Traditional Medicinals celebrates 50 years in business

Botanical wellness company Traditional Medicinals has marked a half century in business with a record revenue year.

Launched in 1974, the Rohnert Park-based tea manufacturer sold 782 million tea bags last year and earned $170 million in total revenue, a 15% increase from the previous year.

The company marked the milestone in November, around the time its Stress Ease line was introduced, an herbal tea marketed for tension relief.

Sutter Health Registered Nurse Kate Furtner is such a fan of Traditional Medicinals teas that she’s been giving out boxes of tea bags on the second floor of the Mark West Springs Road hospital once a week. Wellness Wednesdays are a part of a special project aimed at promoting wellness and holistic health. Furtner serves on the Sutter Wellness Committee.

“I set up a tea table because I love tea, being an herbalist and a nurse,” she said. “As an ER nurse, I see firsthand the benefits and pitfalls of western medicine. We can try and restart your failing heart, but we can do nothing to soothe a weary spirit. This is where the importance of integrative, holistic medicine can shine.”

“Engaging with health care is a part of our sampling program,” CEO Joe Stanziano said.

The top executive came on board impressed with the operation.

“It’s an incredible honor to have carried this legacy for 50 years,” said Stanziano, who left a consumer packaging goods career in Ohio to take over as CEO nine months ago. “This is an unbelievable organization — the people, the culture, the business opportunity.”

Traditional Medicinals executives have determined 23 cups of the brand’s tea are consumed globally every second.

Stanziano shared being “inspired” by the wisdom behind using medicinal plants for good health.

“People have been using plants for thousands of years,” he said.

The privately-held company, ranked as a certified B corporation for its environmental stewardship, sources 100 herbs all over the globe.

Chief Financial Officer Scott Bowman, a former investment banker, said the Traditional Medicinals market extends beyond teas. The company is committed to accessible wellness and will be launching the Plant Wisdom Collective, a consumer herbal education series.

And it invites consumers to check out its 50th anniversary website that details its history of over $20 million in advocacy work with the Traditional Medicinals Foundation within communities throughout the world.

Part of that history is homegrown and grounded in successful partnerships that help spur innovation. As recently as October 2022, the tea brand partnered with San Francisco-based Grounded Capital in gaining a minority stake to support supply chain and manufacturing needs.

Founded by herbal advocates Drake Sadler and Rosemary Gladstar, the company has also launched a 50th gift set of giveways on Instragram to promote its more than 60 teas, lozenges and capsules.

“From the beginning, we believed in placing people at the heart of everything we did,” Sadler said in a statement. “Fifty years later, people remain at the core of our work.”

Editor’s note:This story was corrected to reflect that privately-held Traditional Medicinals’ revenue increase was 15% year over year. The company sources herbs from 35 countries and has launched a 50th gift set of giveaways on Instagram. It also plans to launch a consumer herbal education series.