The Scarlet Sage Herb Co.

What The Scarlet Sage Herb Co. does

The Scarlet Sage Herb Co. was a privately held, founder-owned herbal apothecary and wellness retailer operating in San Francisco, California from 1995 until its closure in February 2024. The company sold a curated catalog of approximately 10,000 products, including bulk dried herbs, herbal tinctures, essential oils, organic supplements, and proprietary herbal-infused oils, distributed through a single physical retail location and a Shopify-based e-commerce storefront that shipped globally. Its primary customer base was health-conscious individual consumers seeking natural remedies and holistic wellness products.

The business combined a community-led DTC retail motion with a content marketing engine built around an educational blog covering herbal remedies, seasonal wellness guides, and ritual content authored by founder Laura Ash and contributing writers. In 2018, the company launched the School of Traditional Healing Arts in the basement of its retail store; during the March 2020 COVID-19 shelter-in-place, the school moved its certifications online, and in approximately 2022 the educational arm was spun off into a separate company called Land of Verse, which now operates online certification programs (Community Herbalist, Apprentice Herbalist, Clinical Herbalist, Plant Spirit Medicine, Holistic Nutrition) on a separate domain.

The company had no external funding, no subsidiaries, and no AI/ML or proprietary technology stack. The operating entity was wound down in February 2024 after 28 years; the website now redirects visitors to Land of Verse, which carries forward the educational legacy while the Scarlet Sage retail brand has ceased operations.

Name

The Scarlet Sage Herb Co.

Legal name

The Scarlet Sage Herb Co.

Website

https://scarletsage.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Scarlet Sage Herb Co. was a San Francisco–based herbal apothecary and wellness retailer (1995–2024) selling herbs, essential oils, and organic supplements to health-conscious consumers via a single retail store and a global e-commerce storefront.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Herbal Wellness Retail

NAICS

Food (Health) Supplement Retailers (456191)

SIC

Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Herbal & Botanical Supplements (CRADAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Health Food & Supplement Stores (CRAHAEAC)

Keywords

• Herbal apothecary products
• Essential oils retail
• Organic supplements
• Herbal medicine education
• Holistic wellness products

Headquarters

HQ city

South San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Sale of herbs, essential oils, organic supplements, and wellness products through e-commerce and physical retail. Carried approximately 10,000 products.
2. Herbal Medicine Education: Herbal medicine certification programs offered through Land of Verse, the company's educational spin-off. Programs include Community Herbalist (100-hour), Apprentice Herbalist (250-hour), and Clinical Herbalist (200-hour) courses.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Scarlet Sage Herb Co. sold a curated catalog of approximately 10,000 herbal wellness products — including bulk dried herbs, herbal tinctures, capsules, loose-leaf teas, organic essential oils, hydrosols, dietary supplements, and proprietary in-house herbal infused oils — through a Shopify-based e-commerce storefront and (until February 2024) a physical retail store in San Francisco. The company complemented its retail with educational herbal medicine content and certification programs via its affiliated Land of Verse school.

Product overview

The Scarlet Sage Herb Co. was a San Francisco-based herbal products retailer offering a curated selection of bulk herbs, organic essential oils, herbal tinctures, supplements, and proprietary herbal infused oils. The company operated from 1995 until February 2024, closing its physical doors after 28 years. Educational programs originally operated in the store basement under the School of Traditional Healing Arts were expanded online and spun off into Land of Verse, an independent herbal medicine school offering online certification programs including Community Herbalist (100-hour), Apprentice Herbalist (250-hour), Clinical Herbalist (200-hour), Plant Spirit Medicine, and Holistic Nutrition courses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Herbs and Herbal Products Bulk dried herbs, herbal tinctures, capsules, and loose-leaf teas for holistic health and wellness, sold to individual consumers.
• Essential Oils Pure organic essential oils and hydrosols for aromatherapy, topical application, and general wellness practices.
• Organic Supplements Organic dietary supplements including mushroom extracts, adaptogens, and herbal formulations sold to individual consumers.
• Herbal Infused Oils by Scarlet Sage Proprietary herbal infused oils blended in-house by Scarlet Sage for massage, skincare, and therapeutic applications.
• Community Herbalist Certification Program 100-hour live online program for beginners seeking foundational herbal medicine knowledge, offered through the affiliated Land of Verse school.
• Apprentice Herbalist Certification Program 250-hour live online course building comprehensive clinical herbalist skills, offered through the affiliated Land of Verse school.
• Clinical Herbalist Certification Program 200-hour live online course covering applied herbal therapeutics to prepare graduates to launch a clinical herbalist practice.
• Plant Spirit Medicine Course 6-week certification program exploring the spiritual and energetic dimensions of plant medicine, delivered online through Land of Verse.
• Holistic Nutrition Course Certification course integrating nutrition with herbal medicine for comprehensive wellness, delivered online through Land of Verse.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Land of VersecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Land of Verse was established in 2018 as the School of Traditional Healing Arts in the basement of The Scarlet Sage Herb Co. It was created to bring herbal medicine education into an urban setting. During COVID-19 (March 2020), the school moved online and expanded globally. Land of Verse represents the company's educational spin-off holding students and a vision of healing through online learning. Laura Ash serves as Founder of Land of Verse and Owner of Scarlet Sage.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Traditional Medicinals: Mission-driven herbal tea brand with retail and DTC distribution; overlaps on therapeutic-positioned loose-leaf and bagged herbal teas plus an herbalist-credible story.
• Herb Pharm: Vertically integrated herbal tincture and extract brand sold through natural products retail and DTC. Comparable in clinical-herbalist positioning and herbal-medicine education-adjacent branding.
• Mountain Rose Herbs: Online and wholesale retailer of bulk organic herbs, essential oils, and botanical ingredients serving herbalists and wellness consumers. Closest direct competitor in catalog breadth, customer base, and DTC positioning.
• Starwest Botanicals: Large-scale supplier and retailer of dried herbs, essential oils, and spice teas with a comparable ~10,000-SKU catalog targeting herbalists and natural-product retailers.
• Gaia Herbs: Branded herbal supplements (tinctures, capsules, teas) sold through natural food, specialty, and DTC channels. Overlaps directly on herbal-supplement SKUs and the 'clinical herbalist' trust narrative.
• Aura Cacia: Essential oils and aromatherapy brand with a curated wellness assortment similar to Scarlet Sage's essential oils category and aromatherapy use cases.

Broad incumbents

• doTERRA: Global essential oils MLM incumbent with materially larger scale, distribution network, and marketing budget. Comparable essential-oil category but very different distribution model.
• Natural Grocers: Multi-store natural and organic grocery chain carrying herbs, supplements, and essential oils. Represents the scaled omnichannel competitor to single-location specialty herbal stores.
• Aveda: Estée Lauder-owned botanical beauty and essential oils brand with salon-channel distribution. Comparable on botanical positioning and aromatherapy product overlap.

Regional players

• Apothecary Shoppe (Sage Wellness): Independent brick-and-mortar herbal apothecary concept offering herbs, essential oils, and wellness consultations. Comparable as a small specialty herbal retailer, though typically serves different metro geographies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-scarlet-sage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Scarlet Sage Herb Co.