Michael McGuffin, long-time president of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), passed away Monday after a battle with cancer. He was 73 years old.

McGuffin was one of the seminal figures in the industry, having been involved since before the inception of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act in 1994 (DSHEA), the U.S. law that created the modern supplement marketplace. In that time, the domestic supplement market grew to more than $68 billion from an estimated $4 billion, according to estimates from New Hope Network's Nutrition Business Journal.

 McGuffin’s passing was announced officially today via by the AHPA. The post said AHPA will miss McGuffin’s “humor, his encyclopedic knowledge of the herbal industry, his wise counsel—and, of course, his expert tomato-growing skills.” 

“While we mourn his passing, we also celebrate his remarkable legacy, which will continue to shape AHPA and the broader industry for years to come,” the association said.  
“Michael's leadership and passion were unparalleled, and his impact on AHPA and the herbal community cannot be overstated,” said Jane Wilson, interim executive director of AHPA. "While we grieve this tremendous loss, AHPA remains fully committed to serving our members and carrying forward the vision and values that Michael championed.” 

Related:Michael McGuffin reflects on his career in herbal products industry

A leading champion for herbal supplements 

McGuffin served as president of AHPA for 25 years and was noted as one of the industry’s most effective communicators with decision makers within the federal government. 

“In the more than 29 years since I have been a member of AHPA, I consider Michael to be the most productive and effective of all AHPA presidents,” said Roy Upton, founder and executive director of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP). “He engaged AHPA in almost all aspects of the larger natural products industry. He fiercely and effectively has defended access to supplements through constant communication with key legislators and FDA.”  

Upton added, “So many seminal works were developed and published under his watch. And along with being a dear friend, he was my first choice as a member of the AHP board of directors, from which he will be sorely missed.” 

Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council (ABC), which recognized McGuffin with its Herbal Community Builder Award in 2021, described McGuffin as “tireless, dedicated, passionate and very effective and often the ‘smartest guy in the room.’”  

“He was a repository of extensively detailed institutional memory of the herb industry in the United States, going back to the days of his own herb company in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the fledgling industry was obviously much smaller and much less complex and sophisticated than it is today,” Blumenthal said. “He was a master of key information on a wide spectrum of significant issues necessary for the success of small, medium-sized and large herb businesses. He had the ability to masterfully deal with both the forest and the trees: While being able to attend to the fine points and nuances of state and federal regulation, Michael also [demonstrated] wide strategic vision.”  

Related:30 supplement industry voices suggest changes to DSHEA

Herbs of Commerce, a reference work published by the AHPA, indexes more than 3,000 groups of plants, fungi, algae and bacteria. The third edition, published in 2023, is pictured.

Industry standard reference works 

Among those seminal works is AHPA’s Herbs of Commerce, first published in 1992 and now in a third edition, published in 2023. It is a reference work of global importance that includes nomenclature entries on more than 3,000 groups of plants, fungi, algae and bacteria. Upton served on the expert advisory council for the latest edition. 

AHPA also became known for groundbreaking standards work on good agricultural practices, botanical safety guidelines and more. 

Frank Lampe, principal in the communications firm Lampe & Associates, who once served as AHPA’s director of communications, said McGuffin stood apart in his fierce dedication to his calling. 

“Michael always devoted all of himself toward making the botanicals market as safe, strong and robust as it could possibly be, and he was truly one of its strongest advocates,” he said. “His contributions over many years can never be underestimated.” 

Farmer and herbal product manufacturer 

In addition to his advocacy work on behalf of AHPA members and the broader industry, McGuffin also famously farmed a city lot in Venice, California, where he grew a variety of row crops, perennial tree crops and more. The term “garden” seems insufficient to describe the scope of the enterprise. Those who knew McGuffin said he was especially renowned for his tomato-growing expertise. 

McGuffin, who was born in Louisville, Kentucky, got a start in the herbal/whole/natural food game after arriving in California in late 1973 after a brief stint at Johns Hopkins University. In 1974, while in the company of some like-minded individuals, he founded a grocery and natural foods coop called Venice Food Tramps on the beach boardwalk in Venice. There, he literally got his hands dirty unloading trucks, filling cracks in floors and scraping and painting walls to pass a health inspection. 

Later in the 1970s, he branched out into manufacturing, founding a brand known first as McZand Herbals, later changed to Zand Herbal Formulas. The products were based on formulas developed by his business partner at the time, naturopathic doctor Janet Zand. 

This piece originally appeared on SupplySide Supplement Journal, a New Hope Network sister website. Visit the site for information on the nutrition industry—from supplements and functional foods to sports nutrition and manufacturing.