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David versus Goliath: An Austrian Berry Against the Pharmaceutical Industry

David versus Goliath: The sea buckthorn berry – a small all-rounder against the pharmaceutical industry

Three protective vitamins for the immune system: What is synthetically mixed in the pharmaceutical and food industries grows on a shrub in the SANDICCA sea buckthorn gardens

Orange sea buckthorn berries on a branch against a blue sky — © SANDICCA

Wenigzell, October 2026

Three protective vitamins, one berry, zero kilometres of overseas freight: Sea buckthorn combines vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene – the trio that protects cells from oxidative stress when working together. While combination preparations achieve record sales during the cold season, the Styrian family business SANDICCA has been showing for almost ten years that it can be natural, regional and sustainable.

What is sea buckthorn?

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a thorny shrub native to Europe and Asia. As a pioneer plant, it withstands poor soil, cold and drought and bears bright orange berries in late summer.

Sea buckthorn contains more than 190 bioactive substances, including vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene, as well as an unusually high amount of fruit pulp oil. The berry is popularly known as the “lemon of the North”.

Peak season for immune boosters – a look at the small print

When the days grow shorter, the retail sector enters its strongest sales period of the year: Pure vitamins, effervescent tablets and “innovative immune complexes” are in demand.

But anyone who turns the package over is often in for a surprise: Water, sugar and humectants frequently appear right at the top, followed by synthetic vitamins, acidifying agents and preservatives. The advertised plant extract usually appears only at the end – and often comes from the other side of the world.

Is that even allowed? Yes.

The Austrian Food Supplements Regulation specifies which vitamins and minerals are permitted and in what form – regardless of whether they come from fruit or a laboratory. And because ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight under the EU Food Information Regulation, the position of the extract legally reveals how little of it is actually included.

The desire for health and a long life is a multibillion-euro business. According to IP Österreich (2024), more than four in five Austrians aged between 18 and 59 use food supplements at least occasionally.

Is there another way? Yes – from Styria, in fact.

Tanja and Gabriel Kroisleitner founded SANDICCA in 2017 as a regional initiative in the eastern Styrian Joglland region, where the family business is still based today. Here, at an altitude of around 860 metres, Austria’s first organic sea buckthorn gardens were planted. Further SANDICCA sea buckthorn gardens are located near the Donau-Auen and Neusiedler See – Seewinkel national parks; since 2025, a partner farmer in Jessen (Elster), Germany, has also been part of the project. A patented cold-stirring process without heating turns the berries into a fresh food supplement with more than 50 percent sea buckthorn content.

“We do not need to add anything to nature that it has not already put into the berry. Health, sustainability and regionality are not mutually exclusive – they belong together.”, Tanja Kroisleitner, Managing Director and founder of SANDICCA GmbH.

Tanja Kroisleitner, founder of SANDICCA, picking sea buckthorn berries in the sea buckthorn gardens in Joglland — Tanja Kroisleitner, founder and Managing Director of SANDICCA GmbH. © SANDICCA

Three allies in the orange berry

Depending on the location, sea buckthorn contains around ten times as much vitamin C as citrus fruits. What is particularly remarkable is the combination: Vitamin E neutralises free radicals in cell membranes, while vitamin C “recharges” used vitamin E. Both help protect cells from oxidative stress.

The first line of defence: skin and mucous membranes

Before the immune system has to intervene, the skin and mucous membranes stand ready as border guards. When the mucous membranes in the nose, mouth, bronchial tubes and intestines are intact, they keep pathogens and irritants at a distance and relieve the body’s own defences.

“In autumn, many people reach for the package on the shelf. We invite them to take a look at the back first,” Tanja Kroisleitner, Managing Director and founder of SANDICCA GmbH.

Conclusion: Sea buckthorn fresh elixir and sea buckthorn fruit pulp oil belong together

The protective substances in sea buckthorn are found in two raw materials: vitamin C in the fruit juice, and vitamin E and beta-carotene in the fruit pulp oil. That is why the two belong together every day:

The Fresh Elixir provides vitamin C, cold-stirred, which contributes to the normal function of the immune system; two teaspoons provide around 70 percent of the daily requirement.
The organic sea buckthorn fruit pulp oil provides beta-carotene, from which the body produces vitamin A, which contributes to the maintenance of normal mucous membranes and skin, as well as vitamin E; two teaspoons provide around 70 percent of the daily requirement.

Only together do the sea buckthorn fresh elixir and sea buckthorn fruit pulp oil bring the full range of the sea buckthorn berry to the table.

SANDICCA products are available in selected Austrian pharmacies, at all Martin Reformstark branches, from distribution partners and at www.sandicca.com.

About SANDICCA

The family business SANDICCA from Wenigzell cultivates Austria’s first organic sea buckthorn in the Styrian mountain region of Joglland. The founders, Tanja and Gabriel Kroisleitner, use it to develop innovative fresh food supplements, native oils from sea buckthorn fruit pulp and seeds, and organic natural cosmetics. The ecological approach extends from organic cultivation and gentle preservation without heating to CO2-neutral shipping in compostable materials.