Remembering the magic of herbs: Insights to help you position the benefits of botanicals to customers
By Dave Nelson
We’re beginning to fully appreciate just how crucial our microbiome is for whole-person health, especially in preventing and managing chronic disease.
Thanks to social media, podcasts, and YouTube, public awareness around digestive health—and its influence on immunity, mental clarity, and disease risk—has exploded. Our customers are coming in with questions they’ve never asked before. Yet, as most of us in this industry know, mainstream dietary advice often overlooks the gut, focusing instead on calories, macros, and isolated vitamins. As a result, many shoppers lack the complex nutrition their gut microbes crave, such as fibre, polyphenols, and phytochemicals.
This gap is our opportunity. It’s where we, as knowledgeable retailers, can step in and reintroduce these time-honoured herbal remedies. For Canadian natural health retailers, this conversation isn’t just a passing trend; it’s our single greatest opening to connect with customers and guide them toward genuine well-being.
How herbs shape our microbial garden
Our gut microbes thrive on plant compounds that survive the journey to the colon. Research confirms that many herbal products can profoundly reshape our microbial communities. For example, one in vitro study found that a blend of triphala, licorice root, and slippery elm boosted beneficial bacteria like Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus while suppressing potential bad actors in the gut. While each herb created its own unique “microbial fingerprint,” they collectively increased the abundance of bacteria that produce butyrate and propionate—compounds linked to a strong gut barrier and metabolic health.
The good news for our industry is that with advances in microbiome science, supporting gut health is no longer an abstract concept. Customers dealing with bloating, irregularity, or inflammatory conditions are actively seeking natural ways to “tune up” their digestion. By offering well-researched herbal combinations and teas, we can provide targeted solutions rooted in both scientific evidence and historical wisdom.
But this isn’t just about medicinal formulas. There’s also a rising demand for culinary herbs, driven by popular advice like eating 30 different plants a week. A 2023 review in Food Chemistry found that whole herbs and spices stimulate beneficial bacteria, promote short-chain fatty acid production, and exert a prebiotic effect. The paper also highlighted that polyphenol-rich herbs likely help modulate chronic inflammation by shifting microbial communities. The takeaway for retailers is clear: offering a diverse range of herbs and spice blends provides value not just as flavourings, but as functional foods.
Tea: A global healing tradition
Tea deserves its own special mention. From green tea in Japan and hibiscus in West Africa to chamomile in Europe, people have long relied on infusions of leaves, flowers, and roots for their calming and digestive properties. Modern studies reveal why: teas are rich in polyphenols like catechins, theaflavins, and flavanols. These compounds not only act as antioxidants, but are also metabolized by gut bacteria into smaller, beneficial molecules called postbiotics.
These polyphenols—found widely in plant foods—are a key reason why plant-rich diets are associated with a reduced risk of chronic disease. By offering high-polyphenol teas, either in bulk or as curated blends, we can tap into tea's rich heritage as a daily tonic for the microbiome.
Speaking the language of complex nutrition
I like to call this “complex nutrition” because the microbiome thrives on diversity. When a customer asks for help with their digestion or immunity, it’s a perfect opportunity to introduce this concept. We can educate them on the value of rotating different herbal teas, cooking with a variety of fresh and dried herbs, and using traditional formulas as a daily tonic. Positioning these products as part of a microbiome-focused lifestyle—rather than a quick fix—strengthens the long-term, trusted relationships we build with our customers.
The retailer’s role in a changing landscape
Public health messaging rarely highlights options like herbs and teas, leaving consumers to navigate this important topic on their own. Natural health retailers are perfectly positioned to fill this information gap. Our role extends beyond just selling products; it’s about empowering Canadians to rediscover the plants our ancestors used for millennia—remedies that modern science is finally beginning to validate.
Looking ahead, I am particularly excited to see how the supplemented food space in Canada will evolve. I believe herbs and teas are poised to become significant players in this innovative area because in a time where processed foods, antibiotics, and environmental toxins constantly disrupt our gut ecology, herbs and teas offer a simple and affordable way to nourish our microbiome. By continuing to advocate for these plant allies, we can help our customers fine-tune their inner ecosystems and embrace a lifetime of gut health.