1931 — The garage on Talbert Street
Lloyd Landstrom and George Merriam begin selling diabetic specialty foods from a garage in San Francisco. The Landstrom Company grows from a single-store operation into one of the largest health-food distributors in the United States, with sister distributors in Keene, Texas; Collegedale, Tennessee; and Camden, New Jersey.
1960s — Richard Merriam learns the trade
Richard Merriam, George’s son, works to expand Landstrom’s distribution across the country before earning an MBA at the University of California, Berkeley and completing two years of training at Standard Oil of New Jersey.
1970 — Greater Continents, Inc. is founded
Richard founds Greater Continents, Inc. (GCI Nutrients USA) — first as a trucking operation moving ingredients between California, New York, Tennessee, and Texas, then as an importer of bulk and encapsulated essential fatty acids. For more than two decades, GCI is one of the principal U.S. suppliers of evening primrose oil.
Late 1980s — Into nutraceuticals
Richard expands GCI’s product range into what would later be called nutraceuticals — at a time when “functional food” was not yet a recognized FDA category.
1995 — Your Guide to Standardized Herbal Products
GCI publishes the first reference book to establish specific scientific standards for herbal ingredients. The book helps move the supplement industry from non-standardized bulk herbs to standardized, characterized extracts.
1996 — Vancouver
Sales office opens in Vancouver, Canada.
1997 — Mumbai
Sourcing office opens in Mumbai, India.
1998 — São Paulo
Sourcing office opens in São Paulo, Brazil.
1999 — Shanghai
Sourcing office opens in Shanghai, China.
2000 — Rotterdam
European sales operations open, formalized as GCI Nutrients Europe BV in Rotterdam, Netherlands — still our European headquarters today.
2015 — The plusbiotic category
GCI launches HumicSure™ and PrebioSure™ at SupplySide West, with Hungarian humic-substance researcher Dr. János Csicsor. The PrebioSure™ launch introduces the plusbiotic category — a third intestinal-health category beyond probiotics and prebiotics, focused on rebuilding the intestinal mucosa.
2017 — Clinical proof-of-concept
A finished-product supplement built around two GCI branded ingredients — PrebioSure™ and HumicSure™ — is studied in a six-week, IRB-approved, randomized pre-clinical trial. Results show a 74% reduction in glyphosate and a 75% reduction in C-reactive protein, an inflammatory biomarker.
2020 — Technical service division
GCI launches a dedicated technical-service team for science, food, and product-development advisory work — helping customers use GCI branded ingredients to formulate functional foods and beverages.
2022 — Strategic partnership with ThreePeaks Brands
GCI announces a strategic partnership with ThreePeaks Brands, Inc. (Phoenix, AZ), a finished-products company built around branded GCI ingredients. ThreePeaks’ flagship product, Benesweet, is a patented nutraceutical sweetening system invented by GCI scientific advisor Dr. Richard Kozlenko.
2023 — Pre-clinical and clinical validation services
GCI begins offering customers access to its clinical-research network for product validation. Dr. Koz’s Corner launches as a long-form blog from GCI’s scientific advisor.
2024 — Optimalize launches in Hungary
GCI Nutrients Europe introduces a clinically-developed glyphosate detox formula to European contract manufacturers, launched in Hungary under the brand Optimalize. A pre-clinical study begins at Markusovsky University Hospital in Szombathely with patients with chronic gastrointestinal disease.
Today
GCI operates from two offices — Burlingame, California and Rotterdam, Netherlands — and continues to develop branded ingredients backed by clinical work in California and Hungary. Several studies, including a blood-sugar formulation under the NutriPharma Coalition, are currently being prepared for publication.