A major US kratom brand relies on a maze of companies. Here’s the list

The O.P.M.S. brand, one of the most popular kratom names in the country, is connected to a web of companies and trade names. Peyton Palaio has been at the center of much of it. He was identified as the chief executive of Olistica Life Sciences up until this year. Olistica acted as the umbrella company over multiple entities connected to the O.P.M.S. brand.

Here’s a breakdown of known companies with connections to O.P.M.S. The information is culled from internal company records, business filings, workers compensation records and interviews with current and former employees.

Georgia

Olistica Life Sciences Group (name changed to Centralized Services)

The parent company oversaw Jordan Process, Liv Group, Advanced Nutrition and Della Terra Pharmaceuticals. Until earlier this year, a LinkedIn page said a “Payton P.” was the former chief executive officer of Olistica Life Sciences Group. (Palaio signed emails using that spelling of his name, exhibits filed in court show.)

Nuza LLC

Nuza is part of the O.P.M.S. supply chain in Marietta, Georgia. Its workers were formerly employed by Advanced Nutrition before the company changed names in late 2022. It’s also known as Nuza Logistics. It’s registered as a Wyoming company.

Liv Group Inc.

Liv Group was listed on internal company organization charts as a subsidiary of Olistica. When Nuza employees send raw kratom powder to Fort Worth to be treated for contaminants, Liv Group is the name the sterilization company typically uses to describe their client, according to a company representative. (The company also has the name “Nuza” on file.) Palaio was listed as a Liv Group officer in a Georgia filing in 2018. Samuel Palaio was listed as the CEO, CFO and secretary on its initial Georgia registration in 2016 through 2020. The company withdrew from the state in 2021, before filing its annual report for that year. Law enforcement records show Samuel Palaio was a name Palaio’s now-deceased grandfather used. Liv Group is registered as a Wyoming company.

Calibre Manufacturing LLC

Calibre employees process O.P.M.S. kratom at locations in Alpharetta and Marietta before it’s sent for final packaging in Texas. Workers at these facilities were formerly employed by Advanced Nutrition before the company changed names in late 2022. A misspelled name of one of Palaio’s relatives was listed as a manager when Advanced Nutrition was registered to operate in Georgia in 2021. Calibre is registered as a Wyoming company.

1199 Industrial LLC

This LLC owns the building in Marietta where O.P.M.S. extracts and raw powder capsules are filled and other O.P.M.S. extracts are turned into bulk liquid. It’s registered as a Wyoming company.

1100 Alpha LLC

This LLC owns the building in Alpharetta where O.P.M.S. kratom is blended and milled. It’s registered as a Wyoming company and appears on Olistica organization charts.

Colorado

Jordan Process LLC

Jordan Process is a remote Colorado factory that has processed kratom into extracts. Property records show a company that listed Palaio as president purchased the land where it is built in 2016. Ownership is now in the hands of a company managed by his grandfather, who died earlier this year. Workers say they’ve seen Palaio at the factory and said the facility was named after his brother Samuel Jordan Palaio. An internal organization chart from 2021 for Jordan Process lists “PP” as CEO.

LP Ind. LLC

LP is listed in government filings as the operator behind Jordan Process, the company linked to Palaio and an Olistica subsidiary in Colorado. It does business in Colorado and is a Wyoming company.

R.M.H. Holdings Inc.

R.M.H. Holdings receives the tax bill that is due each year for the land where Jordan Process is located (the property is owned by Highway 160 Way LLC). Palaio was listed as the CEO of R.M.H. Holdings in property records. It’s registered as a Wyoming company.

PFI LLC

This LLC held title to the land beneath Jordan Process, but only for a single day. Palaio was linked to PFI as a manager on paperwork in 2019 and so was his now-deceased grandfather, who was listed as the manager on a 2023 property document. The same document listed PFI LLC as the company that manages Highway 160 Way LLC, the extract facility’s current owner. It’s registered as a Wyoming company.

Highway 160 Way LLC

This LLC is now the owner of the land where Jordan Process is located. It had ownership transferred to it from PFI, a day after PFI received the rights to the land from Precision Biologics, another company that listed Palaio as an executive. Palaio signed as the manager of PFI when the transfer took place to Highway 160 Way. Palaio’s grandfather, who died in June, signed as the manager of Highway 160 Way earlier this year. It’s registered as a Wyoming company.

Texas

A1 Wholesale

A1 Wholesale in Dallas has packaged kratom into O.P.M.S. products. At a nearby industrial building, A1 Wholesale employees prepare O.P.M.S. orders placed through Party Nuts, an online distribution site, before they’re sent to Florida shelves.

Party Nuts

Party Nuts is a website distributor where retailers can purchase wholesale orders of O.P.M.S. Orders have been filled by employees of A1 Wholesale.

UZIEL LLC

UZIEL was listed on the W2 of an A1 Wholesale employee in 2020, according to a photo obtained by the Times. The employee prepared orders of O.P.M.S. products placed through Party Nuts for shipping at the company’s main warehouse.

Onix Media

Onix has produced graphic design for O.P.M.S. packaging.

OEWM LLC

OEWM LLC was listed on a recent paystub of an Onix Media employee, according to a photo obtained by the Times. The employee worked on designs for O.P.M.S. packaging, including changing the language on the warning labels multiple times at the behest of management.

Beeman Inc

Beeman is listed as owner of the main A1 Wholesale building in Dallas where O.P.M.S. kratom products are prepared for distribution to retailers across the country.

Engaged Investments LLC

Engaged Investments owns another Dallas building where A1 Wholesale employees have placed O.P.M.S. kratom products into their signature packaging before distribution.

Wyoming

Martian Sales Inc.

Martian owns trademarks for O.P.M.S. products. Every employee and contractor of Martian must sign nondisclosure agreements, according to an attorney for the company. The president Mark Reilly has worked with Palaio for years. It’s registered as a Wyoming company.

NP Pharma Holdings LLC

NP Pharma Holdings was involved in kratom-related research conducted by Olistica Life Sciences Group. It’s linked to Della Terra, which was part of Olistica, internal documents show.

Johnson Foods LLC

Johnson Foods submitted a new dietary ingredient notification to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October 2022, indicating the company intended to market kratom powder as a dietary supplement. (The federal agency said it was “unable to establish the safety” of the product.) The company said it would act as its bulk supplier, manufacturer and distributor. It was listed as a subsidiary of Della Terra, which was part of Olistica, internal documents from that year show.

Della Terra Pharmaceuticals

A trade name for the Olistica subsidiary that furthers kratom-related research.

California

Choice Organics

Choice Organics is listed as the distributor of O.P.M.S. on the brand’s product packaging. It lists its address as a building in Los Angeles, California.

This article was produced as a project with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2023 National Fellowship.