Brand Story – Plant-based supplement company sees continued growth as the ‘vanguard of health’
BEAM Minerals’ story begins with soil depletion: a decades-long problem resulting, unsurprisingly, in a modern world of mineral-deficient people. Despite a booming commercial supplement industry, society’s chronic health issues persist. With the understanding that depleted soils mean depleted cells, BEAM Minerals delivers the plant-based, bioavailable mineral supplements the human body needs to optimize cellular health and “come alive.”
Mineral deficiency is well-documented and increasingly part of mainstream health and wellness conversations. Because modern humans get only 30 percent of the minerals from the foods they eat, their 37 trillion cells struggle to function, leaving a trail of fatigue, inflammation, pain and overall poor health.
Dan Howard and Caroline Alan, Cofounders of BEAM Minerals, once belonged to that majority suffering from mineral deficiency.
“Dan introduced me to plant-based minerals. At the time, I had flatlined adrenals and bad gingivitis, and that was after being gluten-free for seven years,” Alan recalls. “Within months of taking them, my adrenals had gone from flatlined to one third of the way up the charts. I went to the dentist and the tissue in my mouth had healed from six-millimeter pockets to two millimeters or less. These minerals helped my body gain momentum against the underlying inflammation in my body that I couldn’t seem to get over.”
Inspired by their own journeys back to health and their extensive research into how minerals operate in the body, they set out to provide mineral supplementation that works where standard supplements fail. From the get-go, they knew that meant providing solely plant-based minerals.
Most supplements are made of rocks, shells, salts and bone and are not particularly bioavailable—so the body only utilizes a small portion of what a person consumes. Manufacturers compensate by using mega-doses of…zinc, for example, far more than zinc receptors in the gut could ever absorb. This is part of the reason why supplements can cause unwanted side effects, like nausea.
Dan Howard in the BEAM laboratory
“People use these supplements for a short period of time, but because they don’t work, people don’t feel a difference and they often stop taking them. The supplements fail by not taking into account how mineral replenishment actually works in the body,” Alan explains. “If you have a complex system of 37 trillion cells, and you’re focusing on getting X amount of magnesium, you’re missing the broad picture. The human body is made of minerals and needs a broad spectrum of minerals to support its many functions. It also needs us to provide those minerals in a format that the cellular system can actually utilize. It’s like your car: putting oil in your gas tank or overfilling your oil reserve just doesn’t work and will cause more problems.”
The company has two flagship products: Electrolyze™ is a fulvic mineral complex that, as a flavonoid, transports nutrients into and biowaste out of cells, replenishing electrolytes, providing important co-factors and supporting energy production. Micro-BOOST™, a humic mineral complex, detoxifies the body by gathering free radicals and biowaste, binding with heavy metals and, ultimately, removing them from the body.
Studies have linked humic acid substances to improved thyroid function, wound healing, colon health, lead detoxification and anti-inflammation. Fulvic acid has been linked to healing infected wounds, anti-inflammation, immune regulation, weight loss, antibacterial activity and collagen production.
BEAM Minerals supplements are unique among plant-based mineral supplements because of their 100% bioavailable delivery format.
“Because they don’t need to be digested first, the minute you drink our minerals, your body begins to absorb them, through the lining of your mouth, your esophagus and on down,” Alan says. “But best of all, they taste like water!”
Manufactured via a gentle process that uses no chemicals, BEAM Minerals products harness the power of humic and fulvic substances and provide a full spectrum of minerals that a body needs to thrive.
Since its launch in 2016, BEAM Minerals has seen exponential growth, which, according to the team, is the result of honing their message, exceptional customer service and a high rate of return customers.
“We often say we won the lottery because we have products that actually make people feel better and get better,” Howard says. “Our tagline ‘Works like Magic — Backed by Science’ is true.”
A fortunate moment along the company’s growth journey was BEAM Minerals’ early discovery of the keto community, or perhaps more accurately, the keto community’s discovery of BEAM Minerals. The ketogenic diet involves pushing the body into ketosis, where it transitions from burning carbohydrates to burning fat. Here, the “keto flu” sets in, complete with headaches and cramping. BEAM’s plant-based electrolytes and minerals provided welcome relief. In response to demand, the company rebranded and became Keto-BEAM in 2018, expanding its reach to an unexpected audience.
“We also wanted to market beyond Keto—to athletes, to people wanting to age gracefully, to people with chronic issues—so we launched the new BEAM Minerals brand in 2019,” Alan says. “Every avenue we’ve walked down has opened because minerals are truly the vanguard of health.”
Along the way, the team overcame a challenge common among startups: how to succinctly communicate complex concepts. Instead of going too deep into the biological effects and the underlying science of, say, mitochondria function, the team learned to simplify and streamline its messages to better land with the people it wanted to help.
“We’re shameless mineral evangelists, but we have learned not to preach! Instead we speak sparingly to not force feed a technical conversation to people with a fire hose,” Alan jokes. “So, we explain simply, ‘You have 37 trillion cells in your body. Every cell needs minerals to function. You can’t get enough minerals from the foods you eat, so your cells are ‘hangry’. Hangry cells crave sugar and carbohydrates. This feeds pH imbalance and inflammation. System imbalance leads to chronic issues, which ultimately result in disease and illness.’ As one example, studies have shown that 75 percent of people who have experienced heart failure also have mineral deficiencies.”
Their resolve has only gotten stronger as a growing number of clients describe feeling better and experiencing resolutions to long-term health issues like insomnia, overactive nervous systems, leaky gut, headaches, chronic fatigue and even depression.
“If you have a lack of energy, and you don’t feel well, and there’s COVID on top of it, that can impact your mental health,” Howard adds. “As cells begin getting what they need, energy rises and the whole body starts to come alive. Instead of being in survival mode, people then have the energy to do the things that make them happy. And doing what you love creates more aliveness. It feeds on itself.”
The BEAM Minerals “Come Alive” campaign reminds people what it feels like when every single cell is functioning optimally and how easy it can be to replenish the minerals they lack.
“Our bodies are so well designed. Health and balance are the default, and the body is constantly working to get back to that,” Howard explains. “So, when you provide full-spectrum plant-based mineral support, you enable your body to return to homeostasis.”
Plant-based minerals come from deep in the earth, the concentrated remains of ancient rainforests that have decomposed over millennia. BEAM Minerals are sourced from the richest deposit found on Earth to date.
“Mother Earth provided a simple mineral replenishment solution for all cellular systems across the earth: fulvic and humic substances,” Alan concludes. “Our bodies have evolved over millennia as earth-based cellular systems, to utilize these plant-based substances. So, why not employ this beautiful gift that’s been provided, and enjoy the experience of coming alive from the inside out!”
Brand stories are paid content articles that allow Oregon Business advertisers to share news about their organizations and engage with readers on business and public policy issues. The stories are produced in house by the Oregon Business marketing department. For more information, contact associate publisher Courtney Kutzman.
