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Ready, Set, Gummy! 3 Tips for Choosing High-Quality Herbal Gummies—Plus, Meet Our 3 New Formulas

Published on January 13, 2022


Gummies are great: They’re a chewable and easy to swallow—not to mention tasty—choice for your wellness routine. So it makes sense that they’re becoming more popular and more available these days. But not all gummies are created equal.

Read on to learn how to find the highest-quality gummy supplements, like our new line of naturally better herbal gummies. From the moment Gaia Herbs began offering our Black Elderberry gummies two years ago to now, with our three new gummy formulas for sleep and stress support, we’ve been committed to setting and meeting a new market standard for these supplements: gummies that deliver on flavor, convenience, potency, and quality all at once.*

Tip #1: Check for Certifications You Can Trust

When it comes to the foods you eat, you seek out organic options whenever possible. So why should it be any different with your gummy supplements? Look for products with organic certification from the USDA and feel confident in knowing they’re made with ingredients that were grown with your health and the planet’s health in mind: without toxic chemical herbicides, pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers—and without genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.

In addition to organic certification, products can also be non-GMO certified by a third-party organization called the Non-GMO Project, to further guarantee they don’t contain any genetically modified ingredients. This certifier is focused deeply and solely on GMOs, conducting supply chain tracing and testing for GMO residue at multiple levels of production.

Presented together, these two certifications reflect a gold standard for foods and supplements. Our new gummy formulas are both USDA Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified, so you can rest assured you’re taking gummies that are as clean as they are convenient.

Tip #2: Seek Out Products from Companies Dedicated to Sustainable & Transparent Sourcing

To find the best gummies available, don’t just stop at organic and non-GMO certifications. Though these seals on the outside of a gummy jar do paint a fantastic picture of what’s inside, they simply can’t tell you the whole story.

That’s where buying supplements from a company committed to only the most sustainable sourcing and to providing complete transparency of ingredients comes into play. This kind of company will offer ways for you to look beyond the label and share details about their farm partners and suppliers either on their products or on their website.

At Gaia Herbs, sustainability is at the core of everything we do—from our operation of Gaia Farm, to our sourcing standards for the herbs we can’t grow ourselves, to the packaging and distribution of our products. For herbs that don’t thrive on our farm in Western North Carolina, or can’t be grown in the quantities we need, we source from our trusted network of sustainable communities across the country and around the globe, from where these herbs grow best and where conditions are ideal for producing the highest level of botanical compounds.

We verify at every stage of the Gaia Herbs seed-to-shelf journey, because we believe that you deserve to know exactly what’s in your herbal supplement. That’s why we created meetyourherbs.com, the world’s first herb traceability platform. Here you can enter the Herb ID found on the back of any Gaia Herbs supplement to discover the origin of your herbs; learn how they were grown, harvested, and extracted; and see validation of your product’s purity and potency.

Our Jujube

Most Jujubes are offered on the market with little transparency into their growing and handling practices. The organic Jujubes used in our new Sleep Gummies, as well as our SleepThru® capsules, are grown by Alisha Taff at Rock Front Ranch on the central coast of California. They’re cultivated using regenerative farming methods that sequester carbon in the soil, as well as agroforestry practices that utilize native plants along riparian and field borders for pollinator and bird habitats, adding diversity to the landscape.

Because of all her amazing efforts, Alisha recently obtained certification for her farm from the Real Organic Project, which differentiates farmers who go above and beyond USDA standards. The certification shows that her Jujubes are grown in nutrient-rich soil, using compost, cover crops, and crop rotation. It also demonstrates that she protects her farm workers, by giving them access to medical care, as just one example.

At Gaia, we use the whole tree-dried Jujube fruit plus the seed, where sleep-supportive compounds are found.* We’re excited to be able to say that our Sleep Gummies contain the world’s first fruit and seed Jujube paste to provide concentrated herbal support in a gummy format.*

The seed of Jujube date (Ziziphus jujuba) has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries; in fact, one well-known sleep-supporting Jujube formula is said to date back to 220 A.D.* But herbalists have long used the fruit and leaves as well. In addition to sleep support, Jujube is traditionally used for liver and cleanse support, digestive support, and stress support.*

Our Passionflower & Lemon Balm

The organic Passionflower used in our new Relax Gummies is grown by a trusted farm partner we’ve worked with for more than a decade, located in the southwest of France. The fields are far from any industrial areas and are located in a protected wildlife habitat. The farm’s regenerative practices include creating pollinator areas and using insectary strips (which also support pollinators) and a commitment to biodiversity—nests are placed in the surrounding trees to encourage bird life and activity. 

