Gisele Bündchen’s face has graced more than 1,200 magazine covers in a decades-long career. She even out-earned her former husband, retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady, during his Super Bowl-winning years.
Last year, work brought Bündchen to Brevard in western North Carolina, far from the usual fashion hotspots where one might expect to see a supermodel. But the Brazlian, who now lives in Costa Rica, wasn’t there for a Versace photoshoot.
Bündchen had become a “wellness ambassador” for Gaia Herbs, one of an increasing number of biotech and life sciences companies that are making their headquarters in Transylvania County.
Bündchen’s visit explored how Gaia Herbs manages its 350-acre farm, where it grows between 30 and 40 different types of plants that make up about a quarter of its total botanical usage, says Brian Traylor, who joined Gaia Herbs in 2016 and has been its chief operations officer since 2021.
“She wanted to come out to the farm and get her hands in the dirt,” he says.
Gaia Herbs started in western Massachusetts in 1987 and moved to Brevard in 1996. Founder and former CEO Ric Scalzo was drawn by the region’s biodiversity and favorable soil and climate conditions. Despite its long history, a former executive described the company as the “biggest secret” in the industry and an “incredibly quiet company.”
Bündchen’s star power has helped ignite social media buzz, bringing Gaia Herbs exposure on health-related programs along with name drops in news articles about Bündchen in publications ranging from People magazine to Harper’s Bazaar.
When the CBS TV show “Sunday Morning” featured Bündchen talking about “modeling, divorce and her true self,” part of the 8-minute segment showed Bündchen at the picturesque Gaia Herbs farm talking about her children liking the products, and her years as a customer, specifically Gaia’s Black Elderberry Syrup in support of immune health.
“She’s a great ambassador for us,” says Traylor.
N.C.’s life science locator
North Carolina is home to 830 life sciences companies that directly employ 75,000 people. Another 2,500 companies have affiliations with the sector. Here’s where they are located by region, according
to the North Carolina Biotechnology Center:
Raleigh – 2,242
Charlotte – 457
Winston-Salem – 334
Wilmington – 172
Greenville – 158
Asheville – 146
Source: N.C. Biotech Center
Life Science Cluster
Gaia deserves credit for helping cement western North Carolina’s reputation in natural products, says Jonathan Snover, who heads the Asheville office of the Durham-based North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
After starting with about 90 employees in North Carolina, Gaia Herbs now has about 250, with 100 at a distribution center in Mills River in neighboring Henderson County, says Traylor. Another 20 temporary agricultural workers stay for seven to eight months on visas during each growing season.
Gaia Herbs sells products nationally at Whole Foods, Sprouts and other retailers, while e-commerce is its fastest-growing segment and accounts for about as much as 45% of sales, Traylor says.
The private company declined to share financial details except to say it is experiencing consistent annual growth. The global herbal supplements market grew 7.5% last year to $10.14 billion in 2022 to $10.91, according to Reportlinker.com, and is expected to expand to $14.8 billion by 2027.
Gaia Herbs is the old-timer of the cluster of companies. Two more recent entries, Pisgah Labs and Raybow USA, received $71 million in foreign investment from India and China for expansions, says Burton Hodges, executive director of the Transylvania Economic Alliance.
“Each one has its own story, but the fact that they’re all three in such a small town as Brevard is interesting,” says Snover.
It’s unclear why particular kinds of companies congregate in particular areas, he says. North Carolina has emerged as one of the most significant agriculture-tech hubs in the U.S., but not all areas of the state are equal, he says. Some have built-in advantages, such as Raleigh, which includes the Research Triangle Park.
“The ‘R’ in RTP is for research and the Triangle references three major research universities (NC State University, Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill),” says Snover. “Those are assets more rural communities in North Carolina, and frankly in most other states, cannot duplicate.”
But communities can play to their strengths. “That’s how our region has garnered the life science companies that are already here,” he says.
“From my perspective, the answer would be that some people just want to live in a beautiful place and start a company,” says Snover. Mountainous Transylvania County, which is famous for its waterfalls, certainly qualifies. “And, you know, I want to find more of those people.”
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While they don’t have Gisele Bündchen out front, Transylvania County’s Pisgah Labs and Raybow have strong stories. Both were bought by much larger foreign businesses. Both have expansion plans underway.
Pisgah Labs
Ipca Laboratories, based in Mumbai, India, paid about $9.6 million for Pisgah Labs in 2018. Pisgah Labs started in1981 and makes active pharmaceutical ingredients for other drugmakers. Pisgah had seven employees at the time
of the sale, says Dani Bradley, a 27-year company veteran and now the Pisgah Labs site manager for Ipca.
Where previous owners located the company on a 125-acre site, Ipca has helped the company grow, says Bradley.
In 2022, Pisgah Labs announced a $55 million investment to expand, promising 57 new jobs with average annual salaries of almost $60,000. The company has grown from 28 to 45 employees since then, and should have more than 100 in the next four to five years, Bradley says. Pisgah Labs will be able to make sterile injectables and liquid/oral pharmaceuticals after the expansion.
“There’s really nothing else like us in the area that does what we do,” she says. Blue Ridge Community College helps with worker training, as most jobs at the company don’t require a college degree.
Raybow USA
China-based Jiuzhou Pharma bought PharmAgra Labsin 2019 from North Carolina entrepreneurs Peter Newsome and the late Roger Frisbee for a reported $16 million, and renamed it Raybow USA. The company had about 30 employees, including about a half who hold doctoral degrees.
In 2021, Raybow announced a $15.8 million investment to create 74 positions over the next five years. Raybow provides contract research and development in organic and medicinal chemistry. ■
