Our Natural Health Journey.....
Indigo is the colour of insight and vision and the birth of this natural health company came from a spark of inspiration! Steve Mckewon – Indigo Herbs Managing Director – originally had a shop in the Somerset town of Glastonbury UK, “Indigo Earth”, selling crystals, incense and a small range of herbs. This shop was born out of his interests in crystals, ancient plant wisdom, esoteric arts, meditation and natural healing. Whilst crystals and incense will always be popular here in Glastonbury, what really flew off the shelves were the herbs!
This journey brought him to an awareness of the potential healing powers of the plant kingdom and he soon realised that never before had there been a time where plant wisdom could be shared so easily. People anywhere with an internet connection and a postcode could access natural health ingredients at affordable prices – thus Indigo Herbs was born.
Steve then partnered up with Michael Hanby, a talented businessman with an understanding of the power of plant medicine. Michael shared Steve’s vision and helped to create a business that was not only successful, but socially balanced and with a view to the fact that health and nutrition is the cornerstone of social evolution.
Finally, Claire Kelly joined the team and a dynamic trio of directors was created. Claire brought with her a background of complementary therapy and a burning desire to communicate the message that empowerment is the keystone to health and wellbeing. Having helped many people in her time as a complementary therapist, she knew that low energy and ill health are often a side effect of poor nutrition and a toxic diet. She felt Indigo Herbs would be the perfect vehicle to educate and inspire and resonated with Steve’s vision of “A Global Apothecary Available to All”.
A Global Apothecary
Empowering People to Take Responsibility for Their Health!
So the team got busy! They sourced over 250 botanicals from around the globe and developed relationships with suppliers and growers who have an awareness of ecology as well as providing only top quality pharmacopoeial grade botanicals in their pure natural state. The driving force behind Steve’s vision was to make premium quality, 100% natural products affordable and available to all – this concept has now become a reality. In fact, the original goal has now been surpassed with many of the superfoods originally stocked not only remaining at the same price, some are actually cheaper now!
A big part of the company’s ethos is that by providing optimum nutrition – really nutrient rich and chemical free superfoods – that this may create social change and lead to human evolution. Indigo Herbs now stocks over 500 natural health and nutrition products which have been streamlined into three ranges; Indigo Nutrition, Indigo Pure Herbs and Indigo Herbal Tea.
Indigo Herbs Mission
Indigo Herbs is a down to earth family business based in Glastonbury, South West England. Their ultimate mission is to inspire and motivate each individual into taking responsibility for their own health and wellbeing. The focus is on supplying premium quality herbs, cutting edge superfoods, whole foods, organic, pure chocolate ingredients, natural botanical incenses and aromatherapy oils.
Their mission is achieved through connection and communication with customers – whilst Steve was running his shop “Indigo Earth”, he dealt with customers on a face to face basis and realised the importance of good customer relations. For many years, Steve was the first port of call when orders were placed, here he further developed his customer services skills and the business remains firmly customer orientated.
Although not able to give health advice, trust is built through the excellent customer services team and as much information as possible is made available on the benefits of the wide ranging product range.
The Indigo Herbs website has evolved over the years, it has grown from being essentially an online shop to a goldmine of information - not only about their products but about natural health in general and much more. There is a bi-weekly newsletter full of health tips and seasonal information, a bi-weekly blog which focusses in depth on specific health and nutritional issues. There is also the Natural Health Guide which is an invaluable tool for newbies to the world of optimum nutrition – here is all the information you could ever need about the plants, their history, traditional use and potential health benefits. Another important area of the site are the Recipe pages – here you can learn how to incorporate superfoods into your diet, with lots of recipes for meals and smoothies that not only taste great but nourish your mind, body and soul!
Glastonbury – Heart of Alternative Culture
It is really of no surprise that a healing herbs and superfood company should have its roots in Glastonbury, otherwise known as the Ancient Isle of Avalon. Here there is a long tradition of healing stretching back 1000’s of years – it is steeped in ancient history - myths and legends abound. From the arrival of Jesus Christ with his Uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, to the legends of King Arthur whose remains were purported to have been found in the Abbey and where he still has a grave to this day.
However, what is not a myth or legend is the fact that Glastonbury has attracted healers, mystics and spiritual seekers for 100’s if not 1000’s of years!
