Saje was created because our health wasn’t where we wanted it to be. We also didn’t feel good that the only readily available options for treating common health concerns were pharmaceutical methods. In search of an alternative, we discovered a natural way to maintain our wellness: essential oils and the healing power of plants.
PIONEERS IN WELLNESS
For more than 25 years, we’ve been creating essential oil blends for our community because we believe essential oils hold the key to accessing greater health and well being. We use essential oils to create blends that address stress, sleep, energy, digestion and pain from head to toe. When we launched our first five blends, a whole new way of approaching wellness was born: one with a measurable, certifiable benefit to your health.
But back in 1992, it was a challenge to have our essential oil blends recognized for their healing properties. This didn’t stop us — in fact, it pushed us to get creative and find new ways to connect people with the healing power of plants. We started working with Health Canada on a licensing system for natural products (called the Natural Health Product system), and even succeeded in having one of the first-ever, 100% natural essential oil blends to be recognized by the FDA as an over-the-counter medicine (also known as an OTC).
Today, more than ever, you can count on your essential oil blends to be effective and to only carry claims that have been verified by regulatory agencies. We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings on Vancouver’s north shore. Now, our essential oil products are showing up in Oprah’s O Magazine, in the hands of celebrities like Lea Michele, Sophia Bush, Jillian Harris, and at events like Create & Cultivate in LA and New York.
WHAT IS AN OTC?
Short for ‘over-the-counter’, OTC is a designation for products in the United States, granted by the FDA. OTCs are medicines that are available without a prescription, but are still considered medication. As you can imagine, the regulations around products classified as OTC are strict. Only those with proven benefits make the cut.
Some of our most popular — and effective — essential oil blends have been registered as OTCs. This means that products like Fortify (Immune in Canada), Sweet Comfort (Head Cold in Canada), and Chest Comfort (Chest Cold in Canada) are classified in the same category as drugs specifically designed to soothe cold and flu symptoms — because they’re effective, too! Likewise, our Pain Release falls into the same category as drugs designed to externally treat muscle and joint pain, arthritis, strains, bruises and sprains.
There are many different ways to categorize essential oil-based products. We chose the route that demonstrates just how powerful they really are.
WHAT IS AN NPN?
In Canada, you’ll find an NPN (or Natural Product Number) on the labels of many of our essential oil blends. This number is issued by Health Canada, a federal institution responsible for helping citizens maintain and improve their health. Foods, health care and drugs are all regulated and licensed by Health Canada. When you see an NPN on a product label, you know that the claims made about the product’s efficacy are approved by the Government of Canada.
But back when we started blending essential oils, these numbers didn’t exist. We believed so strongly in the efficacy of our products that we spent a decade working with Health Canada to have them recognized as such. After we proved the measurable benefits of our essential oil blends, Health Canada created a way to address essential oil-based natural products within their Natural Health Product Directorate. Now, 83 of our products carry an NPN, which means all the benefits listed on the label are backed by Health Canada.
We believe that plants have the power to heal the body, and that championing the efficacy of all natural products is the best way to achieve our vision of global wellness. By working with federal agencies to have natural products recognized for the wellness powerhouses they are, we can feel better about the state of our — and our community members’ — health and wellness choices.
