In recent years, the herbal products industry has changed in significant, fundamental ways. Most of the herbal product companies we knew have been purchased by private equity firms, investment holdings, and venture capitalists focused on profits. As our industry is increasingly transformed by this profit-driven business model, our herbal products community is shrinking, and it’s more important than ever to hold steady in our independence.

For many people on our team, working at Mountain Rose Herbs is a career path fueled by passion and a true love of natural living. In fact, by the end of 2026, we expect that 26% of our staff will have been here for 10 years or more. Working for a company for a decade or more comes with deep institutional knowledge and wisdom that helps Mountain Rose Herbs improve,  while remaining rooted in tradition and experience. Having such a large number of long-term employees also supports the community by improving access to wellness ingredients that are sourced, formulated, crafted, and tested by true experts.

As we reflect on the last year, we want to share our most notable accomplishments and extend our gratitude to you. We could not have accomplished these things without your incredible support. Here are some of our favorite initiatives from 2025 and a peek at what’s coming up in 2026.

In addition to ensuring customers receive fresh, vibrant, and potent botanicals, one of the core responsibilities of the Mountain Rose Herbs Quality Department is to make sure the company is operating in compliance with all current food safety practices. These rules are defined and enforced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are a critical component of our Food Safety Plan. These rules may sound like they only apply to large-scale manufacturers, but as a company that offers both food and dietary supplements, we are regulated under the very same rules.

We recently traveled to our neighboring state of Washington to visit several long-standing farm partners. Peppermint, spearmint, catnip, red clover, California poppy, and oats were among the botanicals we got to see, but even more important than that was getting some one-on-one time with our partners. Opportunities like this are largely possible by being an independently owned and mission-driven company that truly cares about its sourcing. These trips allow us to get boots on the ground to see how the plants are grown and also foster meaningful relationships with our partners. It is an important part of our support for domestic suppliers, while also ensuring that the quality and purity standards you expect from us are met.

There are four core aspects of our farm visits, which help provide the framework for the questions we ask and the ways we can offer our ongoing support.

In a room filled with changemakers from around the state, Mountain Rose Herbs’ CEO and CFO,Cameron Stearns proudly accepted the Oregon Organic Coalition Retailer of the Year Award. The Oregon Organic Coalition’s Awards for Excellence recognizes organizations whose vision, leadership, and innovation strengthen Oregon’s organic food and farming movement.

In 2023, we launched our Seed Stewardship Project campaign to help raise awareness about at-risk medicinal plants. Rooted in our commitment to ecological stewardship, we created this program as a solution-oriented approach to supporting the botanicals on the United Plant Savers At-Risk List. By offering free seeds to three selected plants on the list, we were able to help get the community excited about these plants while also helping to repopulate them. When you see a plant go from seeds in a packet to a living being, there is a very special connection that happens. It's the magic that keeps us falling in love with plants again and again, and what gets the community impassioned and committed to ensuring a future for that plant. 

You may have heard the recent buzz about North America’s only native caffeinated plant, yaupon. Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) is making a resurgence, and it took concerns of tariffs and increased tea and coffee prices to bring this domestic caffeinated plant into the mainstream eye. However, Mountain Rose Herbs’ interest in this plant preceded the tariff-driven trend, and we are delighted to share more information about the relationship we've developed with this plant over the past 7 years. 

Mountain Rose Herbs is proud to partner with the Ocean Blue Project to advance our commitment to protecting waterways from the harmful impacts of trash and microplastics. Recently, we initiated a community cleanup event with our dedicated staff along the Bertelson to Meadowlark Prairie Bike Path, a vital ecological corridor we have formally adopted for ongoing stewardship.

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes at Mountain Rose Herbs. The things that appear as “new” are often the result of years of hard work and ongoing collaboration before they reach your apothecary shelves. Our domestic FairWild initiative is no exception to this. 

Just outside Salem, Oregon, Elderberry Wisdom Farm is a small, Indigenous-owned nonprofit organization doing inspiring work. They're focused on native plant cultivation, ecological restoration, and, most importantly, passing on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to future generations. TEK combines centuries of Indigenous understanding of the land with modern conservation practices, and it's at the heart of everything they do.