What Organic Herb Trading does

Organic Herb Trading, founded in 1982 by Mike Brook as Hambleden Herbs and rebranded under its current name in 2000, is a privately held UK-based organic ingredient distributor and processor headquartered in Milverton, Somerset. The company sources, processes and supplies over 500 organic herbs, spices, botanicals, superfoods, powders, extracts, oils, butters, hydrosols, flavours, waxes, seaweeds and teas from more than 60 countries, operating a vertically integrated model that includes a two-acre UK herb field in Somerset (60+ species with on-site drying), a BRCGS Grade A+ manufacturing facility for cutting, blending, powdering, tincturing and contract processing, and export infrastructure covering FDA and Korean MFDS registrations with worldwide delivery.

The company sells across three primary go-to-market motions: small-pack B2B/DTC ordering (250g to sacks) via website picking list and DPD delivery with a £50 minimum order; bulk trade (mixed pallets and full container loads) for enterprise manufacturers; and enterprise field sales covering both UK and export accounts. A secondary stream provides higher-value services — NPD and consultancy on day-rate terms, manufacturing contract processing, and export documentation. Pricing is per-unit across SKUs (e.g., tinctures at £11-£55 per litre; bulk discounts from 250kg upward; DPD parcels at £9.80-£12.80).

Customers span enterprise UK organic brands (Pukka Herbs, Neal's Yard Remedies, Riverford Organic, Yeo Valley, Lily's Kitchen), cosmetics manufacturers requiring COSMOS inputs, herbal practitioners served BHMA-compliant tinctures, wellness tea start-ups, and zero-waste retailers. Revenue is generated through product sales (transaction fees), manufacturing services (professional services), export services, and NPD/consultancy. The business remains founder-owned, employs 11-50 staff across Somerset-based offices and warehouse hubs in Wellington, and entered a leadership transition in July 2024 when founder Mike Brook announced his retirement.

Name

Organic Herb Trading

Legal name

Organic Herb Trading Ltd

Website

https://organicherbtrading.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Organic Herb Trading is a privately held UK-based distributor and contract processor of over 500 certified organic herbs, spices, and botanicals sourced from 60+ countries, supplying enterprise brands, herbal practitioners, cosmetics manufacturers, and tea companies via small packs, bulk trade, and certified tinctures.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Herbs & Botanicals Supply

NAICS

Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers (4246), Food Manufacturing (311), Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing (3114)

SIC

Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural & Organic Foods Distribution (CRAOABAH)

Keywords

• Organic herbs supply
• Botanical ingredients distribution
• Herbal tinctures manufacturing
• Fair trade botanicals
• Spice wholesale

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Product Sales - Dried Herbs, Spices & Botanicals: Core revenue from sourcing and supplying over 500 organic herbs, spices, botanicals, superfoods, powders, extracts, oils, fats, butters, hydrosols, flavours, waxes, seaweeds, and teas. Products available from 250g small packs to full container loads. Revenue from both wholesale bulk trade and retail-oriented small pack sales.
2. Manufacturing Services: BRCGS Grade A+ manufacturing facility offering cutting, blending, powdering, and full blend formulation to customer specifications. Contract processing for organically certified businesses. Service charges for manufacturing, milling, blending, and packaging.
3. Export Services: Export from UK to worldwide customers. Services include phytosanitary documentation, Certificates of Origin, EUR1 documentation, vacuum packing for extended shelf life and reduced shipping costs.
4. NPD & Consultancy: Product development and consultancy services with decades of experience. Day rates agreed on project-by-project basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Organic Herb Trading sources over 500 organic herbs, spices, botanicals, superfoods, powders, extracts, oils, butters, hydrosols, flavours, waxes, seaweeds and teas from 60+ countries, then processes and distributes them in quantities ranging from 250g small packs to full container loads. In addition to ingredient supply, the company operates a BRCGS Grade A+ manufacturing facility offering contract cutting, blending, powdering and full blend formulation, plus export, NPD and consultancy services.

