Sip Herbals with Orleatha Smith, Co-Founder, feature 111 of Together Talks

KLS
Mar 12, 2024
6 min read

Updated: Apr 14

"Together Talks" feature 111: Sip Herbals presented by KLS, freight company

Some Background on Sip Herbals

Today's edition of "Together Talks" campaign, KLS had the opportunity to interview Sip Herbals and Orleatha Smith, Co-Founder. They love the routine of coffee, but not the side effects.

Sip Herbals began in 2020, when founders Kelly + Orleatha realized their beloved morning coffee routine was causing health challenges.

Combine that with the other negatives of coffee –- anxiety, jitters, caffeine, and sustainability concerns – the stars were aligned to bring Sip Herbals to life.

After spending a decade researching, learning, and sharing how real food helped them feel better, they sought to include those who had been excluded and to create a sustainable coffee alternative - both for our bodies + for the planet.

Health change

For 10 years Kelly and Orleatha worked together in different capacities. Orleatha told us that during that time coffee consumption was a daily activity and she realized that it often had a negative impact on her. She reached a point where she made the choice to give it up completely, it was in her best interest. She was curious if there was a way to replace it and took up reading into alternative options. The discovery showed everything had adaptogens (Orleatha has an auto-immune disease), natural flavors, or still possessed caffeine. Being a former biology teacher she put on her apron and began experimenting. Orleatha's family is from Louisiana and she got into the kitchen starting to play with herbs. It took a month to create the formulation. In 2020 the company was formed.

Orleatha began sharing her creation with friends in the Paleo community who also suffered from auto-immune issues. Shortly after they started their Kickstarter and going D2C with their website. Reflecting back on the start to current day Orleatha appreciates the freedom and flexibility. Being a mom of teenagers it is especially critical for her lifestyle. Being able to accommodate her life schedule and fit it in with running a business is imperative. Orleatha explained that in her opinion no one will work harder than they will for themself, she hopes that building Sip Herbals will hopefully create a legacy that her children can one day be a part of.

The ritual

Within the month of creating the formula, Orleatha explained that there were hundreds of iterations, "Basically 3-4 trials every day", she shared. Prior to giving up coffee she was very specific about what she consumed daily. Her goal with this alternative option had to possess the dark mouth feel, having it feel like coffee was a must. From there she wanted to expand and have all of the coffee house flavors, but only using natural ingredients to keep it clean.

Upon launching Sip Herbals has always had a pulse on their community, relying on their customers for feedback. The main reason for creating this company was to provide a substitute for consumers and give them back a part of their normalcy (coffee). The original formula was made using powdered herbs, but customers said the bottom of the cup contained "sludge" which lacked the true coffee experience. In the end or 2021, the last of their powdered product inventory sold and they started fresh with a revamped product. Now, their products can be made in a Keurig or coffee maker, leading Orleatha believing it leads to a much better experience.

Contrary to similar companies their product doesn't use any mushrooms, caffeine, adaptogens. Sip Herbals was created because no one size fits all for every consumer. Instead they provide a blank slate that can be built on or just enjoy the blank slate. Orleatha continued, "We don't believe our product needs all those bells and whistles. Instead we offer a simple, yet beautiful product." That is how they created the name with the meaning being at first sip when the shoulders drop and you can begin the day. Orleatha said that creating this was more of a "why not" attitude. She had always spoken with Kelly about another outlet or income stream for a company. In solving a problem for her, she discovered others might also suffer or have a similar need. This taught her a very crucial lesson in life, "You are never alone. If you are suffering, find someone who also suffers and suffer together. Life is much bigger than just yourself and the possibilities are endless if you choose to open up.", Orleatha explained.

Scaling and awareness

Prior to creating Sip Herbals the duo operated in the digital world and had a successful SAAS exit. But they were entering a completely new industry, CPG. Getting finances upfront was the largest initial hurdle. Orleatha mentioned how it was a quick education over the last couple of years. She credits both of their parents for instilling values and teaching them about finances and how to stretch money. Remarkably the company has always been profitable despite being bootstrapped the entire way. They have yet to do any advertising instead of relying only on organic growth and influencers.

Orleatha shared what brings her the most joy and she told us the story of when they opened their Kickstarter. "I remember we recorded the launch and when we hit the number there was confetti and an explosion on the screen. We were so unsure of how we would fund this project. We didn't run ads or have investors. Instead we told people our story and allowed them to believe in us. They did for $7,000. Now you can't start or run a business with that, but what we took from it was much larger. What we thought might be impossible was possible, it breathed light into that proof of concept. Now we know that if it happened once, it can happen again."

In 2023, they created their "board of wins". As they accomplished things, whether big or small, they added it to the board knowing at some point they would want to celebrate it. "Running a business, you are nose to the grindstone, goal oriented, and focused on the next big thing. Too often we don't remember to celebrate.", Orleatha explained. The company was featured in Essence Magazine, on Amazon for Women's History Business of the months as examples of noteworthy accomplishments. Being able to grow organically and have word of mouth to build awareness is something they are very fortunate and appreciative of. For these Co-Founders, they stress the desire to enjoy the journey, not just chase the goal. Looking back at the end of the year on all of their successes they realized how far they have come and grown. Orleatha's mantra:

Be where your feet are.

Our bond

Having a Co-Founder is one of the aspects of her business that Orleatha reflects on the most. She told us how absolutely grateful she is to be running Sip Herbals with Kelly, "The ability that when times are hard I have someone who can validate my feelings is huge.", Orleatha shared. She continued that she believes no entrepreneur fully believes in themselves which leads to trepidation and no one wanting to fail. However, as an avid reader, Orleatha credited a book called failing forward, which shed a new light on how we as individuals view failure. She explained there is always an opportunity to learn from it. Being a scientist, everything can be viewed through the lens of an experiment. Now as an entrepreneur she can constantly dissect and figure out how to engineer the correct process for their business.

Orleatha shared her sales pitch, "This is a better for you coffee alternative. Made for your gut health, your mental health, and providing a piece of normalcy . You don't have to lose the coffee routine without having beans. Your better for you is different than mine, so we simply want to peak curiosity."

Piece of Advice

The conversation with Orleatha ended with her sharing her piece of advice:

"Be open to being wrong. A lot of times, especially growing up in this country, we are told to be right all the time. When you are not open to being wrong, you close yourself off to curiosity. Not saying "I’m wrong", but rather " I'm open" - open to learning, their perception or their paradigm. Thinking you know everything about something is detrimental because there is so much to learn."

Visit their website and place an order using the coupon code below!

KLS15 ---> 15% off

In Closing

KLS wants to thank Orleatha Smith, Co-Founder, of Sip Herbals for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!