About Us
Meet the founders
Co-founders of Spice Pharm, Kitty Wells and Frank Schwartz are deeply committed to food as medicine, to sustainable ethical sourcing, and to the mystic wonder and rigorous science of botanical medicine.
Together, they have teamed on such diverse projects as creating a fabless semiconductor company and raising several million dollars for it in the early 1990’s, producing some of the earliest live video streaming Internet events for Hollywood and Silicon Valley luminaries in the 1996-1999 time frame, building fanciful and tech-savvy Burning Man theme camps as 20-year pioneers of the playa, exploring exotic cultures, cuisines and locales around the globe…
…and now collaborating on Spice Pharm and bringing Golden Goddess Elixirs and CBD into being.
How it all started
A 13th generation native of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Kitty spent countless hours wandering in the woods, climbing mountains, playing in the creek, helping in the garden and immersed in books. It was a childhood deeply immersed in plants and the beauty and wonder of nature.
She wandered off to explore the world, with a 10-year stint in New York City (where Kitty met Frank), a couple of decades in Silicon Valley, and much travel to far-flung locales.
After innovating in various technological pursuits, and working for tech giants Sun Microsystems, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft, Kitty’s soul was not satisfied.
It felt, in fact, lost. She longed to return to the pursuit of nature.
Suffering burnout and a hormonal mess of Stage 3 adrenal fatigue, pre-diabetes and low thyroid, she experienced firsthand the toll that chronic stress takes on your body, mind and spirit. From a profound state of exhaustion, she dug into the science of stress, inflammation and aging.
Part mystic, part science geek, she took a sabbatical from Silicon Valley to study sound healing, earning her certification from the Sound and Consciousness Program at the Globe Institute in San Francisco.
From there she realized that spices and herbs are plants with very special frequencies. Discovering the sciences of epigenetics, molecular biology and biochemistry, and the depth of modern research on spices and adaptogenic herbs, and visiting spice plantations, digging turmeric and ginger from the warm tropical earth… she was hooked.
She turned her health around and regained her energy using spices, adaptogens, nutrition, meditation and sound healing.
Inspired by the ambrosial flavors and fragrances of spices, their deep history and mystery as the world’s most ancient medicines, their solid scientific backing… and a mystical visitation from the spirits of spices…she shared her vision of Spice Pharm with Frank.
He was totally game. Frank helped make her vision a reality with his deep background in manufacturing and IT services. He took over the manufacturing side, scaling up from small batches, as well as the practical execution of all things Internet.
Kitty’s self-healing kitchen potions evolved into Golden Goddess Elixirs, which are now widely recognized for their great taste, scientific efficacy and innovation, winning international recognition:
- Editor’s Choice Award from SupplySide West, the largest gathering of nutritional experts in the world
- Best Functional Drink USA from Global Health & Pharma
- Excellence Award for Stress Relief from Global Health & Pharma
- Top 3 Brand Award from San Francisco Green Festival
Author of the book Anti-Aging Secrets of Spices, Kitty is an internationally recognized expert on spices and adaptogens, and a featured speaker for dozens of online summits, podcasts, and events. She still loves to travel and wander in the woods.
Our Mission: Spicy Vitality
Our mission is to create products that uplift the body, mind and spirit with zip, zest and rejuvenation. Spice Pharm is dedicated to exploring and sharing the profound intelligence of nature's designs, delivering all-natural, ethically sourced plant-based formulations that are inspired by thousands of years of healing wisdom and backed with growing reams of research.
Our Elixir and CBD products address root causes of fatigue and pain: stress, adrenal fatigue, hormonal and inflammatory imbalances, and help rebuild vitality and core energy.