October 5, 2011: The Mighty New Superberry
For centuries would-be entrepreneurs and adventurers have collectively sunk millions of dollars into looking for the legendary fountain of youth. In this century, the search for the source of eternal youth switched from Ponce de Leon’s legendary water to fruit.
It started with the elevation of the common blueberry to “superfruit” status. That was followed by more exotic berries like the coffeeberry and acai berry, which were both touted as holding the secret cure to almost all that ails us.
And now here to save the day, all the way from the Tibetan Himalayas, is the sea buckthorn berry, which is said to be abundantly rich in omegas-3, -6, and -9 and the far rarer omega -7 fatty acid (which apparently helps our bodies produce the proven skin-rejuvenator collagen).
You don’t have to (nor apparently can you) move to Tibet to grow the berry to cash in. The better opportunity is to incorporate the sea buckthorn berry into a line of products like super-drinks, vitamins or skincare solutions and manufacture or sell them (or both).
A few companies have already gotten a head start. Fresh, an internationally renowned skincare and cosmetics line, incorporated the superberry into its Seaberry body cream; Sibu Beauty, which calls itself the “Sea Buckthorn Company,” sells skincare products and supplements; and a British company launched a sea buckthorn berry juice beverage.
But don’t let that stop you. The supposed benefits of the sea buckthorn berry are just starting to be known-there’s still plenty of time for savvy entrepreneurs to tap into the newest fountain of youth.