Fifty retailers enjoy a full day at the St. Francis Herb Farm for a “Seed to Shelf Experience”
In mid-September last year, close to 50 natural health retailers gathered in the small rural town of Barry’s Bay, Ontario, for a “Seed to Shelf Experience” at the St. Francis Herb Farm manufacturing facility. The event included opportunities to experience some of the herbs growing in the surrounding fields.
Johnny Larocque, director of sales at St. Francis, noted that a hardy group of 30 retailers met at Toronto’s Enercare Centre to board a bus for the four-hour journey up to the farm. “Author, TV host, and nutritionist Julie Daniluk was on the bus, and she entertained us the entire ride up with group activities, games, and prizes. She was absolutely amazing!” Johnny added that another 20 retailers made their own way from nearby centres, including Renfrew, Peterborough, Belleville, and Ottawa.
The day at the farm began with a “Lunch & Learn” session led by Julie, who shared valuable insights on inflammation and how to heal with food and herbs. Attendees then toured St. Francis’ 33,000-sq. ft., state-of-the-art GMP facility—“the largest dedicated plant medicine facility in Canada,” says Johnny—where they had a chance to observe the production process from start to finish.
The day also featured a tour of the fields, led by Lisa Murray, a local ND and acupuncturist from Barry’s Bay. She introduced the retailers to some of the herbs, encouraging them to feel, smell, and taste them. Dr. Lisa also showed attendees how they can make their own calendula salve, and each attendee received a kit to make their own at home. Toward the end of the day, the retailers were split into teams of five or six for a lively round of “St. Francis Trivia,” testing their knowledge on what had been learned earlier in the tour and competing for prizes. Attendees enjoyed a barbecue before heading home.
“It was a real seed-to-shelf experience,” said Johnny. “Some of the retailer comments included, ‘Can’t wait to go back to our store and share your story,’ ‘What an amazing day,’ ‘Such an amazing experience,’ ‘So much better than I imagined,’ and ‘Worth the trip up’.”
“What a beautiful day for our inaugural ‘Seed to Shelf Experience’ for retailers and plants to connect,” said Paul Rivett-Carnac,St. Francis Herb Farm CEO and president. “We’ve envisioned this moment for years—it was amazing seeing it come to life. A dream come true!”