Dr Bo Hendgen DO ND AM, Founder of Absolute Essential

Dr Bo Hendgen DO ND AM is a natural health practitioner trained in osteopathy, naturopathy and aromatic medicine, and a registered osteopath, with a clinical focus on maternity care. European born, she has more than 35 years in clinical practice, trained in New Zealand, Australia and the United States, and more than 40 years working with aromatic extracts, trained in France.

She founded Absolute Essential in 1988 on a straightforward premise. Most essential oils are made for fragrance and flavour, and only a small fraction are produced to a standard that allows them to be used therapeutically. She set out to source that fraction, and to know exactly where every drop came from.

The company sources certified organic and wild harvested plant extracts globally, originating in over 30 countries. Independent certification by BioGro and AsureQuality covers 96 per cent of the catalogue, and 99.6 per cent of everything that can be certified. Absolute Essential is family owned since 1988, and always has been.

The company has worked from a 16 acre property at Muriwai Beach, west of Auckland, since 2002, and has planted at least 100 native trees there every year since. Natural Health Products New Zealand has recognised the company with sustainability awards in 2015, 2016 and 2017, taking the Supreme Award in 2015, an innovation award in 2020 for sustainable packaging, and the inaugural corporate social responsibility award in 2023, again taking the Supreme Award. Dr Hendgen was made an Edmund Hillary Fellow in 2020, acknowledging her work establishing sustainable supply chains.

Her ambition for the company has not changed since she started it, which is to make a positive and permanent difference in people's lives all the way through the value chain, and to demonstrate that globalisation can make a positive impact.

Registered Osteopath, Osteopathic Council of New Zealand. Registration number 22-00190. Practising certificate valid 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

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