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American Herbal Products Association
Mission & Vision:
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is the national trade association and voice of the herbal products industry.
Founded in 1982, AHPA's mission is to promote the responsible and sustainable commerce of herbal products to ensure that consumers have informed access to a wide variety of safe herbal goods. AHPA’s vision is for high quality herbal products to be readily accessible to and broadly used by consumers.
AHPA has adopted numerous policies in support of this mission through a process that includes significant input from AHPA members. These policies represent meaningful self-regulation for the herbal products industry.
Expertise:
AHPA has particular expertise in the history, science, quality, and regulation of botanicals, with a strong focus on advancing responsible sourcing, sustainable harvesting, cultivation, processing, and commerce throughout the botanical supply chain. While AHPA's primary focus is herbal products, its work also has significant influence on the broader dietary supplement industry. AHPA engages on issues affecting the U.S. marketplace and international trade whenever member interests are served.
Members:
AHPA is comprised of more than 400 domestic and international companies conducting business as growers, processors, manufacturers, and marketers of herbs and herbal products. AHPA members’ herbal products are represented in tea, beverage, dietary supplement, sports nutrition, personal care, pet, and other product categories.
Membership includes wild harvesters, growers, ingredient suppliers, manufacturers, marketers, and a wide range of service providers, including consultants, attorneys, media professionals, researchers, educators, and healthcare practitioners.
For forest farmers and other producers of botanical raw materials, AHPA provides resources that support sustainable production, stewardship, quality assurance, botanical identification, and market access.
Service Area:
United States
Resources:
AHPA develops publications, guidance documents, educational programs, and technical resources to help industry members produce, source, and market high-quality herbal products while meeting regulatory requirements and industry best practices.
Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP)
AHPA's Guidance on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices for Botanical Materials provides practical recommendations for growers, forest farmers, wild harvesters, and processors to implement and document best practices that support quality, sustainability, traceability, and responsible stewardship of botanical materials.
Developed in collaboration with partner organizations and state agencies, these resources promote sustainable harvesting and conservation of important medicinal plants. Topics include species such as wild American ginseng and oshá, helping harvesters and forest farmers protect botanical resources while maintaining long-term economic opportunities.
These reports quantify annual commercial harvest volumes of selected botanicals produced in North America, and provide valuable insights into market demand, harvest trends, and sustainable resource management.
AHPA Botanical Identity References Compendium
This comprehensive resource supports accurate identification of botanical raw materials and helps growers, harvesters, processors, and manufacturers maintain quality and authenticity throughout the supply chain.
AHPA produces guidance documents on specific topics to help the industry comply with applicable laws and regulations and implement best practices that support quality, transparency, and consumer confidence.
This publication is an essential tool for anyone who manufactures, recommends, or uses herbal products. It provides safety information on more than 500 herb species, derived from clinical trials, pharmacological and toxicological studies, medical case reports, and historical texts.
AHPA's Herbs of Commerce is the standard reference for common and scientific plant names used in products containing herbs. The third edition contains entries for more than 2,800 plant species, over 1,000 botanical synonyms, more than 300 Ayurvedic names, and over 700 pinyin names. This publication is an essential resource for anyone who writes about plants, sources botanical ingredients, or manufactures herbal products.
The Dietary Supplement current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) rule (21 CFR Part 111) requires supplement manufacturers to establish and follow federally mandated current good manufacturing practices. AHPA's templates help companies develop compliant standard operating procedures.
Code of Ethics, Business Practices & Trade Requirements
This Code was adopted by the membership and reflects the ethical standards of responsible companies and organizations throughout the herbal products trade. The Code may be updated through the adoption of trade recommendations and industry guidance.
Events:
AHPA hosts and promotes key events that advance the herbal products industry. Visit the AHPA Events Calendar for upcoming programs and educational opportunities.
The Botanical Congress is one of AHPA's signature events, bringing together industry leaders, researchers, producers, manufacturers, and other stakeholders to discuss important issues affecting the botanical community.
AHPA’s Congress on Regulatory Priorities in the Natural Products Market provides guidance to ingredient suppliers, manufacturers, and affiliated businesses seeking to understand and navigate evolving regulatory requirements.
AHPA webinars bring together subject matter experts to cover a broad range of topics relevant to the herbal products and dietary supplement industries, including regulatory compliance, technical issues, sustainability, quality, and current developments affecting the marketplace.
AHPA regularly presents in-person technical workshops that provide practical training on tools, methods, and best practices that support product quality, botanical identification, and compliance with federal and state regulations.
AHPA's Annual Member Meeting provides an opportunity for members to gather for educational presentations, Board of Trustees elections, industry networking, and recognition through the AHPA Awards.
