable powders/juice powders
- 100% organic fresh freeze-dried fruit and berry powders/juice powders
- 100% organic fresh freeze-dried Active 15+ Manuka Honey^™ powder, bee pollen and propolis
- 100% organic, enzymatically active mushroom mycelium powders
- 100% organic Pure Spirulina^™ and pharmaceutically grown Pure Chlorella^™
- 100% organic fresh freeze-dried herb powders
- spl also offers custom contractual development of unique, value-added certified organic raw materials for the dietary supplement and functional food industries.

Focus on Organics
Organics are at the heart of Synergy’s philosophy. From the beginning, Synergy has been a trendsetter in addressing today’s health and environmental challenges. The company understood that organics would provide health and healing to people and offer a significant solution to dominant global issues ranging from hunger to environmental crises.

According to Dr. May, “Not only do organics make sense for our customers and their customers, but they also make sense for the environment. In addition to being free of chemicals and pesticides, organics are also being proven to have higher levels of nutrients and to help reduce global warming.” He commented further on nutrient levels. “We have been able to validate this in our own testing. For example, our CO2 cold-temperature grass juices have higher levels of SOD, a highly sensitive and beneficial enzyme, than anything else on the market. If the SOD is fully active, then the grass is as it would be in its fresh state,” explained Dr. May.

SPL’s obsession with quality doesn’t stop with the raw materials and processing. The company also prides itself on consistency of supply and reliability of service, real concerns in the organic segment, where growth has been averaging 20% annually and demand is outpacing supply. Having anticipated the enormous potential of organics, SPL developed its extensive certified organic infrastructure over the last two decades. This, coupled with the fact that the company is involved in every aspect of the process for all Synergized^® raw materials, allows SPL to stay ahead of the accelerating growth demands of the organic industry.

“We are responsible for more than 2,000 acres of organic agriculture/aquaculture, with more than 250,000 kilos of organic finished ingredient powders processed each year. These volumes increase every year,” Dr. May said. “Organics is not a sideline for us—it is the heart and soul of who we are. We begin with an organic heirloom seed and do everything necessary to preserve that vitality in each plant.”

Because of its commitment to organics, SPL serves its customers best when working with them as partners and establishing stable, long-term supply agreements with them. Once this is done, SPL commits to the raw materials that particular customer needs annually and holds them in inventory to deliver according to the customer’s predetermined production schedule. This is an unprecedented way of doing business in the nutraceuticals industry and eliminates the guesswork and worry from the relationship.

Perhaps the essence of SPL is best summed up in a statement from well-known industry leader Loren D. Israelsen, Executive Director, UNPA. Mr. Israelsen said, “Synergy Production Laboratories is the model of utter commitment to quality, ethical and sustainable business practices and impeccable GMP compliance. From its organic and proprietary Synergized raw materials and innovative product development to complete start-to-finish custom manufacturing—all are some of the finest I have ever seen. Synergy has quietly created a world-class company to the benefit of our entire industry.”