Boiron was founded in 1932 in Lyon, France, by twin brothers and pharmacists Jean and Henri Boiron. It is now the world leader in homeopathy. More about Boiron’s history in France and throughout the world can be found at
www.boiron.com.
In 1983, Boiron established a U.S. presence by acquiring John A. Borneman & Sons, Inc., in suburban Philadelphia. Borneman was a family business with four generations of homeopathic expertise focused on supplying medicines directly to physicians and the public throughout the United States.
The newly formed organization adopted the name Boiron-Borneman, Inc., which is still the formal and legal name of the company today.
The fledgling company commonly, referred to as Boiron USA, employed a staff of seven who performed all tasks from harvesting and manufacturing to order processing and shipping. An average of 25 orders were shipped per day with a new focus on serving retail and pharmacy channels nationwide.
In 1985, the company’s first president, Daniel Cohen, began to focus on serving retail channels with consumer-friendly products. In 1987, Cohen returned to France and Thierry Montfort arrived in the U.S. from Lyon to take the helm and continue the expansion in retail distribution.
In response to a significant interest in homeopathy in California, Boiron established a branch in Simi Valley, California, outside of Los Angeles in 1989.
Ten years after the acquisition of Borneman, Boiron invested in the construction of a new building and moved from the original Borneman site in Norwood to neighboring Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. The building continues to service as both the Boiron USA headquarters as well as the manufacturing and distribution branch for the East Coast. The facility houses a high-tech manufacturing laboratory, an innovative order fulfillment center, and spacious warehouse and automated shipping operations.
After heading Boiron Canada for 7 years, namesake Thierry Boiron became Boiron USA’s third president in 1995 when his predecessor returned to France as a newly appointment board member.
After much growth and the need to contract for larger warehousing on both the East and West Coast, a newly built West Coast branch was completed in June 2005. The new 20,500 square-foot building offers a high-tech manufacturing laboratory and warehouse capabilities to meet future demands. Beyond enhancing service, the new building also can accommodate 50 people in a specially designed conference room to facilitate educational efforts as Boiron is currently focused on outreach to the medical community.
After Thierry Boiron returned to France to serve as managing director of the Boiron Group, Ludovic Rassat was appointed the fourth president of the U.S. division in January 2006.
Today, Boiron USA has evolved into a leading U.S. homeopathic medicine supplier, fulfilling up to 1,000 orders per day during the busy flu season. The company partners with brokers, distributors, and retail chains to make homeopathic products available to a wide variety of consumers and physicians. Boiron’s staff of 120+ consists of a medical doctor, four pharmacists and lab technicians, accounting and IT personnel, a marketing staff, a national sales force, customer service, order fulfillment and shipping professionals—many of whom have an impressively long career with the company.
