Penn Herb Company

What Penn Herb Company does

Penn Herb Company, Ltd. is a privately held, family-owned specialty retailer of herbs, spices, essential oils, vitamins, and natural supplements, founded in 1924 in Philadelphia by Naturopathic physician Dr. Konstanty Kalkosinski and operated by the Betz family since 1962. The company sells over 400 wildcrafted and organic bulk herbs in whole, cut, and powder forms, plus its proprietary Nature's Wonderland private-label vitamin and supplement line, exclusive US distribution of Swiss Olbas Remedies, founder-formulated special herbal formulas, herbal extracts, essential oils, and targeted condition-specific product lines (men's health, memory, hair growth, mood, seasonal). Operations include an in-house processing facility in Northeast Philadelphia (milling, sifting, encapsulation), a 120 kW on-site solar installation, and a flagship retail store in Philadelphia, with US-domestic shipping.

Name

Penn Herb Company

Legal name

Penn Herb Company, Ltd.

Website

https://pennherb.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1924

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Penn Herb Company is a family-owned Philadelphia retailer, founded 1924, selling 400+ bulk herbs, essential oils, vitamins, and herbal supplements via its own e-commerce site, Philadelphia flagship store, and wholesale program, including the Nature's Wonderland private-label line.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Herbal Supplements & Natural Remedies

NAICS

Food (Health) Supplement Retailers (456191), Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529), Health and Personal Care Retailers (456)

SIC

Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833), Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)

akta.pro primary industry

Herbal & Botanical Supplements (CRADAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Natural/Organic Bulk & Supplement Grocers (CRAHAMAF), Botanical & Herbal Extracts (Adaptogens, Polyphenols, Essential Oils, Standardized Extracts) (AFAJAKAD), Extracts, Oleoresins & Essential Oils (Spice Extracts for Flavoring) (AFAJANAJ)

Keywords

• Herbal supplements
• Natural remedies
• Essential oils
• Bulk dried herbs
• Herbal extracts

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Penn Herb generates revenue through the sale of herbs, spices, essential oils, vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies via e-commerce and retail channels. Products are sold in various forms including bulk tea, powder, liquid extracts, and capsules.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Penn Herb Company retails dried bulk herbs, essential oils, herbal extracts, vitamins, supplements, and traditional herbal remedies to individual consumers. The catalog spans 400+ wildcrafted and organic herbs plus the proprietary Nature's Wonderland private-label line and exclusive U.S. distribution of Swiss Olbas Remedies. Products are sold through the company's own e-commerce site and a flagship Philadelphia retail store, with herbs processed in-house.

Product overview

Penn Herb Company is a traditional herbal remedies and natural products retailer founded in 1924, operating as a brick-and-mortar store in Philadelphia with an e-commerce platform. Their product portfolio centers on three main pillars: (1) Their proprietary Nature's Wonderland private-label line of vitamins, supplements, and herbal extracts; (2) Over 400 bulk dried herbs, wildcrafted and organic, available in whole, cut, and powder forms; and (3) Curated partner brands including Swiss Olbas Remedies (essential oil blends for respiratory and pain relief) and Dr. Susan Smith Jones wellness booklets. The company also offers essential oils, special herbal formulas developed by company founder Dr. Konstanty Kalkosinski, culinary spices, and targeted health categories such as men's health, memory support, and hair growth. Processing and manufacturing occurs in-house at their Philadelphia facility where herbs are milled, sifted, and encapsulated.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nature's Wonderland: Premium quality vitamins and supplements private label brand offering capsules, whole herbs, tea cut, powder, and tea bags.

Products and services

• Nature's Wonderland Premium Vitamins and Supplements Penn Herb's proprietary private-label line of premium vitamins, minerals, and dietary supplements made from select ingredients and laboratory-tested for potency and purity; offered in capsules, whole herbs, tea cut, powder, and tea bags.
• Olbas Remedies Swiss herbal remedies line featuring Olbas Oil, Inhaler, Salve, Lozenges, Herbal Bath, Cough Syrup, and Herbal Wellness Tea — a blend of six essential oils (Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Cajeput, Juniper Berry, Wintergreen, Clove) for respiratory support, pain relief, and seasonal comfort. Sold exclusively through Penn Herb's channels.
• Dried Bulk Herbs Over 400 wildcrafted and organic bulk herbs available in whole, cut, and powder forms for home wellness and traditional herbal preparation.
• Essential Oils Pure essential oils for aromatherapy including Lavender, Bergamot, Frankincense, Roman Chamomile, and blends such as Olbas Oil and Energy Boost; complementary aromatherapy diffusers, beeswax, resins, and gums also offered.
• Special Herbal Formulas Traditional herbal formulations originally developed by company founder Dr. Konstanty Kalkosinski, a Naturopathic physician, offered in bulk tea or capsule form.
• Herbal Extracts Liquid herbal extracts in convenient dropper bottles for various wellness applications.
• Spices and Seasoning Culinary herbs and spices packaged in handy shaker jars for home cooking and seasoning.
• Herb Teas Herbal tea blends including Chamomile Comfort and a range of wellness teas for daily consumption.
• Dr. Susan Smith Jones Remedies and Booklets Natural-remedies booklets and wellness guidance authored by holistic-health expert Dr. Susan Smith Jones, PhD, sold through the Penn Herb storefront.