Glastonbury Tor – Myths & Mystery
Visible for over 20 miles and prominently featured in the Indigo Herbs logo is Glastonbury Tor – some of the names attributed to this mysterious hill are; Magic Mountain, Grail Castle and the old Celtic name Ynys Witrin meaning “Isle of Glass”. Legend has it that the Tor is the castle of “Gwyn Ap Nudd” known as the King of the Faeries or the Lord of the Underworld. The subtle terracing around the Tor is still a mystery with some scholars speculating that it may be the remnants of a Neolithic labyrinth. Atop the Tor is the ruin of a church dedicated to St Michael, many people come here on a pilgrimage to climb this mystical hill and some report life changing experiences. With breathtaking views over three counties, on certain days the Tor is shrouded in the famous “Mists of Avalon” when one can get a true sense of what it was like when it was still an island surrounded by an inland sea.
Healing Waters
Rising within a few feet of each other from the caverns beneath the tor are two healing springs; the Red Spring – touched red with iron and said to be female, and the White Spring – touched white with calcite and said to be male. People have come to these springs for millennia to take in the waters. In October 1750 a gentleman named Matthew Chancellor from North Wootton (about 3 miles from Glastonbury) announced he had been healed by the waters of the White Spring after having a prophetic dream. He had been afflicted by asthma and other ailments and one night after a violent fit of coughing, he fell asleep and dreamed he was standing on a horse track where he saw some remarkably clear water. Someone standing beside him pointed to the water and told him to drink it, in secret, for seven successive Sunday mornings. He started the following Sunday morning to travel to Glastonbury to drink a glass of water from this spring – after the seven week course he announced he was cured! As a result of this, in 1751, Gentleman’s magazine reported that on May 5th 10,000 people came from Bristol, Bath and other areas to Glastonbury to drink the water for their health.
Once the richest Abbey in England, Glastonbury Abbey, around which the town is built, still boasts an elaborate herb garden – this is where the monks would have nurtured their medicinal herb garden, growing healing herbs to keep the monks of the abbey and the townspeople healthy.
21st Century Avalon – The Tradition Continues
Nowadays people continue to flock to Glastonbury for several reasons, healing being a strong theme whether it be spiritual healing, healing of the body using superfoods and a clean organic diet or maybe a combination of the two. The percentage of vegetarians and vegans in this small town is extremely high, there are “raw foodies”, “juice junkies”, superjuice detox weekends and many other permutations of cutting edge nutrition here. Living and working in Glastonbury, Steve, Michael and Claire are inspired to keep on top of their game as new fads and trends often hit this town before anywhere else. This combined with Steve’s extensive research allows for exciting new products to be introduced into the range on a regular basis.
The Vision Becomes a Reality….
It is currently a very exciting time for Indigo Herbs, to go alongside the newly streamlined range, elegant and sleek new packaging has been created!
Indigo Nutrition: Consisting of over 90 different, highly nutritious Superfoods and Supplements, the Indigo Nutrition range can help you be certain you are getting the essential bio-available vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients your body needs to not only survive but thrive.
Pure Herbs: This consists of over 60 Herbal Tinctures and 50 Herbal Powders. This range brings together traditional herbal remedies from multiple global traditions such as Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda and Western Herbalism.
Herbal Tea: Consisting of over 50 different loose leaf herbal tea ingredients, the age old ritual of making tea from the loose matter of the plant ensures that the active beneficial phytonutrients of the plants can be fully extracted and then absorbed. This range comprises of a broad selection of beneficial herbal ingredients.
Indigo Herbs Makeover!
It was decided that it was time to create a fresh new look in the knowledge that the right packaging is like telling the story of the brand – not only that, it also creates a lasting positive impression in the mind of the customers. It is felt that the whole branding process is not just about new packaging, but a holistic experience, consistent with what the Indigo Herbs brand stands for – health, nutrition and wellbeing – “We wanted the packaging to reflect the company ethos, we are proud to be based in Glastonbury, Somerset, UK. This small town is the capitol of alternative health and natural healing, it has been a place of pilgrimage for thousands of years” Claire Kelly, Company Director.
Needless to say it has been a very busy time at Indigo, all departments have been involved in creating the new look, from the directors to the production line – “Good packaging is the result of good collaboration between marketing, advertising, design, the supply chain and other teams. It’s a very complex process that involves several teams and levels of people.” – Laurent Hainaut, founder of design agency, Raison Pure.
In line with the company’s mission to make premium quality 100% pure natural health products both available and affordable, this great new look is set to attract a whole new audience in what is a fast growing superfood revolution!
With special thanks to Kev Pearson Photography:
https://www.facebook.com/KevPearsonPhotography/?__mref=message_bubble
And Alexandra Von Hellberg Photography:
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