Consulting with Master Formulator
Dana Shierstone
We live in exciting times when more and more people are becoming aware of how natural plant medicine can be used to help them manage their health and use preventative practices and products to improve their quality of life- now and in the future. This is exciting, both as an individual and as a small business. These challenging times call for creativity and innovation! Entrepreneurs and herbal hobbyist are stepping up to bring alternative healing modalities and herbs to an expanding market. Traditional Chinese herbs, Western herbs and even some long standing illegal herbs like cannabis and mushrooms are enjoying a well-deserved renaissance, as are dietary supplements of every description for a wide variety of concerns.
My mission is to help small businesses and entrepreneurs bring their dreams and amazing products to market in a way that is cost effective and sustainable for their business.
Dana's Experience and Background
I have a background uniquely suited to this work.
My grandmother was a gardener and herbalist. I remember walking with her and learning the names of all the wild plants and tending to the many herbs and vegetables in her garden.
My Bachelor's degree is in Chemical Engineering with a focus on pharmaceuticals and process scale up. I worked at Roche Pharmaceuticals on AIDs drugs and Amgen Pharmaceuticals on a Leukemia drug learning a great deal about large scale production of synthesized molecules as well as biologically produced medicines.
After graduation, I became a quality engineer for propellant on Navy, Airforce and NASA rocket engines, where I learned the value of planning and executing everything exactly correctly. When things go wrong with medicine or rockets the consequences can be swift and devastating.
I had hoped to improve the world in a more tangible way, however, and went back to school for Environmental Engineering. This curriculum enabled me to take my already extensive knowledge of chemistry and apply it to real world systems like wetlands that had been damaged by pesticide runoff. I fell in love with human toxicology and the way that our body takes and uses the food, water, air and other inputs to sustain us. My thesis work contributed to understanding when an environmental clean up is sufficiently safe for people and animals to return.
Upon graduation, I got a job with an Environmental Consulting Company, at first I was working on old superfund sites trying to unravel the mystery of what had happened, when it happened and who had contributed. I showed a knack for contaminate modeling and was soon working on projects for mines. When a mine is considering an expansion, a geochemist will model the likely effects on groundwater to determine if the expansion will impact the environment in a negative way. This was also really fun, looking at the different geologies, metals and conditions present and understanding how water moves through them.
One day, I was talking to a friend about botanical extractions and I realized that many hobbyists were doing them in a way that was very inefficient and very unsafe. Immediately, my engineering mind engaged and I started to think of better and safer alternatives.
In 2014, recreational cannabis was legalized in the state of Colorado and I knew that the poor techniques I had heard about would be used. I saw a great opportunity to bring safety, efficiency, and professionalism to a brand new field. I purchased a bench scale carbon dioxide extractor and began optimizing the process. I was soon asked to manage the extraction department at the Growing Kitchen extracting legal marijuana with butane and propane. I was able to implement safe and effective extraction techniques and extensive data and process control. Once the system was working well, I became curious about other aspects of the emerging cannabis science and got an opportunity to work at RM3 Labs, a dedicated cannabis testing facility. At first, I worked as a bench chemist-testing marijuana products for cannabinoid potency, heavy metals, residuals, pesticides and microbial contamination. It quickly became clear that a more efficient data management system would make things better. I worked with a team of software developers to create a laboratory information management system to streamline the workflow and store data results.
At that time, I heard that Natural Extraction Systems was creating an entirely novel extraction system using nothing but hot air to vaporize and recapture cannabinoids. I joined the team as a process engineer and spent the first year building a proto-type and production extraction system. We were testing the system on hemp and soon began to build up a reserve of CBD oil. I created a production department to extract hemp and make it into whatever finished consumer good the client wanted to sell.
This was super fun, I was creating new products, managing the production team, talking to clients about exactly what they needed and managing the teams finances and regulatory requirements. As the company grew, others took on some of these responsibilities and I took point on getting organic and GMP certified. In 2019, the business model shifted away from product manufacturing and I found that I really missed the dynamic process of creating innovative new products.
Todd Plymal-Mallory and I shared a passion for traditional Chinese medicine and a new dream began to form. Both of us are dedicated to supporting our community of small business and of people's health. Mind Body Soul Medicinals was formed as a way for both of us to do just that, make great products, support small businesses and get more amazing plant medicine to more people.
What I Can Offer You and Your Business
For years I have worked with customers to determine what their target demographic and product needs are. From the large scale sales and market vision to the exact percentages of each ingredient. I have formulated hundreds of custom products from the R&D phase through small batch production and scale up.
I can help you create topical and beauty products, as well as edible and dietary supplement products with a wide variety of ingredients including hemp derived cannabinoids, traditional Chinese or Western herbs and new emerging superfood ingredients.
Having worked at 4 start-ups and running my own business, I understand the pressures and needs of small companies and will work with you to find effective solutions.
I have been in the cannabis and hemp industries since 2013 and have a wealth of both technical and market experience, as well as, reliable vendor relationships for ingredients, packaging and equipment. If you can dream it, I can help you make it happen.
Working with rockets taught me the value of compliance. Mind Body Soul Medicinals products are certified organic, GMP and fully compliant with Colorado State law. Navigating the regulations and determining how they apply to your business can be tough, I can help.
Engineering and scale up. If I make a product for you or you have a product that you are ready to scale up, I can help you determine the right equipment and the attendant regulatory requirements for building code, fire, and safety. I can also assist with quality control and process control procedures so your process will run efficiently.
I have seen most aspects of the business. If you want to run an idea by an expert- be it a marketing campaign, investor offering, new product or new facility build out- I can help you plan for your next big change.
Why You Should Choose Me
I offer a wide variety of integrated services, perhaps you will start with one aspect, like R&D product development, and grow into another- like scale up or regulatory compliance. I can handle these transition easily without the need to hire other consultants or vendors.
It may sound cliche, but I am friendly and knowledgeable, I will answer the phone or email and work quickly to address your needs.
If I can’t meet a need you have- it is likely I can steer you in the correct direction, saving you valuable time.
I do very small projects. Below the minimum order or dollar amount of many other competitors. The average R&D project costs $500-$1000 and there is no minimum order quantity for custom products, if you want 10 samples, or 100 units for a test market run- I can help you launch your product line or give established businesses an affordable signature brand product.
Turn around time. The average order takes 1-3 weeks and will get you and your project up and running much more quickly.
Quality control and compliance come baked in to everything I do. You can be sure you will get the highest quality products and that I will advise you about relevant regulatory needs.
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