Product overview

Organic Herb Trading operates as a product portfolio company offering over 500 organic herbs, spices, botanicals, superfoods, powders, extracts, oils, butters, hydrosols, flavors, waxes, seaweeds, and teas sourced from more than 60 countries. The core product lines include Small Packs (250g to sacks) and Bulk Trade (mixed pallets and full container loads), supported by product categories covering Dried, Herb Field (UK-grown fresh/dried herbs), Liquids/Oils/Butters, Tea & Herbal Blends, Fair Certified, Powdered products, and Tinctures. Complementary service modules include Manufacturing (BRCGS Grade A+), Export from UK, and NPD & Consultancy. The company also produces specialty items like glycerites and offers bulk purchase opportunities at discounted pricing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Small Packs (250g to Sacks) Organic herbs, spices and botanicals sold in quantities from 250g up to sacks via the company's online picking list. Tiered unit pricing applies (e.g. Agnus Castus Berry Organic £7.60/0.25kg to £15.50/kg; Ashwagandha Root Powder Organic £12.01/0.25kg to £24.50/kg). Minimum order value £50 excluding VAT and delivery; some products VAT-exempt.
• Bulk Trade (Mixed Pallets & FCLs) Bulk supply of single ingredients, cut/milled/powdered ingredients and custom blends via mixed pallets or full container loads direct from the UK warehouse or international suppliers. Discounted bulk pricing available for orders from 250kg to multi-tonne volumes, covering products such as Baobab Fruit Fine Granule (5,028kg), Fennel Seed (4,755kg), Black Tea Assam FTGFOP1 (4,507kg), Green Tea Jasmine (1,510kg), Yerba Mate (1,276kg), Lime Flower FairWild (1,534kg) and Marigold Petals (955kg).
• Dried Herbs, Spices & Botanicals Dried organic herbs, spices, botanicals, superfoods and powders sourced from over 60 countries. Certified organic and BRCGS Grade A+ approved. Sold through Small Packs and Bulk Trade channels.
• UK Herb Field (Fresh & Dried) Fresh and dried organic herbs grown in the company's two-acre organic Herb Field in Somerset, with over 60 species cultivated. Fresh herbs are processed at the Liquids Manufacturing facility for tinctures; dried herbs are processed in the on-site drying barn.
• Liquids, Oils & Butters Organic liquids including essential oils, hydrosols, extracts, butters, and custom infused oils. Includes Baobab oil, Black Cumin seed oil, and infused oils tailored for the skincare sector.
• Tea & Herbal Blends Pre-packed tea blends and herbal ingredients sourced, manufactured and supplied. Includes Camellia sinensis teas, herbs for tea, and custom blends for wellness tea brands and hospitality customers.
• Fair Certified Products (Fairtrade, Fair for Life, FairWild) Products certified under Fairtrade, Fair for Life, or FairWild schemes ensuring fair prices, ethical working conditions, and sustainable wild plant harvesting. The company is the UK's first FairWild certified processor and distributor and a founder member of FairWild.
• Powdered Products Over 60 powdered products including superfoods, botanical powders, and custom blend formulations supplied to food, health supplements, contract manufacture and animal feeds sectors. On-site powdering and blending from 25kg MOQ with full batch test analysis.
• Tinctures (Practitioner-Grade) Botanical extracts made from fresh and dry herbs using organic grain alcohol (96% proof, gluten-free) via maceration, infusion or decoction methods. Available in 500ml or 1l glass bottles, or 5L+ plastic jerricans for bulk. Prices £11.00–£55.00 per litre. Restricted to registered herbal practitioners.
• Glycerites (Alcohol-Free Herbal Extracts) Alcohol-free liquid herbal formulations made via maceration using glycerine (minimum 75%) and water balance instead of alcohol. Made from plants grown in the Somerset Herb Field or sourced from the organic supplier network. Suitable for pregnant women, children, and alcohol-averse consumers.
• Culinary Spice Blends Culinary spice blends launched by Organic Herb Trading in November 2023, drawing on the company's 40-year history of blending herbs and spices dating back to its early days as Hambleden Herbs.
• Contract Manufacturing Services BRCGS Grade A+ equipped manufacturing facility offering cutting, blending, powdering, and full blend formulation to customer specifications. Contract processing for organically certified businesses with service charges for manufacturing, milling, blending and packaging.
• Export Services International export service from the UK to worldwide customers (Japan, Jamaica, USA, Korea and others). Includes phytosanitary documentation, Certificates of Origin, EUR1 documentation, vacuum packing for extended shelf life, and full regulatory registration (US FDA, Korean MFDS).
• NPD & Consultancy Product development and consultancy services drawing on decades of growing, sourcing, supply-chain management and manufacturing experience. Led by Head of Technical Maria Charlton with day rates agreed on a project-by-project basis.
• Bulk Purchase Opportunity Selected products available at discounted bulk pricing for orders from 250kg up to multi-tonne volumes, including Baobab Fruit, Fennel Seed, Black Tea Assam, Green Tea Jasmine, Yerba Mate, Lime Flower FairWild and Marigold Petals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ organic products from 60+ countries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tea Promoter's India (TPI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding partnership with Tea Promoter's India showcasing exemplary standards of organic integrity, product quality, and social welfare. Partnership includes stories of TPI's people and plants demonstrating collaborative approach to supply chain management.
• ElephanteaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject with Tea Promoter's India focused on promoting sustainable human development in tea growing regions.
• Safe Sanitation ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiative with Tea Promoter's India focused on safe sanitation in tea growing communities.
• Pukka HerbscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLongstanding customer relationship. Plant raising project delivering approximately 900 echinacea and marshmallow plants. Pukka Herbs is a great friend and supporter of Organic Herb Trading according to founder Mike Brook.
• Formula BotanicaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganic cosmetic science school visited Organic Herb Trading for educational purposes.
• ViridorminorOthersPartnership with Viridor for comprehensive recycling and zero to landfill waste streams.
• EcotricityminorOthersRenewable energy supplier providing 100% renewable electricity to the business.
• DPDminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary delivery partner for UK mainland next working day delivery service.
• Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerETI provided bespoke training on spotting modern slavery warning signs when visiting suppliers. Training developed collaboratively to focus on real-world, hands-on scenarios.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Pukka Herbs: UK premium organic herbal tea and supplement brand; both an OHT customer and an adjacent player in the organic herbal wellness category. Comparable on ethical sourcing ethos and herbal wellness end-customer, though Pukka is brand-led and OHT is supplier-led.
• McCormick & Company: Global leader in spices, herbs, and seasonings with industrial/foodservice ingredient divisions operating at vastly larger scale. Overlaps on organic spice ingredients and bulk supply for manufacturers, but not organic-specialist.
• Frontier Co-op: Large US cooperative distributor of organic herbs, spices, and botanical ingredients serving food, beverage, and supplements manufacturers. Much broader catalog and scale, but directly overlapping in organic wholesale distribution to manufacturers.

