Step 1: Open a bottle of Goldthread Plant Based Tonics.
Step 2: Smell the 14 delicious grams of herbs, plants and adaptogens your body is craving.
Step 3: Drink and enjoy the countless benefits of plants and nutrients that will instantly change the way you think and feel.
Goldthread Plant Based Tonics isn't just offering a refreshing and effective way to consume plants; it's offering a lifestyle. This lifestyle consists of feeling better by drinking better. With the brand's bottled plant-based drinks, you can now boost your mood, health and energy on demand. Goldthread's drinks are vegan, gluten free, all under 100 calories, and, as verified by my own tastebuds, absolutely exquisite. They're a healthy addition to any meal, or a tasty treat in between.
Goldthread's tagline is “Drink More Plants.” It's a short and simple quote with a short and simple message: adding more plants to your diet is easy with Goldthread's tonics.
The company began as an herbal pharmacy in Massachusetts. Here, founder and clinical herbalist William Siff practiced acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. The company expanded to include an herb farm and an educational program known as Farm to Pharmacy.
After the company’s initial success, Siff and his wife wanted to take the Goldthread name nationally. They aimed to offer what their pharmacy model thrived on to the whole country.
“We wanted to find a way to take some of the best of what was going on with that model, and, I know it sounds cheesy, but literally bottle it," Siff said.
An Asian Medicine success story, as told by Founder William Siff
Siff spent his early college years battling with body equilibrium problems. Despite seeing several Western medicine specialists, his dizziness and uncomfortable symptoms persisted. It was only after turning to Asian Medicine that he saw an improvement. Siff found an Asian medicine clinic in Boston’s Chinatown, which was where his plant-based lifestyle began.
“While everyone else was out partying, I started drinking gallons of carrot juice, going vegetarian, taking all these herbs and concoctions, getting acupuncture, and really trying to figure it out,” Siff said.
After being treated with the perfect combination of herbs to realign his body, Siff said he practically began apprenticing for the clinic's owner. Here, William learned the ins and outs of curing ailments and treating the body by harnessing the power of plants.
Populations, plants and health benefits
Though humans are built to eat many different types of foods, Siff stresses that the proportion of non-plant-based to plant-based foods consumed in America is largely unbalanced. What's unhealthy about the current level of consumption isn't that people are eating things like meat, dairy and wheat. Rather, it's that they're eating too much of it. As for the vegan movement trend, William said he believes he and his drinks are going in the right direction.
"I'm down with it. I'm down with the movement," he said.
William has travelled around the world learning about the healing powers of plants. In many countries, namely Japan, he found that people live with tremendous health much later into life than they do in America. According to Siff, this a result of a plant heavy lifestyle. For example, Siff said the average Japanese farmer is in their 80s, living on a plant-heavy diet, and drinking 13 cups of green tea a day. According to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), a non-profit organization that supports aging individuals, Japan has the world's oldest population, not to mention one of the highest life expectancy rates.
This is the type of lifestyle that Siff is looking to teach his patients, and now, through the platform of his tonics, the whole world.
“When I see patients, I get them on protocols where they’re incorporating plants into their everyday routines in a seamless fashion. You wouldn’t even know you’re doing it, but at the end of the day, you’ve had twenty, thirty, forty different medicinal plants, in your diet, in your lifestyle,” said Siff.
Flavor and function
Each tonic has its own blend of health benefits depending on its ingredients. There are currently eleven flavors on the market. Siff says it’s difficult for him to choose a favorite. When he’s focusing on work and answering emails, he likes Japanese Matcha, as it’s combination of theanine and caffeine offer the focus and alertness of coffee without the jitters. After a run, Siff will enjoy the Green Minerals flavor to replenish his system. Digestion issues? Sip on Lavender Bliss. Need an Immune system boost? Try Elderberry Defense. By the end of the day, Siff said he consumes around four tonics, and has been doing so for the past four years.
Moving forward: growth and education
Since it first entered the beverage industry three and a half years ago, Goldthread has expanded tremendously. The brand currently sells its products in over 2500 stores as well as its their website.
Right now, the company is working on highly-consentrated 2 oz. health shots. This type of product would be consumed for the health benefits only, as Siff said they're not as refreshing or tasty as the current tonics. They're more potent and intended to be taken in one or two sips.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, Goldthread currently has 30-40 employees. Siff hopes to spread the brand through educating people about the benefits of a plant-based diet.
"For the foreseeable future, we are just going to do more of the same: spreading the word, capturing more and more of the market, and getting more and more plants into people," Siff said.
Purchase Goldthread Plant-Based Tonics on its website or at a store near you.