August 21, 2026
There is a story behind every herb: where it was grown, who tended it, when it was harvested, how it was prepared, and the journey it took before reaching you.
At Mt. Meru, we believe all of these things matter. And perhaps no herb tells that story better than our Lakadong turmeric.
Long before Lakadong began gaining international recognition, our founder, Radhika, was searching for something very specific: an exceptionally potent turmeric that could be used just as nature intended, as a whole herb.
That search lasted three years, took her thousands of miles, and eventually brought her to the remote hills of Meghalaya in northeastern India. What she found there would become the foundation of Mt. Meru Medicines and help introduce an extraordinary whole herb to a much wider world.
It Started With a Different Way of Thinking About Turmeric
Radhika’s journey to Lakadong began in an unlikely place: a curcumin extraction facility.
She had gone there to understand how the supplement industry was processing turmeric. She watched whole turmeric roots enter the extraction process and emerge separated and concentrated, with one constituent, curcumin, elevated above everything else naturally present in the plant.
There was a scientific rationale for it. Curcumin had become the focus of considerable research, so the supplement industry had found ways to isolate it, concentrate it, and deliver more of it.
But through the lens of Ayurveda, something about that approach didn’t feel right.
Ayurveda doesn’t view a plant as a collection of individual ingredients. It considers the whole. Turmeric naturally contains curcuminoids, aromatic oils, polysaccharides, antioxidants, and many other compounds that exist together within the root. Ayurvedic tradition also recognizes prana, the vital life force or energy present in living things.
For Radhika, watching the whole plant being broken apart raised a different question: What if we could find a turmeric naturally high in curcumin, without having to extract it at all?
That question set her on a three-year search.
Finding Lakadong
Eventually, Radhika’s journey led to Meghalaya, a lush, mountainous state in northeastern India, and to the Jaintia Hills, where a rare variety of turmeric has been cultivated for generations.
Lakadong turmeric was exactly what she had been searching for.
While conventional turmeric often contains approximately 1–3% naturally occurring curcumin, Lakadong contains approximately 8–12%. Its remarkable potency comes naturally, shaped by the mineral-rich soil and climate of Meghalaya and generations of traditional cultivation.
There was no need to extract and concentrate one component of the root. Nature had already created a turmeric naturally abundant in curcumin while preserving everything else within the plant.
But what Radhika discovered in Meghalaya went well beyond the turmeric itself.
She traveled to Mupliang village and began building direct relationships with the indigenous farming communities who grow Lakadong. Their knowledge of the plant, the soil, seasons, mother rhizomes, companion crops, harvest, and preparation had been passed from generation to generation.
Rather than replace that knowledge with industrial agricultural practices, Mt. Meru wanted to learn from it and help preserve it. That became the foundation of a partnership that continues today: traditional tribal knowledge combined with modern standards for consistency, purity, safety, and testing.
From the Soil to the Finished Herb
Finding an extraordinary turmeric wasn’t enough. Radhika became equally focused on what happened to it after it left the ground.
Every decision came back to the same idea: how could we preserve as much of what nature created as possible?
That begins in the fields. Mother rhizomes are replanted each year, continuing the growing cycle and helping regenerate the soil, while complementary crops are grown together to support ecological balance. The turmeric is tended and harvested according to seasonal cycles, drawing on the farming knowledge that has sustained Lakadong for generations.
After harvest, the turmeric is naturally sun-dried rather than rapidly machine-dehydrated. It’s a slower process, but one designed to preserve the qualities of the whole root, including its volatile oils and distinctive aromatic compounds. The dried turmeric is then stone-ground and carefully sieved multiple times to create a fine, pure powder.
No curcumin extracts. No isolates. The naturally occurring curcumin remains alongside the oils, antioxidants, and other compounds with which it grew.
At the same time, we don’t believe honoring tradition means resisting improvement. Radhika brought the principle of Kaizen, continuous improvement, to the process, working with our farming partners to learn from each harvest and continually refine what we do while remaining grounded in the traditional practices that make Lakadong so exceptional.
