When my wife and I moved to Kauai, back in 1982, we could never have imagined where we’d be today. We certainly didn’t realize that the noni trees that were everywhere in our valley would have such a big impact on our health, or that we would have the opportunity to share something so special with people all over the world.
With a new year starting, I wanted to take some time to reflect on our journey with noni. Remember, it’s never too late to start the next phase in your own life journey, whether that means taking new steps to put your health and family first, or whether it’s starting an exciting new business!
Right Place, Right time
Moving to Kauai from our organic farm in California, we knew we were making a new beginning, but we didn’t know how big of a story we were starting!
When we arrived on our new land, there were no roads, no electricity, no running water, and no buildings. We truly were starting from scratch!
Fortunately, we were starting from scratch in a land of abundance. Not only was there plenty of sunshine, ample precipitation, and potential for wind power, but the valley was also full of noni trees.
The Proof is In the Pudding
You know the saying “the proof is in the pudding?” It just means that you have to try something to know for sure what it’s about. It’s true of pudding, and it’s certainly also true of noni fruit.
We didn’t come to Kauai to farm noni. When we first arrived, I didn’t know anything about noni, or its impact on health. As we talked with older Polynesians and Hawaiians, we heard over and over about the power of noni — specifically, the power of the raw noni pulp, not the noni juice that is commonly sold today. But just words have never been enough to convince me of anything — I needed proof!
I saw friends being healed from chronic conditions, and when I tried noni for myself, I noticed a change in my energy levels right away. Over time, I found that I simply didn’t get sick anymore. As I’ve aged, I’ve been so thankful for noni’s ability to help me stay looking and feeling younger.
But what’s truly proved the power of noni to me is seeing the testimonials that have come in from you, our family of customers. Need some evidence yourself? Check out our testimonial page!
The Body of Evidence
What I experienced and saw was enough to get me interested in noni, and the more I learned about the science behind the anecdotal evidence, the more impressed I was. Researchers at the University of Hawaii, at the University Clinic in Hamburg, Germany, and all over the world are bringing in new results all the time showing noni’s ability to heal the body, prevent illness and injury, and relieve pain.
Here are just a few of the studies that have been done recently:
- UBE Analytical Laboratories: Found Noni Fruit Leather contains 340,000 ORAC (antioxidant) units per 100 grams, beating out pomegranates, apples, and other antioxidant-high foods
- Researchers from University Clinic in Hamburg Germany: Reported that noni fruit “reduced the pain sensitivity comparably to the central analgesic drug tramadol.” When extracts of noni fruitpuree were applied, the “effect was comparable to hydrocortisone.”
- Acta Pharmacologica Sinica: Published a study showing noni is 75% as strong as morphine, as a central analgesic (pain-reliever), with no toxic level or side effects.
Building a Business
We realized that we wanted to share the power of noni with the rest of the world, but we needed a business model to do it. We knew we didn’t want to be like other companies that sell noni: multi-level marketing schemes, private labels, and other practices that take control away from the growers.
Today, Sunrise Organic Farm and Hawaiian Organic Noni are a 37 acre, family-owned and operated, certified organic farm, with an FDA certified organic Kitchen processing facility. We grow our own Noni, pick the fruit, process the products, package, and distribute ourselves.
We have maintained total control over every aspect of growing our organic trees, processing our fruit, and offering our products directly to you through our website, practitioners, or stores. This business model is very important to us. It protects us,the environment, and most importantly, you, our customers.
Noni Fruit Leather is Born
In the beginning of our journey with Noni, we only produced our Noni Fruit Leather, which is pure raw food from the non-fermented pulp of the fruit. Noni Fruit Leather was our solution to the major problem of distributing raw noni fruit: As soon as the fruit is picked it begins to ripen and within hours of ripening noni starts a rapid fermentation process.
Many people solve this problem either by letting the fruit ferment fully before distributing it, in the form of noni juice. Unfortunately, this destroys nearly all of the beneficial compounds in noni, and completely changes the chemical structure.
Through trial and error, we found that we could stop the fermentation process by simply removing the water from the raw noni pulp. This allowed us to preserve all those beneficial compounds.
We had to develop a unique dehydration system to accomplish this. Most fruit leathers or "fruit roll ups" are dried in just 10-12 hours, at a high heat above 140 degrees F. Our Noni Fruit Leather takes over 60 hours to dry, never going above 115 degrees F. Any higher heat than that destroys enzymes and beneficial compounds.
From our own personal experiences consuming the Noni Fruit Leather, we knew we had captured the potency of the pulp through our unique low heat dehydration system. We had our results confirmed by an independent lab, and found that our fruit leather is 14x more potent than noni juice.
Noni for Skin
We started making our Noni Lotions after receiving emails, letters, and calls from customers who had mixed our Noni Fruit Leather into water and applied it to the skin with amazing results. They found that it quickly got rid of pain and a variety of skin ailments.
It took several years of development to refine the lotion formulas, but the response has been fantastic. The lotions can relieve pain almost instantaneously and address skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.
We now offer our Noni Lavender Lotion for skin conditions and pain relief (more general in use) or our IcyHeat Noni Lotion with menthol crystals and camphor oil specifically for pain relief or inflammation. For even faster pain relief, try our IcyHeat Sports Formula, which contains 1% more menthol and camphor.
