We were lucky to catch up with Tay Stratton recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tay, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

In 2013 when the bug first hit me to start a business, I came up with the name Fennel and Fire. It came to me on my morning walk. I thought…garden to gourmet…Fennel to Fire. I thought I would offer fresh flowers, cooking and entertaining goods, and gourmet items, including specialty teas, salts, and spices. In the late ‘90s, I visited a store in Decatur, GA., that really inspired me. It was named Watershed. It was the most fabulous store/restaurant. It had a garage door before garage doors were cool. The store offered fresh flower arrangements, gift items, a food and wine counter, and seating. It was light and airy, and the vibe was awesome. That store always had a space in my memory. After writing the business plan, I realized my limited bootstrap funds wouldn’t support this. So I stuck with the one closest to my heart: develop a line of organic spices and teas. I made the tagline and driving statement, “Excite your Taste Buds, naturally!”

After officially launching the business in 2015, I searched the name Fennel and Fire and it led me to the story about the greek god Prometheus. The story told how he brought the gift of fire down to humans. The story’s kicker was that he smuggled the gift of fire in a fennel stalk. His gift changed the way humans ate and homesteaded. They now had a fire to cook food and warm themselves. This gift was life-changing. I laugh when I tell the story and joke that the gods must have been talking to me when I named the business. Now I say that Fennel and Fire spice and tea blends were created as a gift to our modern-day lifestyle. The blends make cooking super simple. Now, you only need one designated blend to prepare your food. They are geared toward today’s modern meal and will excite your taste buds, naturally!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

I grew up on a sprawling farm in the Delta. As a child, I loved the smell of the farmland after a rain, the sunsets that stretched forever across the swaying cotton fields, and I loved picking the fresh Kentucky mint; swirling and crushing it in my hands to release its bright, clean fragrance. I love plants and find them magical in their gifts, taste, and beauty.

After college, I worked in a garden center while exploring a possible master’s degree in landscape design. Though the master’s degree was not pursued, I continued to learn about growing flowers, spices, and herbs. I bought my first house and began to host dinner parties. I loved setting an atmosphere, cooking delectable foods highlighting spices, and sharing a new experience with my guests. Now I share all this through my business, Fennel and Fire. Not only do we sell organic spice and tea blends, but we are creating a community where we share recipes, events, discoveries, and tastings. Luckily I have learned that the relationships made through the journey are the most important aspect of life.

Simplifying cooking by creating blends that are easy to use and relevant to today’s meals has been one of my guiding values. I personally got confused with all the spices required to make one dish. I would buy them, then those spices would sit there unused after the initial meal and eventually be thrown out. I noticed as I started making larger batches of my own spice blends that could be used for my primary meals, friends would ask me to make a little extra for them. I realized the need for simplicity in the use of spices. I’ve answered that need by creating blends that are made for our modern meals, simple to use, and help get a flavorful meal to the table fast.

Offering organic spice and tea blends with no use of preservatives, MSG, anti-clumping chemicals, or gluten products, is one of the elements that sets us apart. We have developed a relationship with distributors and growers that offer quality certified organic spices and teas.

The art of the blend is one of the main elements that sets Fennel and Fire apart. I’ve always had an artist’s mind and offer unique blends that have been created as art. The spices and teas are my colors, and I get to mix, combine, edit and create to give you a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. I consider the color, texture, smell, and of course, taste when creating these blends. I want the whole experience of using these gifts of nature to enhance and elevate the flavor and level of your foods. Our teas inspire relaxation, developed to enjoy the process of “just being present” and sweep you into a simpler time. I hope you will feel the love and dedication with which they were created.

Knowing that all blends are distinct to Fennel and Fire is a fantastic feeling as a creator. Countless gratifying hours of experimentation, research, thought, and tasting goes into each unique blend.
I’m most proud of the quality of the products I’ve created. Optimistic that the brand will be gracing kitchens for centuries to come is a driving force in decision-making and brand development.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I believe it is crucial that we understand the origins of our food. Growing up on the farm, I remember the horrible smell of chemicals and fertilizers. It allowed me to appreciate organic and sustainable farming even before I knew about it. After working in the spice and tea industry for nine years, I believe even more deeply that organics and sustainable farming are the way to go. The organic spices and herbs are free of harmful chemicals and GMOs, and their origin is evaluated and certified. We know where they come from and how they are treated and processed.

I’ve learned about and appreciate the FDA system and manufacturing procedures for keeping our food safe and traceable. When I started, I had to learn about the manufacturing process and its complexities. I didn’t understand the importance of “scaling up” in the manufacturing process. Now I do and am constantly thinking of how that process will look.

I have learned more about sustainable farming in my relationship with my friends at Cafe Monteverde Coffee Farm in Costa Rica. We learned about them in a beautiful virtual documentary I saw through a release from Crystal Bridges Museum called The Connected Cup by Brook Bierhaus. We now carry their coffee and hope in a small way to support their farm, which is also an educational farm of sustainability. Through Fennel and Fire, we plan to support more farms that engage in sustainable and organic farming and raise awareness of this type of farming.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I believe each and every customer is a friend. I want to know about them, and how they are using the blends, and I want to learn from them. It’s this natural love of people and curiosity that drives the day-to-day work of the business and provides the insight needed for growth. I strongly feel they are part of the business and have helped get us to where we are. I work hard to offer them a great experience in the shopping experience, receiving the goods, helping them with ideas of how to use the blends, and most importantly in the quality of the product.

As a consumer myself, I note the way a company makes me feel through the shopping process. There are two companies I buy from that have influenced my understanding of brand loyalty. I am currently implementing some of their ideas. One has some of the best customer services I’ve ever experienced. They are super fast, and will instantly do whatever it takes to make things right, but the most fun is they send a cute birthday card to our pets. It’s that little extra touch. It teaches me to add some fun to the shopping experience and pay attention to adding a little extra.

Another company is a subscription meat service. Their process and layout make the shopping experience easy and straightforward allowing the consumer choice but not to be overwhelmed with choices. Their system would work well with my business. I am working to understand how to create a similar layout so that I can give Fennel and Fire shoppers this same kind of experience. They also have taught me the importance of our recipe section on our website, which I have put more emphasis on this year, changing the format and putting a stronger emphasis on sharing the information.

In addition to building the recipe usage of the brand, I will be sharing information about spices, teas, and organic farming through fun little educational blurbs and videos. This knowledge that I share, will help me continue building brand trust and loyalty.

Contact Info:

• Website: FennelandFire.com
• Instagram: FennelandFire
• Facebook: Fennel&Fire
• Youtube: Fennel and Fire

Image Credits
Ronan Dugan,Tay Stratton