The Secret Garden

What The Secret Garden does

The Secret Garden Gourmet is a privately held, founder-owned gourmet food company founded in 1985 and headquartered in Park Rapids, Minnesota, where it operates a single commercial kitchen on its farm property. The company produces small-batch, dry-mix and shelf-stable food products — including soup and entree mixes, bread mixes, pancake and crepe mixes, dips and cheese ball mixes, homemade jams, salad dressings, mustards, hot sauces, wild rice products, and seasoning blends — with an explicit no-artificial-ingredient, no-MSG, no-preservative, no-aspartame formulation stance. Its signature product is Cream of Wild Rice Soup, and the portfolio is built around Minnesota wild rice as a differentiating ingredient, including hand-harvested, wood-parched lake rice and cultivated wild rice.

The business generates revenue through two channels: direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales via its own website (www.secretgardengourmet.com), shipping nationwide via USPS Ground Advantage, UPS, SpeeDee Delivery, and LTL; and wholesale distribution to a long-tail network of specialty retailers — gift shops, cheese shops, specialty shops, meat markets, health food stores, upscale grocers, food co-ops, farm market stands, and orchard stands, plus home-based gift basket businesses. Product pricing ranges from $3.00 (salsa mix) to $18.00 (pure maple syrup), with gift certificates sold in $15 to $100 denominations. The company has no disclosed external funding, no reported headcount, and no parent company or subsidiaries; it appears to be a bootstrapped, founder-operated lifestyle business.

There is no disclosed technology platform, no mobile app, no API or integrations, and no AI/ML capabilities. Marketing is conducted through the e-commerce site, an email newsletter, and a recipe blog. The founder (Anne Morgan) remains actively involved in product development and operations more than 40 years after founding the business.

Name

The Secret Garden

Legal name

The Secret Garden Gourmet

Website

https://secretgardengourmet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Secret Garden Gourmet is a founder-owned, Minnesota farm-based producer of small-batch, no-artificial-ingredient dry soup, bread, dressing, jam, hot sauce, and wild rice mixes, selling direct-to-consumer via its website and wholesale to specialty gift shops, cheese shops, health food stores, and co-ops nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Gourmet Foods

NAICS

Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing (3118)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty & Gourmet Foods Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Spice Blends & Seasoning Mixes (Dry Rubs, Marinade Mixes) (AFAJANAD), Specialty Condiments, Sauces & Pickles Wholesale (AFAIAIAJ)

Keywords

• Gourmet food mixes
• Soup mixes
• Wild rice products
• Specialty food manufacturing
• Homemade jams

Headquarters

HQ city

Park Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Direct Product Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of gourmet food mixes including soups, breads, dips, jams, seasonings, and wild rice products through their e-commerce website. One-time purchase model for individual products.
2. Wholesale Distribution: Wholesale sales to retailers including gift shops, cheese shops, specialty shops, meat markets, health food stores, upscale grocers, and food co-ops.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Secret Garden manufactures and sells a broad line of wholesome, small-batch gourmet dry food mixes including soup and entree mixes, bread mixes, pancake mixes, dips and cheese ball mixes, homemade jams, salad dressings, mustards, hot sauces, salsa mixes, wild rice, and seasonings. Products contain no artificial ingredients, preservatives, MSG, or aspartame and are produced in a commercial kitchen on the founder's northern Minnesota farm. The lineup spans roughly 100+ SKUs sold direct to consumers online and wholesale to specialty retailers across the United States.

Product overview

The Secret Garden is a gourmet food company based in Park Rapids, Minnesota, founded in 1985, specializing in wholesome mixes for home-cooked meals. The company offers a diverse portfolio of food products organized into categories including Soup and Entree Mixes (featuring their #1 best seller Cream of Wild Rice Soup, bean soups, vegetable soups, and more), Bread Mixes (Beer Bread, Wild Rice Cranberry-Orange Scone, Wild Rice Blueberry Muffins), Dips & Cheese Ball Mixes, Homemade Jams, Salad Dressings & Wild Rice Salad Mix, Pancake Mixes and Syrup, Mustards & Hot Sauces (including their best selling Hell's Kitchen Habanero Sauce), Wild Rice & Seasoning products, and Gift Certificates. All products emphasize wholesome ingredients with no artificial ingredients, preservatives, MSG, or aspartame. The company operates from a commercial kitchen on their northern Minnesota farm.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cream of Wild Rice Soup The company's #1 best-selling soup mix, featuring nutty wild rice with onions, celery, and mushrooms in a thick, rich vegetarian broth; makes 8 cups in 30 minutes. Sold to home cooks and specialty retailers nationwide.
• Beer Cheese Soup

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bear Creek Country Kitchens: Bear Creek produces dry soup, chili, and pasta mix pouches sold through grocery and specialty channels. Closest direct peer to The Secret Garden's dry soup mix portfolio and pricing tier ($3-$9 per pouch).
• Krusteaz: Krusteaz manufactures shelf-stable baking and pancake mixes (muffins, breads, pancakes) sold through grocery and foodservice. Comparable to The Secret Garden's bread, pancake, and scone mix categories.
• Woodstock Foods: Woodstock produces organic and specialty foods (peanut butter, baking ingredients, mixes) sold through natural food stores and grocery. Comparable wholesale channel mix and natural/clean-label positioning.
• Stonewall Kitchen: Stonewall Kitchen produces premium jams, sauces, dressings, baking mixes, and specialty foods sold DTC and through gift/specialty retailers. Closest multi-category analog in positioning, channels, and price points to The Secret Garden.
• Better Than Bouillon: Better Than Bouillon produces shelf-stable concentrated bases, seasonings, and flavor enhancers for home cooks. Comparable to The Secret Garden's Wild Rice Seasoning and Minnesota Fish Seasoning product line.
• Harry & David: Harry & David sells gourmet gift baskets, specialty foods, and fruit via DTC and wholesale channels. Directly comparable to The Secret Garden's gift certificate program and specialty retailer presence.

Emerging players

• Goldbelly: Goldbelly is a DTC marketplace aggregating artisanal and regional American foods. Comparable as a channel partner or adjacency to The Secret Garden's direct-to-consumer specialty food strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Bonne Maman: Bonne Maman produces premium shelf-stable jams and preserves with a clean-label, no-additive positioning. Closest mass-scale analog to The Secret Garden's homemade jam line in product philosophy and retail positioning.
• McCormick & Company: McCormick is the dominant seasoning, sauce, and condiment manufacturer globally. Overlaps with The Secret Garden's Wild Rice Seasoning, mustards, and hot sauce lines as a broader incumbent competitor.
• Knorr / Lipton (Unilever): Knorr/Lipton are mass-market soup mix and seasoning brands owned by Unilever. Overlap with The Secret Garden's soup and seasoning categories but operate at vastly larger scale with broader distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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 The Secret Garden