Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Victoria Zalokar Rieth. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Victoria , thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Our products came to like to serve as high quality functional beverages which are convenient, and widen the availability of options to those with dietary restrictions and natural ingredient preferences; but where Tor’s Tonics heart lies is in creating a portable supplemental beverages to those in areas which are underserved in health-forward grocery items.
After spending multiple years educating students and volunteering in the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, I’d learned of the dire “food desert” conditions in our country. Experiencing the slim availability of healthy or natural foods available to many populations, I felt compelled to put my energy into contributing to the solution. Food deserts were not completely new to me, growing up in underserved areas of my city, I’d seen the struggle to obtain natural beneficial food. In these areas, fresh fruit, veggies and additive free foods tend to be priced over double what they cost in more balanced socioeconomic areas.
Our mission to continue to produce high quality, approachable items while keeping our prices low is a promise. We wish for all people to be able to have equal opportunities to obtain grocery items which benefit their bodies and families, using whatever resources they may have available. As our company grows, we plan to contribute to initiatives which have our same mission in mind. We are still incubating, but it is our goal to donate products, profits, and offer educational resources to those who wish to learn more about the power of adaptogenic ingredients.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Growing up, I spent time in a family member’s natural supplelment store – there was so much to learn about the power of nature! Experiencing first hand the benefits of infusing nature based adaptogens and system builders into my routine, I want to help share this experience with the world! Tor’s Tonics manifested because I was looking for something I could not find. There is not currently a product on the market that combines multiple “supplement”-style ingredients and is also fully vegan and made with organic ingredients. The idea to blend fresh liquid forms of natural supplements with a friendly tea base was developed with the goal of encouraging a new relationship with natural supplements.
Undertstanding there is a vast community of beverages in the natural realm, I was intent on standing out from the crowd and catching your eye while you browse the cooler. Our branding is an homage to my Slovenian family heritage; bold and cheery color block floral designs are a nod to the folk designs from that region of the world. Given the spooky history of Slovenia and its surrounding countries, we had a little fun and used a bat as our apostrophe in the company name. I wanted to stay true to my quirky and spunky nature by expressing myself not only within each blend, but also on the bottle!
So what do we do? We create intentional blends of vegan and organic teas, juices, mushroom extracts, and other natural ingredients to supplement your daily routine and make you feel great from the inside out. We offer two tea based functional beverages, and an elderberry juice based immunity shot.
Fortify is bright and fresh, featuring green tea, ginger, turmeric, hibiscus, reishi mushroom and cayenne. Serenity is a smooth and refreshing oolong tea with blueberry juice, lemongrass, agave, reishi & lion’s mane mushroom and a pinch of sumac. The Elderberry Eliksir Immunity Shot is a power packed blend of elderberry, blueberry, echinacea, reishi mushroom, holy basil and ceylon cinnamon. Our intention is to offer refreshment and restoration all in one bottle. We proudly hand make each batch and use only the highest quality ingredients, sourced from ethical companies mainly concentrated in Michigan.
Tor’s Tonics’ products allow those with dietary limitations such a vegan, keto, diabetic, dye & gluten allergies, to enjoy fresh and complex functional beverages. These blends offer an expansion of options for all who wish to balance out their diet or are looking for a more convenient way to get those natural supplements into their diet.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
It all started out just peachy…until the bottles were discontinued by the manufacturer. Being new to the whole startup universe, I’d originally designed all my labels and branding around that specific bottle. I learned to do my research ahead of time and cost out what it would take to procure enough merchandise to stay consistent long term. Sitting on tons of labels and no appropriate bottle to put them on, I learned to breathe, pivot and accept compromise. After months of research and samples sent my way, I had to settle on a lower quality glass bottle which was not produced domestically. That shipment arrived one month late, and with about 1/3rd of the shipment broken in the boxes. Another kick in the gut.
The story goes on with the irony of buying a fancy label applicator machine to increase efficiency, just to find the poor quality of bottles were not uniform enough to use the machine. One step forward two steps back – that seems to be the entrepreneur’s dance. Supply chain issues which began during the pandemic have made it all but impossible to get a quantity of glass bottles my business can afford – I was back at square one. More research, (and even reaching out to a grad student in Europe who was beta testing the capacity of potato plastic,) I realized I had to switch vessels altogether.
To my surprise, I’d discovered that PET plastic is actually more environmentally friendly than glass – it *technically* breaks down faster, is easier to recycle, and uses far less fossil fuel to produce and ship. With that peace of mind, our products now live happily in PET plastic bottles which mimic our original glass bullet bottles. This journey taught me to let go of what I can’t control, and that compromises (along with calming breathing techniques,) are essential to keeping the vision and company alive – especially in the first couple years of getting your brand’s footing within the market. Believing in myself, and doing one’s best to make the most reasonable decisions for the business are tools for survival!
How’d you meet your business partner?
What can I say about Kali? She’s got it all. Because Tor’s Tonics consists of just the two of us, I have impishly entitled her the Vice President and Lead Chemist. Kali and I met about five years ago working for a distillery and tasting room in Grand Rapids. I held various front of house roles, and when she was hired as a barback, we clicked immediately. She quickly rose through the ranks, lead bartender and eventually to the Beverage Coordinator and Manager. Michigan requires distilleries to produce all of their ingredients in-house; that said, Kali became responsible for creating all of the extracts, simple syrups, infusions, kegged cocktail blends and canned cocktails. Always with an affinity for math and problem solving, she spent many days working away like a mad scientist to create unique blends and shelf stable products.
During the pandemic, she and I worked side by side to produce to the to-go kits and cans for the distillery. At the same time I was beginning my adventure with Tor’s Tonics, and picked her magical mind about PH levels, preservatives, flavor profiles and the like. She jumped at the opportunity to help get these tea blends to taste as delicious as they are beneficial. She and I have a smash at our sampling events, and I like to think our bubbly energy draws people in to learn about what we offer. We still work side by side each week to produce all of the Tor’s Tonics blends, and are currently in our R&D stages for a third tea blend!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.torstonics.com
- Instagram: torstonics
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/torstonics
Image Credits
Ashley Wierenga, @sincerelyashley