H E A L T H
Food as Medicine
GEM’s plant-based nutritional supplements are reinventing the vitamin industry By Michele Robinson any people consume pills, powders, liquids and gummies to supplement their daily nutritional needs. Sara Cullen, founder and CEO of GEM, found herself questioning why and came up with a surprising alternative: food as medicine. “At GEM we’re overhauling the antiquated supplement aisle and building a new category of real-food nutrition,” Cullen said. GEM is a multivitamin alternative that is different from other daily vitamins found on the market shelves because it is made from real food. Each portion is packaged as a tiny bar called a “bite.” Bites contain a comprehensive blend of over 15 whole foods, botanicals, probiotics, vitamins and minerals. “GEM is designed with real food that your body knows and loves, along with key vitamins and minerals that work together
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GEM
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GEM is an online subscription-based nutritional supplement company headquartered in Venice. for optimal absorption,” Cullen said. Cullen started GEM to address her own health concerns, which she experienced in her late twenties. She suffered from ailments like acne, digestive
problems, restless nights and other issues. After taking an allergy and blood test, she found out that she was micronutrient-deficient and needed to take supplements. When she went to the shelves to find what
she needed, she was disappointed with what she found. So she decided to create her own unique brand to reinvent vitamins. “Through my own health journey I became obsessed with
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PAGE 6 THE ARGONAUT JUNE 23, 2022
sustainable plant systems and how we can not only rethink the way we nourish human health, but also our planet’s,” Cullen said. Growing up on a farm in Oregon, Cullen earned a bachelor of science in international agriculture and development studies from Cornell University. She has worked with entrepreneurs and farmers in sustainable food networks all over the world, from Morocco and Kenya to India and Vietnam. As a two-time entrepreneur in the food and beverage world and former Venture For America Fellow, Cullen is passionate about redesigning a healthier future of nourishment. “I wanted to rethink how we supplement food for our minds, bodies and our planet under the simple philosophy that food is medicine,” she said. Launched in late 2018, GEM is an online subscription-based company headquartered in Venice. GEM’s team consists of
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