Mill Creek Botanicals
For any new venture, 38 years in business is hard to fathom. Getting to that point with an all-star product line backed by extremely consistent quality and delivery makes the task seem even more difficult. For Mill Creek Botanicals CEO Panch Prasad, building the Mill Creek brand into one of the most recognized in the natural health field has been a journey of passion.
When Prasad purchased Mill Creek in early 2000, he had big plans. The trained chemist and natural product advocate had spent 10 years representing the brand as an independent broker. He personally used many of the products himself and thought there was still potential to grow the brand’s lineup and expand its market share. Today, Mill Creek is a global brand found in more than 45 countries that enjoys a high level of brand awareness in the natural products industry.
While Mill Creek had a complete product line a decade ago, Prasad’s drive for innovation and growth has helped it grow to more than 100 SKU’s. The company also introduced Mill Creek Baby, a collection of proprietary tear-free formulations for moisturizing, cleansing and relieving sensitive skin without harmful additives. The idea for a baby line came to Prasad from personal experience. He has two grandchildren and a new baby of his own and found so many formulas weren’t as clean and natural as they claimed. Mill Creek could do better he thought. And it did.
“Babies are so innocent, and it can be so frustrating when you see their skin become irritated because a formulation isn’t as natural as it says it is on the bottle,” Prasad says.
Prasad’s drive to add more unique proprietary formulations also led to his creating another Mill Creek sub-category, Novacell, a new Plant Stem Cell rejuvenating solution. Using advanced natraceutical technology, this product is formulated with mung bean plant stem cells, peptides and antioxidants. The line’s daily cleanser, facial serum, eye balm, night cream and day lotion are created with the unique characteristic to self-regenerate as a complete & functional entity to fight aging while maintaining natural integrity and the environment.
“I love growing a company, but it’s important to me that we do it right. We still continue to search for the best, purest ingredients that can be used in a way that is respectful of the environment from which they came,” Prasad says.
With its many unique and proprietary formulations, Mill Creek also adheres to strict PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) guidelines with all their products. Above all, Prasad says Mill Creek has been able to separate itself from the competition for two reasons – quality and price.
“Great health and great natural products should not only be for the upper class.” Prasad adds, “our greatest challenge in this industry is creating the best products at a price everyone can afford. I’m proud of the fact that Mill Creek has been doing that for quite some time.”
Started in 1975, Mill Creek has gained its share of industry recognition. Most recently in 2013 it won Delicious Livings best beauty and body award; in 2009 and 2010 it won the Best of Beauty Award from Better Nutrition Magazine. In 2003, it won a Natural Products Showcase Award for best packaging and its environmentally sensitive practices at the Natural Product Expo. Once again, in 2011 & 2012, Mill Creek won Natural Choice Awards from Whole Foods Magazine.
With its global reach to more than 45 countries, including Asia, Europe and South America, the Nevada-based company is a prominent U.S. exporter. In 2007, Prasad was recognized with the “Exporter of the Year” award from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Prasad believes the company has an obligation to give back to its community. Mill Creek supports the Mayo Clinic for its Cancer and Parkinson’s disease research and is involved with Vitamin Angels, a global initiative that helps undernourished children achieve better health with natural supplements. Mill Creek also donates to local Nevada charities. IHR
