Spy Makers is a conversation series where we sit down with inventors, designers and entrepreneurs to talk about their work. In this story, SPY Writer Allison Bowsher talks to Alicia Silverstone about her new line of organic Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies.
Trying to find vitamins that taste good and actually do what they’re supposed to can feel like an endless quest. Every product description seems to suggest that this is the supplement or multivitamin that will finally solve all your health issues. But when it’s time to decipher the ingredients, it feels like two PhDs and five years of medical training still won’t be enough to identify the various 10-syllable words. That’s why Garden of Life vitamins keep their ingredient list short, clean and filled with words you can actually pronounce.
Now, Garden of Life has teamed up with actress Alicia Silverstone to create a new line of Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies that are safe for the whole family. Best known for her work in Clueless, Blast From The Past, Batman & Robin, and Miss Match, as well as her vegan cookbooks The Kind Mama and the bestselling The Kind Diet, Silverstone co-founded the new line of gummies with Garden of Life to help fill a gap in the vitamin market.
Apple Cider Vinegar has become extremely popular in recent years, and it’s a common ingredient in recipes, vitamins and hair care products. Apple Cider Vinegar gummies have proven to be especially popular among Spy readers.
14% OFF
Together, Garden of Life and Silverstone have launched a line of four Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies that have been created with fresh, organic and vegan ingredients. The Organic Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies are made with B12 and organic fruit, while the Organic Apple Cider Vinegar Probiotic Gummies add 2 Billion CFU of probiotics to help aid in digestion and immune support.
Related Stories
The Organic Apple Cider Vinegar Energy Gummies use Whole Food B12 along with Organic Coffeeberry and Organic Green Tea, which is a natural stimulant and popular coffee alternative. Many people believe that green tea helps to improve focus and energy. Lastly, the Organic Apple Cider Vinegar Diet Gummies include ingredients that may help burn fat, and they may be an excellent complement to diet and exercise plans. SPY received the new lineup of gummies to test out, and overall we were very happy. While we can’t speak to the medical benefits of these gummies, we can tell you that they taste good — and we could understand the ingredients.
We also spoke to Silverstone about the new line, including what inspired her to partner with Garden of Life and go back to basics when searching for ingredients that were safe, healthy, and effective.
Spy: What inspired you to start a line of vitamin gummies?
AS: When I was pregnant with my son Bear and seeking a supplement that complimented my diet, it was apparent there was a big lack in quality on the market. A vitamin that was organic, non-GMO, completely plant-based, and free of funky processed junk didn’t exist. My quest to push the envelope in the vitamin industry and create a product that is truly wholesome and transparent is what drove me to make a line of supplements. I went looking for a partner and I found Garden of Life, who was excited about my vision.
Spy: What made you interested in partnering with Garden of Life?
AS: We both wanted to provide a product that was one hundred percent healthy. Garden of Life is a B Corp with standout sustainability initiatives, and together, we created an entirely new kind of vitamin and herbal line that is Certified USDA organic, non-GMO verified and free of synthetic binders and fillers. All our products are Certified Vegan and Certified Gluten-Free and are made with real fruit, no artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors, or any harsh chemicals whatsoever. mykind Organics is a leader in innovation and sustainability for farm to bottle vitamins and herbals.
Spy: There are so many vitamins available. Why should customers choose your Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies?
AS: Here’s why: we utilize organic farmers, we invented Clean Tablet Technology which binds our capsules with organic plant material (not artificial funk), our gummies are sweetened with all-organic ingredients (like whole peaches and apples) and we use fruit pectin instead of gelatin, our herbals are extracted with water and organic non-GMO alcohol – not hexane or GMO ethanol, and these goodies are packaged with post-consumer recycled content. I am so proud of the product we created!
Spy: You’ve been a big advocate of healthy living for years. What is it about Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies that stood out to you?
AS: Apple Cider Vinegar has recently become one of the most popular nutritional trends. However, it turns out that ACV has been used as an antiseptic (both internally and externally) and as a dietary supplement since the beginning of recorded history. In fact, Hippocrates (the “Father of Medicine”) used it to treat his patients as early as 400 BC, making Apple Cider Vinegar the first known medicine.
The truth is to some people, Apple Cider Vinegar just doesn’t taste good! So, I thought … let’s make a line of ACV Gummies that are fun to eat, super delicious and made from the cleanest, most nutritious ingredients available. So, we did, which sets us apart from every other Apple Cider Vinegar Gummy on the market! We started with farm fresh organic apples that we chop and steep in water. Then we added yeast to ferment and to create the alcohol. Next, we used a friendly bacterium called acetobacter to convert all the alcohol into vinegar. This probiotic-rich vinegar consists of several organic acids, but mostly acetic acid. Our acetic acid is at 5% concentration and is with “the mother,” which means it provides the greatest health benefits and they taste great!
Spy: Being pregnant largely inspired your quest for clean prenatal vitamins. Many moms-to-be still struggle with finding clean and healthy prenatal care. What is your advice to them?
AS: When I was pregnant with my son Bear, my midwife confirmed that I was pumping all kinds of healthy goodness to my baby, but she recommended taking a prenatal as an “insurance policy.” After all, sometimes I’d be traveling or working crazy hours and even though I’d be eating kind, a little safety net felt like a good idea. As you know, I set out to find the perfect vitamin — one that was vegan and whole food-based (derived entirely and naturally from foods) which didn’t exist, so I created mykind Organics.
In my quest to create a product that is truly wholesome and transparent, I found the vitamin market is just like the processed food racket: producers can market themselves as natural without meeting any major criteria. They can also pile a whole bunch of chemical isolates and synthetic fillers in there, put a pretty green leaf on the label, and call it a day. This really struck me, how was it that products meant to be the very essence of plants and their nutrients continually stray so far from that? At this time, I was determined to give pregnant women a real safety net for their nutrition during this crucial time, and then on a second thought, I had another realization. Everyone deserves this, not just pregos!
Bulletproof Coffee Founder Dave Asprey Shares His Secrets for Succeeding in Self-Isolation