We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Timothy Donald a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Timothy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I started Char and Oak spices in 2020. There was never a debate over the name. It was clear from the very start that I would name my company after my two beautiful, amazing daughters, Charlotte and Oakley. It is just a happy coincidence that their names would combine to create such a perfect name for the best spice blends in the world. This is the root of all creativity for my blends. The company logo is a variant on the tree of life and is a true representation of what I believe is the proper avenue toward success. Everything starts with the roots and grows its intricate weaving of branches until it is fully grown. There is so much that goes into creating a business from nothing. We all know the details of money and effort and development of product to procure sales and expand. Sometimes there is a deeper motivation behind a company. Sometimes the money aspect is secondary to creating something that can stand against time. The naming of Char and Oak was easy. The motivation to succeed is derived from the true meaning of the name. I believe in quality and integrity above all else with my business because it carries the weight of pride I associate with my girls.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

The original idea was to create a side business that I could do on the weekends in order to make some extra money. This was in January of 2020 and the coming months would prove to change everybody’s’ plans. I was able to take some time and develop a few more blends in the months we were all shut down. By the time Florida began to open back up I tried to sell my spices at local farmers markets with some success. The first few months were filled with hope and discouragement but I stuck with it. Eventually I started getting some residual business and sales expanded quickly. At this point I moved from my house to a commercial kitchen and expanded my production. I now have 15 active blends for retail and several other custom blends made for a list of restaurants and food trucks.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I began mixing and blending my spices in a 6 ounce coffee grinder in my kitchen. One batch would take me more than an hour to grind. It was excruciating but it was the only process I knew. Once sales began to grow it became clear that my little grinder was not going to be able to keep up with the demand. I did my research and found an industrial spice grinder. This grinder allowed me to blend an entire batch in under 30 seconds. Obviously this increased my production efficiency dramatically. Now, as a matter of principle, I still blend all experimental small batches in the original 6 oz coffee grinder before I finalize any new flavor. I still make every batch personally.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I have tried to create a quality product. I always try to make sure my customers are satisfied with my products. I do not employ aggressive sales techniques and believe that the quality of my product will sell itself. This may be a slower process but that is fine as long as my customers get what they want. I hate the thought of any of my jars sitting in a spice cabinet and not being utilized. I want my customers to enjoy the flavors I have created.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.charandoak.com
• Instagram: charandoakllc