Quantifiable outcome

• 140,210 kWh electricity produced per year from solar
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Olbas RemediescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOlbas is a Swiss brand of herbal remedies originating from Basel, Switzerland over 100 years ago. Penn Herb is an authorized seller of Olbas products which include Olbas Oil, Inhaler, Salve, Lozenges, Herbal Bath, and Cough Syrup. The Olbas formula is a blend of 6 essential oils (Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Cajeput, Juniper Berry, Wintergreen, and Clove) and Penn Herb sells these products exclusively through their channels.
• Dr. Susan Smith JonesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDr. Susan Smith Jones is a holistic health expert and author who has been recommending Penn Herb products for over 35 years. She promotes Penn Herb through her books, radio and TV interviews, and health retreats worldwide. She has authored multiple booklets on natural remedies sold through Penn Herb.
• Emergent Health CorpminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Penn Herb for consumer education workshops at the Philadelphia Flagship Store. Event on regenerative health held November 2019.
• Irwin NaturalsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Penn Herb for consumer education workshops at the Philadelphia Flagship Store. Event held August 2019.
• Barefoot BotanicalsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHerb farm located less than an hour from Penn Herb headquarters. Penn Herb visited their farm and partnered for workshops. Event held July 2019.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mountain Rose Herbs: Direct peer offering 400+ bulk organic herbs, essential oils, and herbal remedies through e-commerce. Closely comparable in product mix (wildcrafted herbs, oils, extracts) and DTC orientation, though with a larger wholesale/retail footprint on the West Coast.
• Starwest Botanicals: Bulk herbs, spices, essential oils, and herbal capsules sold online to both consumers and wholesale buyers. Highly comparable in product assortment and in-house processing model, with similar heritage (founded 1975) and DTC/wholesale split.
• Frontier Co-op: Cooperative wholesaler and retailer of bulk herbs, spices, and essential oils with a strong Simply Organic brand. Comparable in product category and channel mix (wholesale + DTC), with much larger scale and a co-op ownership structure.
• Swanson Health Products: Mail-order supplement and herbal retailer founded in 1969, with a broad catalog of vitamins, herbs, and essential oils. Closely comparable as a long-tenured, value-positioned DTC supplement brand serving a similar health-conscious consumer base.
• Herb Pharm: Certified-organic liquid herbal extracts producer and DTC brand. Comparable in the herbal extracts category and in emphasizing traditional, sourced-from-nature formulations, with stronger brand presence in natural food retail.
• Gaia Herbs: Vertically integrated herbal supplements brand offering liquid extracts, capsules, and teas via DTC and natural retail. Comparable in liquid extracts and herbal wellness category, with a much larger farm-to-capsule investment and broader national distribution.
• Traditional Medicinals: Herbal wellness company best known for organic medicinal teas and herbal extracts. Comparable in herbal wellness category and DTC-plus-retail distribution, with a deeper grocery channel footprint and stronger brand presence in herbal teas.

Broad incumbents

• iHerb: Global e-commerce marketplace for supplements, herbs, essential oils, and natural health products. Comparable as a primary online destination for the same consumer, but at vastly larger scale with hundreds of brands and aggressive pricing.
• NOW Foods: Large family-owned supplement manufacturer and brand spanning vitamins, herbs, essential oils, and sports nutrition. Comparable product mix across essential oils, herbs, and supplements, but at industrial scale with national retail distribution.
• Vitacost: Large e-commerce retailer of supplements, herbs, vitamins, and natural health products, owned by The Kroger Co. Comparable DTC catalog and customer base, but with massive assortment, subscription logistics, and aggressive pricing.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PennHerb
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCgGhmFy0Typ2mypdKM9MNmQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/PennHerbCo
• Instagraminstagram.com/pennherb
• Pinterestpinterest.com/pennherb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Penn Herb Company