Do you suffer from neck pain? I do. My massage therapist friends and my father, who is a retired chiropractor, believe it’s because I took up Jiu-Jitsu early in 2024. Considering I’m 45, have never played a contact sport, let alone a combat sport, and regularly get squashed by larger men multiple times a week—well, they might have a point. But I think they are wrong! It’s probably all the neck cranking from reflecting on the whirlwind that was 2024! 

Looking back: Wow, what a year! Our sales hit an all-time high in our 28+ years of business. We launched massive new services, including pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents analysis, and microbiological services. Our Alkemist Assured™ quality transparency program seal is now proudly displayed on bottles worldwide! To support this growth, we underwent an uncomfortable but necessary reorganization and recruited a COO to help steer the ship into deeper waters. Sidney Sudberg, the founder of Alkemist Labs, was honored with the AHPA Herbal Insight Award. This is wonderful news and a subtle nudge for him to start the talks about talking about him maybe beginning the early stages of something characteristic of retirement… IYKYK

Lastly, we finally filled an information gap in the industry by developing and sharing a comprehensive guide to evaluating analytical testing labs to make a wise choice. The enthusiastic response was the cherry on top! 

Looking forward: We are psyched about our new growth goals and can’t wait to see our new team and services in action. Plus, we’re rolling out a long-overdue new LIMS system for an even better client experience. Perhaps most exciting is the hope that RFK will become our industry’s next champion. Rest assured, I will continue to be your advocate for quality and transparency in lab testing, ensuring our beloved industry keeps providing safe and effective natural medicine to the world.