Inside Sun Chlorella: From Erewhon Smoothies to Rescued Animals

Disclosure/disclaimer: Sun Chlorella provided me with a gift card to cover the cost of the Travis Scott smoothie mentioned in this article, plus a nominal amount. I'm not a medical professional, nor is this article in any way intended to be health/medical advice, it's just for general informational purposes.

What do Lori Harvey, Kacey Musgraves, and Travis Scott all have in common, besides their celebrity status? Sun Chlorella powder has been a featured ingredient in all three of their Erewhon smoothies. 

While chlorella lacks the widespread recognition of these celebrities — and Erewhon itself, which has its own influencer status — Sun Chlorella is working to expand the reach of this microalgae that does more than just add a vibrant green hue to smoothies. 

Sun Chlorella has been an Erewhon supplier for decades, but the brand has been gaining publicity with these three celebrity smoothie collaborations within the past year. In doing so, Sun Chlorella is trying to raise the profile of these supplements that can support the health of people, pets/animals, and the planet.

Working With Erewhon 

The process for getting featured in Erewhon smoothies is all a bit mysterious, but reports indicate brands have to pay to play. Still, it's not necessarily like a traditional, "highest bidder wins" advertising model. Much still depends on the direction of Erewhon and the influencer lending their name to the smoothie.

"It'fs not just transactional. There's a lot more thought and effort and care put into it. And the talent truly has a lot of input," says Jennifer Jimenez, vice president and COO at Sun Chlorella USA. 

Most recently, Sun Chlorella's inclusion in the Travis Scott Storm Storm smoothie added to the drink's aesthetics, along with its nutritional profile (although Erewhon does not publish the exact nutritional facts, just the ingredients).

"Because our product is very rich in chlorophyll, it's naturally very deep green, our product would only work in certain smoothie selections. For example, if someone wanted to create a bright orange smoothie, our product just wouldn't work," says Jimenez. "So even though we may want to work with them on every smoothie, that's not an option, which also makes it that much more special each time, because it isn't just something we can volunteer for," she adds.

In addition to the publicity benefits, Sun Chlorella also likes to work with Erewhon on smoothies due to the charitable impact. 

Here too, Erewhon keeps its cards a little close to its vest. The Hollywood Reporter wrote in 2023 that for celebrity smoothies, Erewhon donates $2 per drink sold, and the celebrity gets a $1 royalty that they're encouraged to donate. However, exact amounts are not publicly disclosed.

Still, the grocer does state what the proceeds go toward, which varies by celebrity.

For example, a portion of the Travis Scott smoothie sales went toward his Cactus Jack Foundation, and the Lori Harvey smoothie benefited Black Girls Rock. The Kacey Musgraves one donated to Altadena Girls, which supports teenage girls who were affected by the LA area's devastating Eaton Fire earlier this year.

That fire relief support came about quickly, and it shows Erewhon's mindfulness of the current environment and being able to adapt, said Jimenez.

Erewhon also supported the local community during the fires in several ways, beyond the Musgraves smoothie.

Supporting Health

In addition to the social impact portion, partnering with health-oriented retailers like Erewhon is also a natural fit for Sun Chlorella, which advocates for the potential benefits of chlorella, beyond just as a one-off smoothie addition. 

"Taking chlorella in a smoothie one time, I think it's really just experiential. It's going to have some effect as you digest it, but the accumulated benefits are not going to be present," says Jimenez.

In the immediate term, chlorella's naturally occurring plethora of B vitamins (including a vegan-friendly B12) could provide some alertness, and after taking it for a short while, a commonly cited benefit is improved, more regulated bowel movements, notes Jimenez.

Chlorella is also high in nutrients like iron and vitamin D, among many others. It's also protein-dense, although at typical dosages, this would add just a few grams of protein to your diet. Still, it can give a little boost in this and many other nutritional areas. Overall, chlorella is essentially a plant that in many ways is like a concentrated form of other greens like spinach or kale.

