Today: The Natural Products Expo West with Boiron Homeopathic Medicines

Boiron was founded in 1932 in Lyon, France, by twin brothers and pharmacists Jean and Henri Boiron. More about Boiron’s history in France and throughout the world can be found at www.boiron.com. In 1983, Boiron established a presence in the United States by acquiring John A. Borneman & Sons, Inc., in suburban Philadelphia. Borneman was a family business with four generations of homeopathic expertise focused on supplying medicines directly to physicians and the public throughout the U.S. The fledgling company, commonly referred to as Boiron USA, employed a staff of seven, who performed all tasks from manufacturing to order processing and shipping. On average, 25 orders were shipped per day. In 1985, the company’s first president, Daniel Cohen, began to focus on developing the retail sales channel to make Boiron homeopathic medicines more widely available. In 1987, Cohen returned to France, and Thierry Montfort arrived in the U.S. from Lyon to take the helm and continue the expansion in retail distribution. In response to a significant interest in homeopathy in California, Boiron established a branch in Simi Valley, outside of Los Angeles, in 1989. In 1993, ten years after the acquisition of Borneman, Boiron invested in the construction of a new building and moved from the original Borneman site in Norwood, Pa. to neighboring Newtown Square. The building continues to serve as both the Boiron USA headquarters, as well as the manufacturing and distribution branch for the East Coast. After heading Boiron Canada for seven years, namesake Thierry Boiron became Boiron USA’s third president in 1995 when Montfort returned to France as a newly appointment board member. After much growth and the need to contract for larger warehousing on both the East and West Coasts, a newly-built West Coast branch was completed in June 2005. The 20,500 square-foot building offers warehouse capabilities to meet future demands and enhance service. The new building can also accommodate 50 people in a specially-designed conference room to facilitate educational efforts, as Boiron is constantly focused on outreach to the medical community. Thierry Boiron returned to France to serve as managing direction of the Boiron Group, and Janick Boudazin, former director of medical development, is the U.S. division’s current president and CEO. Today, Boiron USA has evolved into a leading U.S. homeopathic medicine supplier, fulfilling up to 1,000 orders per day during the busy flu season. The company partners with brokers, distributors and retail chains to make homeopathic medicines available to a wide variety of consumers and physicians. Boiron’s staff of 120+ consists of pharmacists and lab technicians, accounting and IT personnel, marketing & public relations staff, national sales force, customer service, and order fulfillment and shipping professionals—many of whom have impressively long careers with the company.

Stay tuned for more reports every day live from Anaheim , California at The Natural Products Expo West , from Steve Taylor , Margie Rey , Nina Ameri , Amy Levy , Richard Marcella, and ken Ronning.