Name: Michael Chansilp
Title: Senior Program Manager
Company: The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
Products certified: Food products under multiple brands such as Arrowhead Mills® (flours, baking mixes and grains), Celestial Seasonings® (teas), Earth’s Best® (infant and toddler foods), Garden of Eatin’® (snacks), Imagine® (soups), MaraNatha® (nut butters), Spectrum® (culinary oils and condiments) and FreeBird® (poultry). Personal care products under multiple brands such as Jason Natural Products®, Alba Botanica® and Avalon Organics®.
Why did you choose organic certification with QAI?
We’ve been certifying with QAI for more than 12 years. In that time, we’ve been very pleased with their professionalism and consistent approach to certification. We have multiple certified facilities across North America and export our products around the world. QAI has demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of global organic regulations and has been a great resource for our company.
Tell us about your exciting upcoming business developments or products.
Consumers are increasingly searching for organic certified personal care and beauty products. In a sea of products all claiming varying levels of “organic” ingredients, trusted certifications have become even more essential in lending credibility. At Avalon Organics®, we believe that you shouldn’t have to choose between achieving your desired beauty benefit and living an organic lifestyle. That’s why we strive to offer consumers innovative, highly efficacious, organic-certified beauty products for the hair, face and body. Moving forward, we will continue to seek out cutting-edge ingredients that are not only organic, but are also available globally. These efforts will allow consumers to explore exciting, new botanically-based formulations they may never have tried before!
What do you think is the next big thing in organic?
I wouldn’t categorize this as the “next big thing,” but I’d say the next step is for organic to become the norm. For example, I envision a time when the organic produce section becomes just the produce section and conventional produce is a mere subset of that section. While it may not be just around the corner, the rapid growth of this industry leads me to believe this is indeed the future. Imagine a future where both the inputs and outputs of all agriculture improve the environment and well-being of everyone involved!
What keeps you up at night?
As our mission is to be the leading marketer, manufacturer and seller of organic and “better-for-you” products, we believe protecting organic integrity is one of the greatest challenges we face in this industry. The organic sector has grown tremendously over the past decade. The proper oversight and enforcement are needed throughout the organic supply chain. A delicate balance must be established to ensure that those who play by the rules aren’t hampered by overreaching regulations, and those who knowingly commit fraud are promptly addressed.