"Superfood" is certainly an overused term in the health world, but that is a good descriptor for chlorella, says Jimenez. In general, non-processed whole foods are considered best for your consumption and for health benefits, and that same logic applies to dietary supplements, she adds.

Several studies generally point to a few daily grams of chlorella as beneficial to one's health. For example, chlorella could potentially help areas such as immune function, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure. 

Long-term studies are limited, though, and there are certain precautions to consider, especially for certain types of individuals like those who are immunocompromised. As always, best practice is to check with a qualified medical professional before making any dietary changes, including if considering taking supplements like chlorella.

Beyond individual health, chlorella overall could also support environmental health. It grows in water (often freshwater, as is the case for Sun Chlorella's production), which provides sustainability benefits compared to many traditional crops, like requiring minimal land and inputs to grow. 

Connecting With Consumers

Despite the many potential benefits, being in the supplement category can be challenging for brands like Sun Chlorella. 

For one, supplements generally have less FDA oversight than food and prescription drugs. That sometimes leads to supplement companies making questionable claims or not providing the purity or dosage accuracy that they purport. The slew of supplements on the market can also make it difficult for consumers to wade through options, especially for a category like chlorella that isn't well known.

"If I weren't on this side of the industry, I would be completely overwhelmed and confused," said Jimenez. “I wouldn't know who to buy from, what price point, and how to verify quality."

Factors like Sun Chlorella's long history — over 50 years for the parent company and over 40 years for the U.S. division — and certifications could help, suggests Jimenez.

For example, some Sun Chlorella powder (though not all SKUs) carries the NSF Certified for Sport mark. This certification is used by several pro sports leagues, and as NSF describes, "We verify that these products do not contain unsafe levels of contaminants, prohibited substances or masking agents, and that what is on the label matches what is in the product."

Sun Chlorella also has some SKUs that are Informed Sport or Informed Choice certified, which similarly test for banned substances.

“We do have the most expensive chlorella on the market, but that is for a reason. In a lot of ways you do get what you pay for, even though I know that sounds cliche," says Jimenez. "If you don't have quality, you won't feel benefit.”

Donating to The Gentle Barn

One way that Sun Chlorella tries to tie together health and social impact benefits is through its work with The Gentle Barn. The Gentle Barn is an animal sanctuary based in the LA area that primarily takes in abused or displaced farm animals, and which also provides related animal therapy programs to help humans with trauma.

Because chlorella has nutrients like nucleic acids that can be beneficial for the animals' healing and recovery, donating product provides natural alignment with The Gentle Barn's mission, notes Jimenez. 

Before Sun Chlorella first started supporting The Gentle Barn in 2012, the animals were taking another type of microalgae, but Sun Chlorella asked them to give chlorella a try, "and they saw such a huge difference in the recovery time of the animals and the healing," said Jimenez.

So, Sun Chlorella decided The Gentle Barn would be a good corporate social responsibility (CSR) partner. Initially, the plan was to repurpose products that the company couldn't sell, such as due to returns. But given the relatively low volume of that waste product, ultimately Sun Chlorella decided to do a separate powder production run for The Gentle Barn, now donating about 1,300 pounds per year, explains Jimenez.

Sun Chlorella has also made some monetary donations to The Gentle Barn. But going the product donation route on a regular basis made more sense, both because monetary donations for any company can be challenging, says Jimenez, but also because the company wants to support these animals' health and demonstrate the potential power of chlorella.

"There's so many benefits for animals, and this was one way for us to also introduce that idea," says Jimenez.

Relatedly, Sun Chlorella's product lineup includes a treat for dogs and cats that includes chlorella and the herb eleuthero.

Overall, Sun Chlorella is demonstrating that there can be synergies between a brand's more sales-oriented and impact-focused work. These don't have to be completely distinct areas. Sun Chlorella is showing that doing well for people, pets and the planet can be good for business too. Having a stage like Erewhon celebrity smoothies doesn't hurt either.