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is as beautiful as it is calming, with its mesmerizing, delicate flower that develops into a large, oval, fleshy fruit.* The whole plant is used in traditional herbalism to support sleep and relaxation, though the highest amount of beneficial constituents is thought to be found in the stem and leaves.*

Our Relax Gummies also contain organic Lemon Balm, grown by a Spanish farm with 160 years of experience in herbal botanicals. There, we can trace the herb from fields to processing: Fresh Lemon Balm leaves are carefully selected before being mechanically processed, using a solvent-free process, into a concentrated, full spectrum juice powder perfect for the gummy format.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) smells like lemon, of course, and yet perhaps surprisingly, this plant is a member of the mint family. The herb has traditionally been used to promote calmness and tranquility, though it also has a long history of use for digestive support and to support cognitive function as well.*

Our Ashwagandha

Our new Ashwagandha Gummies, along with our Sleep Gummies, contain organic Ashwagandha from India, where it is water-extracted (only the dried roots, no leaves) and fully traceable from seed to shelf. The full spectrum Ashwagandha is meticulously tested for adulteration at its source and at our ISO-certified lab at Gaia headquarters in Brevard, North Carolina, where we can determine its concentration of beneficial withanolide and polysaccharide compounds.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is an Ayurvedic adaptogenic herb, revered for more than 1,500 years for its ability to help the body adapt to and cope with life’s challenges, which is why you’ll find it in many of our stress-support formulas.* It’s also known for its ability to support restful sleep.* Indeed, its Latin name explains this benefit: “Somnifera” translates to “dream carrier.”

Tip #3: Read the Labels Carefully, Keeping an Eye Out for Artificial Ingredients

Looking for organic and non-GMO certifications and choosing products from companies committed to sustainable and transparent herbal sourcing are key steps toward finding the highest-quality herbal gummies. But you still want to be sure to pay attention to the entire Supplement Facts label and read all of the ingredients being used before making your purchase. Often, gummy supplements are loaded with refined sugars, added preservatives, and added flavors.

At Gaia, we know how important every ingredient is to you. Each herbal gummy formula in our new line is sweetened only with real fruit and flavored only with herbs and pure essential oils—no artificial colors, preservatives, flavors, or sweeteners whatsoever. What’s more, the formulas are 100% plant-powered, and are vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and soy-free, for support you can feel good about (and enjoy!) taking.

Naturally Better Herbal Gummies: Discover the Gaia Difference

Our Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, fully plant-powered and full spectrum herbal gummies offer strong support that’s as delicious as it is clean and convenient, no refined sugar and nothing artificial.* Discover our three new gummy options, expertly formulated to help you stay well and keep living your best life.*

Ashwagandha Gummies

Gaia Herbs Ashwagandha Gummies

Bring your body into balance: Our Ashwagandha Gummies deliver a potent 6 grams of this revered adaptogen per serving to support a healthy response to stress.* Adaptogens read your body’s needs in trying times and smooth out its stress response cycle, promoting stress reduction and an increased resistance to stress.* These gummies are sweetened with real fruit—blueberry, apple, and date—and flavored with ginger and cinnamon.

Sleep Gummies

Gaia Herbs SLeep Gummies

Drift off to dreamland: When stressed, you may experience occasional sleeplessness.* Our Sleep Gummies combine the adaptogen Ashwagandha, for stress support, and Passionflower, which supports a sense of calm—along with Reishi and Jujube date—to promote a good night’s rest; benefits build over time.* They’re sweetened with apple and tart cherry and flavored with sweet orange oil.

Relax Gummies

Gaia Herbs Relax Gummies

Stress less and find more calm: Our Relax Gummies contain a specially formulated blend of herbs traditionally used for maintaining emotional wellness and supporting a sense of calm and relaxation: Holy Basil, Passionflower, and Lemon Balm.* The gummies are naturally tasty thanks to apple and blueberry, with a delightful fresh citrus flavor from lemon oil.

Learn More About Herbal Gummies

We hope you’ll make room in your routine for high-quality gummy supplements, like our new line of naturally better herbal gummies. After all, they’re a fun and flavorful way to get the support you need.* Want to learn more about gummies? Check out these links:

PS: For a fun and tasty project in the kitchen with your kids, try making your own Elderberry gummies using our Black Elderberry Syrup.