What does it mean to be an AKA-Certified Member?
Becoming an AKA Certified Member allows you to join the ranks of a world class team of the leading academics, manufacturers, farmers, lobbyists, and other specialists who are working collectively to perpetuate the success of the Kava industry worldwide. By becoming a member of the only domestic Kava-centric trade organization, you can play an active role in keeping the kava industry robust and healthy through its resurgence in the United States.
How does it benefit my company?
The American Kava Association seal lets your customers know that you are among an elite class of Kava suppliers who are trusted to sell kava of the highest grade, free from contaminants. Simply by complying with the AKA analytical testing requirements, you are able to certify to your customers that your kava is superior to other vendors and therefore worth a premium. Furthermore, by aligning your company with the ranks of top-level academics, expert growers, and other members of the Kava community, you expand your network into areas of the market that would otherwise be inaccessible to just any Kava business. The benefit to your company is apparent in many ways, not to mention your bottom line.
How does it benefit my customers?
Your customers benefit by having access to excellent grade Kava, rather than mediocre mystery material. Additionally, your customers can begin to understand why they enjoy certain kavas more than others by looking at quantified chemotype and kavalactone data on your certificates of analysis. This data helps them determine which Kavas that they will be most satisfied with before they make a purchase. Happy customers equal more positive reviews on your company and less returns! Everyone wins.
How does it benefit the kava industry as a whole?
Customers prefer to buy from trusted, AKA certified vendors because they know that they are receiving a quality product. Through buying only from AKA certified vendors, it squeezes out the vendors who are in non-compliance with FDA and cGMP laws and others who pose a threat to the Kava industry. These irresponsible vendors will either drop out of the marketplace because customers will demand certified quality, or they will be forced into compliance.
Either way, AKA membership benefits the Kava industry by removing non-compliant and irresponsible vendors through creating a strong consumer demand for quality.