Elan’s recap 2019 and forecast 2020

Looking back, Looking Forward

 While it won’t go down in the archives as our best one, 2019 was almost a really great year. The industry, and our little lab, experienced some challenging growing pains, along with some very real successes. As we enter the new year, it’s good to review the closing one, and go into the future with strengthened determination.

A quote comes to mind from one of the few audio books I started and finished this year.  “Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when the tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you’ve been through the tough times and you discover they aren’t so tough after all.”
― Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

Here is a summary of some major accomplishments and proud moments of 2019 (and if you follow me on Linked In or Facebook, you’ll get the otherwise obscure references):

To start 2019 off we:

1. Showed how we do what we do and why you really shouldn’t bother trying to do it yourself.
2. Collaborated with an amazing company (Sabinsa) to help to confirm an amazing ingredient (Shagandha) met USP standards, a commendable extra step in a category vulnerable to adulteration.
3. Enjoyed multiple successful customer audits (you DO audit your labs, right??).
4. Celebrated as a prominent client began making the Alkemist Labs C of A public.
5. Set a new industry record for fastest routine Turn Around Time for HPTLC ID – 4 days!
6. Bragged about our glass door ratings.
7. Partnered with Rejimus to help eliminate gaps where many companies are failing GMP audits, NDI, and other regulatory-related responsibilities.
8. Launched a ‘change the industry program’ Next Generation TransparencyÔ where our clients are willing to share a consumer-focused C of A to their “prosumers” (consumers  with pro-level knowledge).
9. I was honored to be appointed to Board of Directors of the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC), and Chair of the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (SCNM) Leadership Advisory Council for the Master of Science in Nutrition Business program.
10. It took me 40 years, but I finally turned 40!!!
11. Bragged about our tiny pulse ratings.
12. Won the coveted Nutra Champion Award.
13. We tried really hard to bite our tongues when ABC testing labs got busted by the FDA (again) but the industry was impotently quiet about it, so I had to un-bite my tongue and help spread the word.
14. Collaborated with NutraSource to help launch the International Cannabinoid Analysis Program (ICAP). We test hemp samples for the program to confirm they contain less than 0.2% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, in line with the European regulatory limit.
15. Put on the engagement ring of a serious and well aligned potential investor, and then removed and returned said ring.
16. Presented at various educational sessions with intimidating greats from organizations such as AHPA, NIST, NSF and NIH.
17. Let Inside Edition Inside.
18. Determined it was Lemon Grass.
19. Tested some CBD (100% more than last year).
20. Named by USDA as one of the only proper hemp labs in the US.
21. Had quotes or mentions in nearly 60 articles in industry trade publications, and wrote a few.

Those just a portion of the ‘seeds’ we planted for the future. With all that nearly behind us, we are confident that the industry, now with less labs to choose from, will lean back towards the specialist labs with consistent TAT and the best customer service. We are certain we will find the perfect investor to aid in increasing our services. We are excited to work with handpicked best in class clients to ‘change the industry ‘ using Next Generation Transparency where our clients are proud to share a consumer-focused C of A to their prosumers.

Wishing you all happy holidays and a healthy, productive new year ahead!