Horopito is a native plant of New Zealand with a long history of traditional medicinal use. The leaves are either bruised, steeped in water to treat skin diseases and venereal diseases, they were also chewed to relieve toothache. After twenty years researching the properties of this plant, Forest Herbs Research found one specific high potency cultivar of with up to five times the potency of all other Horopito populations. The team then spent several years of further R&D to work out how to grow the plant in a sustainable way.

Research and development has been a core contributor to their ongoing success. The positive results of clinical trials on our Kolorex Horopito extract presents enormous credibility, and as a result - including a large multi-national pharmaceutical company that is now selling Kolorex®. 

NZ Forest Herbs founder, Peter Butler, says it is the efficacy of Kolorex products rather than NZ's clean green image that is driving demand. “Our distributors are looking for products that are scientifically formulated, batch tested and carry some supporting clinical data.

“The natural personal care industry is also an increasing market, with strong evidence that growing consumer awareness of synthetic chemicals in cosmetics and toiletries, and the desire for truly natural products, are propelling a 10% year on year growth in the industry.”