Behind the Scenes of How Our Products are Made
Whether you have been using Sprigs products for years or are completely new to us, you might be wondering what goes into making the products you use everyday. This is the journey of one of our most popular products, Immuno-X, made at our production facility, Eden’s Answers Inc., in Millersburg, Ohio.
Eden’s Answers Inc. has been a part of Sprigs for the last 5 years. When we first purchased Eden’s Answers, Leroy Miller joined the company to help it grow and our efforts have been a huge success. In the past 5 years, we have gone from producing 7,000 bottles of product per year in our first year to hundreds of thousands of products a year in the last couple years with an incredible team of 11 people.
Meet the Eden’s Answers Team:
Leroy Miller
Operations Manager, Company Strategist
Karen Miller
Production Manager
Perry Erb
Research and Product Development
Nathan Dudis
Quality Control
Leah Miller
Production Manager (In Training)
Katie Miller
Production Supervisor
Susanna Hochstetler
Production
Kathryn Yoder
Production
Miriam Miller
Production
Mary Hershberger
Shipping
Rachel Miller
Shipping, Label Printing
Planning
It’s Monday Morning, Karen and Leah are sitting down and going over the Sprigs inventory as they do every week. They discover that we are getting low on Immuno-X. We only have enough to last 4 months and it is time to make some more.
Planning the Batch
The first step is to determine what ingredients we will need in order to be able to make the product. They decide on a batch size, calculate the number of herbs needed, and then check to see what ingredients we already have in stock.
Ordering the Herbs
Now that they have a list of herbs needed, we are ready to order the herbs from a Qualified Supplier. A qualified supplier is a company that has gone through a careful review to make sure the way that they grow, harvest, and test their herbs meets our strict requirements. We review their testing and other information in addition to running our own tests on the herbs to make sure that the herbs are what they are claiming they are. Since these are all herbs we ordering for Immuno-X, the supplier is already verified and we can place the order.
Quarantine
A week to 10 days later the ordered herbs arrive, but we are not quite ready to make the product yet. The incoming ingredients are put in a special room called “ the quarantine room” where they wait till they are reviewed and tested by quality control.
Quality Control
Our Quality Control department is headed up by Nathan and before the ingredients are released to be used in production, Nathan puts each herb through a complicated 3 step process.
Reviewing the Paperwork
First, we review all of the quality control paperwork that came in with the ingredients.This includes what tests have been run on it, where it was grown and whether it meets the criteria that we have to use an ingredient. All the paperwork we received is fully reviewed and then filled.
Identity Testing
Next we take a small sample of the herb to test for identity. This starts with carefully looking at the herb to make sure it looks like, smells like, and has the correct color of the herb it is supposed to be. Once the herb has been inspected, we get a third party lab to perform a complicated test called HPTLC that creates a digital image of the what the herb is made up of so that we can be sure it is what we think it is.
Microbial Testing
The purpose of the microbial test it to make sure that there is not mold, bacteria, or other contaminants in the herb. Right now we do this by sending a sample to an outside lab that we are partnered with to do testing for us. We are planning to purchase equipment to begin doing this test in-house in 2020.
Assigning a Unique Lot Number
Every shipment of ingredients that we receive gets its own special code called a lot number. The lot number is how we know what test goes with what herb and what batch that shipment went into. The lot number helps us keep clear records of every step.
Raw Materials Storage
Once the tests are finished and everything is recorded, Nathan releases the ingredient and moves it from our quarantine room to the raw materials storage room. The raw materials room is an environmentally controlled room, meaning that the humidity and temperature are monitored and recorded every day to make sure that the ingredients remain safe.
Production:
By this time several weeks have passed and Karen and Leah are excited to get production started on Immuno-X. They do this by creating what we call a batch record in our system. This is a complicated document that covers every step of how the product needs to be made including what equipment and ingredients are needed and a step by step procedure of how the product will be made. Karen and Leah meet with Katie to put the product on the schedule to be made.
Production Day
The big day has arrived, we are making Immuno-X. A member of the production team gets a list of ingredients to bring from the raw materials room to our production area to be measured into the cooking pots.
Gathering Equipment
The team checks the batch record to find out what pots will be used and bring them to the production area.
Sanitizing the Equipment
The batch record gives careful instructions on what equipment will be needed and how to clean each piece properly. Once all of the steps have been taken, two team members sign the batch record indicating that they have verified it had been done correctly.
The Perfect Amount of the Perfect Herbs
When the production team weighs out each ingredient they use specially calibrated scales that are regularly professionally checked to be sure that they are completely accurate. When each ingredient is weighed out and added to the pots, we enter those ingredients’ lot numbers into the batch record. We do this because if that number has not been approved for that batch, the batch record computer will not allow it to be added. For example, if the batch record calls for echinacea root, and we were to add echinacea leaf, the system would not accept that ingredient and we will have to start over. This ensures that we have clear records and the right amount of the right herbs every time. This also allows us to trace every batch of product to the source of its ingredients. Every step of this process is checked and recorded and signed by two team members.
The Extraction Liquid
The glycerin, alcohol, and water are recorded in a similar way, with a strict two-person system to verify that everything is perfectly recorded.
Waiting and Stirring
Now that the ingredients are in the pots, they are sealed and everything is sanitized according to batch record procedures. For the next two weeks, as the herbs extract, the production team continues to stir the pots on a schedule, each time verified and signed off on by two production team members.
Pressing
After two weeks the pot is emptied into our press. Our special press applies thousands of pounds of pressure to the herbs, pressing them until they are almost completely dry and all the nutrients are fully extracted. The batch record shows how much liquid that product should yield and we press until we get it all.
Labels
If you look at a product in your home, you will see two numbers: a manufacturing date and a lot number. The lot number identifies which batch your product was made in and the manufacturing date is when that batch was processed. Rachel adds this information to our software and then prints the labels for the bottles.
Bottles, Seals
Next we take the liquid extract and prepare the bottling equipment according to batch record instructions. The liquid is properly portioned into bottles, sealed up, and labeled according to the batch records and every step is signed off on by two team members.
Final Testing
At this point, you might think that the product is done, but wait, there is one more very important step. Before the product goes into our warehouse, it goes to the quarantine room, Nathan takes a sample bottle to perform all the tests that we did to each ingredient when it first came in, including the identity of the product and the microbial test. The product remains under quarantine until all of these tests come back satisfactorily, then it is released into the warehouse.
Completed Product
Warehousing
Now that the product is in the warehouse it's ready for a store to order. Mary is responsible for warehousing and shipping, so when the phone rings and a store places an order, she prepares their order and ships it to them the same day.
Immuno-X in Your Home
It’s a chilly December day and you are on the hunt for the best immune care product available.* You walk into your local store and they tell you about their favorite product, Sprigs Immuno-x. You purchase it and take it home. Now it’s your favorite too!
And that’s how we make Immuno-X. If you want to learn more about our production process we want to extend an invitation to you to come and visit our production facility. Come learn about how our products are made and meet the team in person. We are open to school groups for field trips , tour groups, families, and individuals. You can find the facility at 420A West Jones Street, Millersburg, Ohio 44654. We are offering tours Monday - Friday 9:00 am to 2pm. These tours are completely free. Please call 1-888-990-7763 (Select Option 4) to schedule your visit.
