After 13 years of farming – growing flowers, herbs and vegetables on state-owned, cooperative land – Christina Dedora was ready to simplify her work life.
She and her then-partner decided to launch a business that would focus on dried herbs, specifically those used for culinary uses and herbal teas.
Their plans got an unexpected boost from the 2016 election, and the anti-immigrant rhetoric that started to spread across the country. She wanted to do something tangible to make a difference for the immigrant farmers she knew.
Most of the farmers working alongside them, at Urban Edge Farm in Cranston, were immigrants. Dedora knew they could supply her with the volume of herbs she’d need to keep a dried tea and spice business going.
“We were upset after the 2016 election. It was a motivating factor,” Dedora said. “We both worked extensively with immigrants in the agricultural community. We wanted to support farmers in general, but we especially wanted to support immigrant and refugee farmers [who] we had known for at least a decade.”
In 2017, Sanctuary Herbs of Providence LLC launched. It occupies a niche in Rhode Island, Dedora said.
Although herbal teas are available in every supermarket across the state, no one else is selling locally grown and dried herbal teas. This year, the Pawtucket-based business gained a state certification for its drying room.
The company, now 2 years old, sells packages of dried herbal teas, divided into bags, in a variety of flavors. Popular options include chocolate mint and peppermint.
The company is also now moving into culinary herbs, packaging a French mix – “Herbs de Providence” – and an Italian mix – “Herbs di Federal Hill” – in a way that promotes the history of Rhode Island foods.
Sanctuary Herbs also recently hired a Boston sales employee, who is trying to make inroads into a more competitive – and more lucrative – market.
In Rhode Island, the teas are sold in about 40 stores, at farmers markets and indoor markets, as well as restaurants.
Dedora isn’t surprised that there is demand for the product. People love herbal teas and in surveys have said they want locally sourced foods, including their teas.
“It’s all about education,” she said. “We’re trying to educate consumers to buy local. Most of the herbal herbs come from overseas. We’re really trying to [emphasize] … how fresh our herbal teas are.”
OWNER: Christina Dedora
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Herbal tea and culinary spices manufacturer
LOCATION: 560 Mineral Spring Ave., Pawtucket
EMPLOYEES: Three
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 2017
ANNUAL SALES: WND
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.