Emerging players

• Batory Foods: US-based ingredient distributor specializing in organic, fair-trade, and non-GMO food ingredients to manufacturers. Overlaps on organic ingredient distribution and quality testing services for food/beverage customers.
• Herb Pharm: US-based herbal extracts and tinctures producer with on-site certified organic farming and liquid manufacturing. Comparable on tincture/glycerite manufacturing and organic herbal extracts, but narrower geographic reach.

Direct peers

• Indigo Herbs: UK-based supplier of organic herbs, superfoods, and natural remedies with overlapping product range and tincture/glycerite offerings. Same UK market, same customer base of herbalists and small wellness brands.
• Mountain Rose Herbs: US-based direct-to-trade and retail supplier of certified organic herbs, spices, and botanicals with comparable focus on ethical sourcing and small-batch processing. Closely comparable catalog, certifications, and customer base of herbalists/tea brands.
• Bristol Botanicals: UK supplier of dried herbs, teas, and herbal ingredients focused on apothecary and small business customers. Overlapping in bulk dried herb wholesale and UK practitioner/craft customer base.
• Starwest Botanicals: US-based large-scale organic herb and spice wholesaler offering 500+ bulk ingredients plus manufacturing services (cutting, milling, blending). Direct B2B overlap on product range, certifications, and contract processing services.

Others

• Triodos Bank (Supply Chain Partners): Listed as OHT's ethical banking partner. Not a commercial peer but a relevant ecosystem relationship signaling alignment with sustainable-finance capital providers; included for context on the company's ethical supply chain ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/organicherbtrading
• Xx.com/OrganicHerbUK
• Facebookfacebook.com/OrganicHerbTrading
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/organicherbuk

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Organic Herb Trading