The result is a process that brings together two kinds of wisdom: generations of indigenous agricultural knowledge and an ongoing commitment to making every harvest the best it can be.
Preserving What Ayurveda Calls Prana
In Ayurveda and yoga, prana is understood as the vital energy or life force flowing through all living things. Preserving the prana of the herb was one of the reasons Radhika rejected extraction in the first place, and it continues to influence how we think about every stage of the plant’s journey.
It’s why we care so deeply about the soil, the timing of the harvest, the way the root is sun-dried and stone-ground, and the relationship between the farmer, the land, and the plant.
Modern science gives us remarkable tools for understanding and measuring plants. Ayurveda reminds us that what we can measure may not be the entirety of what matters. At Mt. Meru, we believe there is room and value in both perspectives.
And while prana isn’t something a laboratory can measure, there are qualities you can experience. Carefully prepared Lakadong turmeric has an intense golden color, a rich earthy aroma, and a distinctive taste, qualities that reflect the care taken throughout its journey.
Traditional Wisdom, Verified by Modern Standards
Honoring ancient wisdom doesn’t mean asking you to take quality on faith.
Mt. Meru’s Lakadong turmeric is independently tested in certified laboratories in both India and the United States. Every batch is evaluated for important measures of identity, potency, purity, and safety, including curcumin content, heavy metals, microbial safety, and pesticide residues.
This combination is central to our philosophy: preserve what traditional wisdom teaches us, verify what modern science allows us to measure, and bring the best of both together.
Bringing Lakadong Turmeric to the U.S.
After years of searching, traveling, building relationships, and refining the process, an important moment arrived.
On December 16, 2020, Mt. Meru Medicines launched its Lakadong turmeric supplements in the United States. India’s Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma participated in the launch virtually, with the Consul General of India in San Francisco also in attendance.
At the time, few American consumers had ever heard the name Lakadong. Yet Radhika believed this remarkable turmeric, and the people who had cultivated it for generations, deserved a place on the global stage.
The conversation surrounding the launch went beyond introducing a new product. It included the importance of protecting Lakadong’s geographical identity, strengthening the agricultural value chain, and creating greater opportunity for the farming communities of Meghalaya.
Mt. Meru had spent years doing the pioneering work: finding this extraordinary whole herb, building direct relationships with farmers, developing a rigorous production process, establishing quality standards, and demonstrating that there was a market for premium Lakadong turmeric in the United States.
And the momentum continued to build.
In March 2024, Lakadong turmeric received Geographical Indication (GI) protection, formally recognizing its distinctive qualities and connection to Meghalaya. Then, in July 2026, the ₹175 crore Mission Golden Spice investment signaled another major commitment to the future of Lakadong turmeric and the farming communities behind it.
Mt. Meru was an early catalyst in that journey. What began with Radhika’s determination to find a naturally potent whole herb became part of a much larger movement, bringing greater recognition, investment, and opportunity to Lakadong turmeric and the communities that have cultivated it for generations.
Today, Lakadong turmeric is receiving the recognition Radhika believed it deserved from the beginning. And while we’re thrilled to see more people discovering this extraordinary herb, we believe where it comes from and how it is cared for still matters.
Radhika’s search began with a simple idea: perhaps nature doesn’t need us to improve upon it. Our job is to preserve the wisdom already there.
That belief continues to guide Mt. Meru today: honoring the land, the farming communities who have cultivated Lakadong for generations, and the integrity of the whole plant.
It’s what Whole Herbs. Whole You. means to us.
Learn More About the Mt. Meru Lakadong Story
Mt. Meru's pioneering work to bring Lakadong turmeric to the United States received attention from government and media organizations in India and the U.S. Explore some of the original coverage:
Consulate General of India - San Francisco
"Meghalaya's Lakadong turmeric reaches USA” - Sentinel Assam
"Lakadong turmeric gets international market" - The Shillong Times
