40 Years of Changing Business for Good

“When I strapped the young company into my Volkswagen van to sell those first bags of tea I never dreamed we would produce and sell a half billion tea bags a year.” – Drake Sadler, our co-founder and Chief Visionary Officer.

We’re excited to say that we recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of Traditional Medicinals. Drake vividly remembers the first day, because it was planned out with intention. “We chose November 20th for its astrological significance. For the first time in 84 years, the outer planet Uranus – associated with the power of transformation – entered the sign of Scorpio. In Scorpio, Uranus focuses its transformative power in the areas of business, finance and regenerative healing. It was with this intention and a new beginning for the blending of business and healing, that Traditional Medicinals was founded.”

Drake recalls that “over the decades when I at times struggled to bring home the money to feed this always hungry youngster, or come up with the ‘allowance’ it demanded, I never could have dreamed that one day Traditional Medicinals would feed and support so many people and do so much good! When children reach their forties most of their fathers are retiring, yet I never imagined work could have such meaning and be so rewarding. I know now there simply is no retirement from a life of service and for that I am deeply grateful. With so much gratitude I remain fully inspired.”

Some highlights from our first four decades:

• 1974: Traditional Medicinals is founded with a vision for the rebirth of herbalism in North America
• 1980: First U.S. manufacturer to market a range of organically and domestically grown herbal products
• 1982: First U.S. manufacturer to market a range of herbal products packaged in cartons made from 100 percent recycled paperboard
• 1998: Began to label and market herbal tea products with Fair Trade Certified™ ingredients
• 2008: Installed 1,450 solar panels which annually generate an average of 426,178 kWh of electricity
• 2009: First manufacturer in the world to label and market herbal products with FairWild® Certified ingredients
• 2010: Became a Certified B Corporation
• 2012: Increased the organic percentage of botanical raw materials to 97 percent and achieved 100 percent Non-GMO Project verification of Traditional Medicinals herbal tea products

Thank you to everyone that has helped us reach this milestone, as Traditional Medicinals stakeholders – our drinkers, customers, farmers, wild-collectors, suppliers, distributors, employees, advisors, partners, friends and family.

As we look to the future, we are inspired to further demonstrate the scalability of a business model built upon our three pillars of sustainability – environmental protection, social equity and economic viability. And, as always, passionate about connecting people with the power of plants.