Holistic bath and body brand Herb’n Eden began its journey on the campus of Georgia State when a flier advertising an internship at Atlanta’s Urban Sprout Farms caught the attention of then-student Terran Lewis.
Knowing that her husband had a long-standing interest in gardening, she shared the information with him. Quinton, her husband, jumped on the opportunity and invited Terran to join him on his trips to the farm.
“I think Quinton was the only one who responded to the flier,” laughs Terran. “I was stressed from working in the service industry while taking classes, so the trips provided me a relaxing experience.”
Learning about the farming process and plants exposed Terran to the benefits and healing properties of plants. After three years of interning, the Lewises began selling the farm’s plants at farmer’s markets.
“I was seeing so many people selling homemade goods, and at the same time, I wanted to learn a skill that I could use. I picked up a craft book that provided instructions on how to make everything from jewelry to tables. The section on soap making stuck out to me, and it aligned with everything I was learning about plants on the farm,” Terran tells BLACK ENTERPRISE.
Fast forward to 2019, and the Lewis’s grew their business to a brick and mortar store located in Douglasville, GA, and hired a third employee to help with production and fulfillment.
In 2019, Herb’n Eden generated $263,000 in revenues. In 2020, it reached $2.6 million in sales, but this has not changed its commitment to producing its products in-house.
“There are two things that we believe are very important when building out our brand or any brand and that is staying consistent and telling your story as much as you can,” says Quinton.” “We have used social media and video as a way to document our story from the beginning until now, and it allows people to get to know who you are. From making soaps in our parent’s garage to having a facility that allows us to make upwards of 5,000 batches of soap a day, we like to show it all!”
Today the brand’s products are available at its brick and mortar and direct to consumer channel. As they continue to develop new scents for their soaps and test new products the Lewises have a goal in mind. “We want to take over the bathroom, says Terran. Quinton adds, “We want to be disruptors in the space and inspire entrepreneurs in the process.”