Foster Farm Botanicals

What Foster Farm Botanicals does

Foster Farm Botanicals is a privately held, founder-owned certified organic herb farm operating on a 250-acre family homestead in East Calais, Vermont (1,300 feet above sea level), producing over 30 unique medicinal botanicals. Founded in 2019 by Annie Christopher and Peter Backman, both former co-founders of the Annie's Naturals wholesome foods brand, the business runs on a vertically integrated model that performs on-site growing, harvesting, drying, cutting, and sifting, with extract production contracted to a GMP-certified facility. The product portfolio spans five lines: organic dried botanicals (cut and whole forms), organic botanical powders, organic tea blends in compostable bags, alcohol-based organic extracts sweetened with Vermont maple syrup, and a seasonal fresh botanical preorder program. The company holds triple organic certification (VOF/USDA Organic, Real Organic Project, Regenerative Organic Certified), which functions as its primary competitive differentiator.

The business generates revenue through three channels: a direct-to-consumer Shopify e-commerce storefront shipping to all 50 US states and Canada plus farm pickup, a B2B wholesale channel with a formal application process targeting resellers, herbalists, naturopaths, manufacturers, and schools, and a fresh botanical preorder program with a 10 lb minimum. Retail unit pricing ranges from $5.95 for tea blends to $28.00 for premium dried herbs, with bulk discounts available above 100 lbs and contract growing at a 500 lb dried minimum. Marketing relies on organic social (Facebook, Instagram), email newsletter, and detailed Shopify product pages; logistics run primarily through UPS. The operation has 11-50 employees, a general manager and farm manager reporting to the co-founders, and has received a 2020 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant of undisclosed dollar value. No institutional equity investment, M&A activity, or public listing is indicated.

Name

Foster Farm Botanicals

Legal name

Foster Farm Botanicals

Website

https://fosterfarmbotanicals.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Foster Farm Botanicals is a Vermont-based certified organic herb farm that grows, dries, and sells over 30 medicinal botanicals directly to consumers, herbalists, and wholesale buyers across the U.S. and Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Medicinal Herbs

NAICS

Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142), Nursery and Tree Production (111421), Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Herb Farming (Basil, Parsley, Cilantro, Mint, Dill) (AFAGADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dried Herbs & Herb Blends (AFAJANAC), Nursery Production (Woody Ornamentals: Trees, Shrubs, Roses) (AFAGAHAF)

Keywords

• Organic medicinal herbs
• Certified organic botanicals
• Herbal tea blends
• Botanical extracts
• Herbal wholesale supply

Headquarters

HQ city

East Calais

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct E-commerce Retail: Consumer-facing online store selling organic dried herbs, botanical powders, tea blends, and extracts through Shopify e-commerce platform. Products ship to all 50 US states and Canada.
2. Wholesale Bulk Sales: B2B wholesale accounts for resellers, herbalists, manufacturers, and practitioners. Contract growing available with 500 lb dried minimum order requirement.
3. Fresh Botanical Preorders: Seasonal fresh botanical preorder program with 10 lb minimum. Ships fresh herbs to customers nationwide during harvest season.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Foster Farm Botanicals is a certified organic herb farm in East Calais, Vermont that grows, harvests, dries, cuts, and sifts over 30 unique medicinal botanicals on a 250-acre family homestead. The company sells organic dried herbs, botanical powders, herbal tea blends, and alcohol-based extracts directly to consumers via Shopify e-commerce and to B2B wholesale buyers including resellers, herbalists, naturopaths, manufacturers, and schools.

Product overview

Foster Farm Botanicals operates as a certified organic herb farm in Vermont offering a diversified product portfolio centered on four core offerings: Organic Dried Botanicals (over 30 unique dried herbs sold in cut, whole, and powdered forms), Organic Botanical Powders (processed dried herbs), Organic Tea Blends (pre-formulated herbal tea combinations in compostable tea bags), and Organic Extracts (alcohol-based liquid herbal extracts with maple syrup). The company also maintains a Fresh Botanicals pre-order program for fresh-cut herbs. Products range from individual single-ingredient botanicals (Ashwagandha, Chamomile, Echinacea, Holy Basil, Valerian) to proprietary blend formulations, serving both retail consumers and wholesale buyers with minimum 500 lb contract growing options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Organic Dried Botanicals
• Organic Botanical Powders
• Organic Tea Blends
• Organic Extracts
• Fresh Botanicals

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

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.

• Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF)coreOthersVOF is the USDA accredited certification program of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont. Foster Farm Botanicals maintains organic certification through VOF.
• Real Organic ProjectcoreOthersGrassroots movement started by Vermont vegetable farmers to protect the meaning of organic. Certifies that crops are grown in soil and that healthy soils translate to healthy crops.
• Regenerative Organic CertifiedcoreOthersUses USDA Certified Organic standard as baseline and adds criteria for three pillars of regenerative organic agriculture: soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness.
• Shopify Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform provider hosting Foster Farm Botanicals' online store. Enables online selling of products and services to customers.
• UPSminorOthersPrimary shipping carrier used for domestic orders. Alternative carriers available upon customer request.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Herb Pharm: Vertically integrated certified organic herbal extract company that grows, extracts, and ships liquid extracts to consumers and practitioners. Closely comparable on the extract product line and certified-organic farm-to-bottle story.
• Starwest Botanicals: Wholesale and retail supplier of organic dried herbs, spices, and botanicals with a similar bulk-and-retail dual channel. Comparable product range and certified-organic positioning.
• Pacific Botanicals: Certified organic wholesale herb farm in Oregon supplying bulk dried herbs to manufacturers, herbalists, and resellers. Highly comparable on contract growing, bulk wholesale model, and organic certification.
• Mountain Rose Herbs: Large-scale organic herb merchant offering dried bulk herbs, teas, and extracts to both consumers and wholesale buyers. Directly comparable product catalog, certifications, and DTC + wholesale GTM motion.
• Oregon's Wild Harvest: Certified organic farm and supplement brand producing herbal extracts, capsules, and teas. Comparable on farm-grown organic positioning and finished herbal product portfolio.
• Gaia Herbs: Certified organic herb farm and herbal supplement brand producing tinctures, teas, and capsules. Overlaps on organic farm-to-extract vertical integration and wholesale practitioner channel.
• Yellowstone Botanicals (formerly Healing Spirits Herb Farm): Certified organic medicinal herb farm producing dried herbs and extracts for herbalists and manufacturers. Closely comparable on certified organic medicinal herb farming and wholesale B2B focus.

Broad incumbents

• Traditional Medicinals: Established herbal tea brand sourcing organic and fair-trade botanicals at scale. Comparable on the organic tea blend product category and B2B retail distribution, though at much larger scale.
• Frontier Co-op: Large organic herb, spice, and botanical cooperative supplying both retail and B2B customers. Overlaps on certified organic dried botanicals, tea blends, and wholesale distribution to manufacturers.

Regional players

• Zack Woods Herb Farm: Small certified organic herb farm in Vermont producing dried medicinal herbs for wholesale. Closely comparable on Vermont-based organic herb farming, scale, and wholesale model, though with different geographic focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php?id=100091821948012
• Instagraminstagram.com/fosterfarmbotanicals
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/foster-farm-botanicals

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Foster Farm Botanicals