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Bold Crisp, Spicy Hibiscus Ginger Tea Drink - Spicegrove

A day ago by Team Subkit ∙ 3 min read

https://gosolo.subkit.com/spicegrove/

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Audrey Powell, founder and CEO of Spicegrove, located in Parsippany, NJ, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I launched Spicegrove to develop a line of products made from hibiscus. Our first product is an all-natural hibiscus ginger beverage, a revolutionary take on a traditional drink I grew up drinking in Jamaica. It is also very well known in the Caribbean as well as other countries around the world.

My goal was to make a beverage that could be enjoyed in different ways. The unique formulation of the drink does just that! It can be enjoyed over ice or added to seltzer, teas, smoothies, make popsicles, alcohol, and many other ways. Our customers love the functionality of the product, and it also boasts some very significant health benefits such as antioxidants, vitamin C, magnesium, zinc, and other vitamins.

Tell us about yourself

I started making it for friends and family, and folks were blown away by how good it was. They encouraged me to get it on the market, and after four years of developing my special formula, I decided to go for it! One of my biggest motivations is the total satisfaction from my returning customers. Each of them has different reasons why they keep coming back for the product. For example, I have customers who just love that the product helps them maintain a healthier lifestyle. And then we have customers who are amazed at the many ways in which they can use the product.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

One of my biggest accomplishments is recognizing the impact I was making with this product, so I took the leap of faith and resigned from my 9-5 job at the height of the pandemic, and I haven't looked back! I'm also very proud of the recognition the beverage received from The Beverage Tasting Institute; they gave us a raving review and a 92 rating!!

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Being a business owner comes with many challenges and anxiety! I don't think there is just one thing, however, during the past 2+ years, with the increased prices of products, services, and goods, it's become increasingly challenging to keep our costs down and keep the product affordable. I'm beyond grateful that our customers are committed to seeing us succeed in a very competitive space.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Do your research in whatever area of business you'd like to undertake
Create a product that sets you apart! Ask the question, why would someone want to purchase my product? What makes my product different from what is already out on the market?
Be prepared to take constructive criticism and learn all you can before, during, and after launching your business.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

In the future, I will launch other flavors and products, such as jams, sauces, and other condiments, all made from hibiscus.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.spicegroveroselle.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spicegroveroselle/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spicegroveroselle/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amoore4

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Table Talk: Audrey Powell, Spicegrove By: Kelsey Juntwait

Audrey Powell comes from a long line of culinary creatives. “None of us went to school for this,” she says, explaining that her brother is also in the food industry, owning a restaurant in Florida. “My family just has a knack for putting flavors together.” She explains that her love for food and cooking was influenced by her mother, and that her food business is an ode to her upbringing. Audrey created Spicegrove in April of 2018 with one flavor in mind | Sorrel.

“In Jamaica, we have a hibiscus that we call Sorrel,” she says while adding that this flavor is typically only seen in alcoholic holiday drinks. “I wanted something healthier,” as well as something that can be enjoyed all year long, so she created a juice.

“I started researching and found that this plant is not exclusive to the Caribbean. It’s found in all these different places around the world, and each place calls it something else.” The plant that Audrey is describing is Hibiscus sabdariffa, which has a common name of Roselle, and almost every continent has its own version of it. With incredible health benefits and a pungent flavor, it's no wonder most cultures are cultivating it.

Audrey started by doing all of this research, which she explains is the most important thing in starting a food business. “You have to know what you’re getting into. You have to know your product, your market, your competitors. You have to know what sets you apart in anything that you’re doing.” So once she understood the background of Roselle, she sought out to taste every beverage that contained it, and by doing so, figured out how to make her product stand out from the rest. She describes Spicegrove as “bolder, spicier, and crisper.”

A fear of rejection lingered at the beginning. “It’s completely different making a product that your friends and family love, and then introducing it into the marketplace,” she explains, taking every bit of criticism personally. “You eventually realize that you can’t please everyone, and that there will always be people who don’t love the product. So focus on the ones who do.” Audrey finds it interesting that, out of her diverse community of friends and loved ones, it's the people who never grew up with this flavor that are the ones who really loved it. “I think that’s because it’s so unique to them, but that helped reassure me that this would be popular with the public.”

Audrey is still celebrating her jump from the corporate world to food entrepreneurship, exclaiming that it was only on March 2nd that she made that move. “This is the best decision I’ve ever made,” she declares. The learning curve of entrepreneurship was, and still is, steep — “You need to be committed to this. There’s a small margin for error.” But that margin of error she speaks of is where she’s seen the most growth.

“There’s no blueprint out there, so I want to build Spicegrove into a resource for food businesses,” describing her plan for where this company is headed in the future. Along this journey, she’s picked up a few passions, and one of those is helping others. “I learned through trial and error,” she says, explaining that she lost a lot of money that way. “I just wish I had known more. Like food packaging. You know, you can’t just buy a 100 bottles. You need to buy a pallet that contains 5,600 bottles, and for a small business, that’s difficult.”

The future is where Audrey focuses her time and energy on now, and she has an entire plan laid out for the next five years. Spicegrove will be experimenting with more flavors, as well as different products. She wants to utilize more citrus, more spices, and she wants to create a larger list of Roselle-flavored items. “Sorbets, popsicles, jams, chutneys, salad dressings,” she lists, “that’s what’s coming.”

“I have big plans for Spicegrove,” she says as we end our conversation. “I have a very strong vision of where this company will go.” Audrey enjoys bringing this “revolutionary twist on something I grew up on” to the people of New York and New Jersey, sharing a little piece of her home with the public. She spent her formative years on her family farm in Jamaica, where she gained the appreciation for food, culture and family, so it only made sense when she told me what that family farm was called. Spicegrove.

You can find Spicegrove in 14 different stores across New York and New Jersey, as well as order online from their website. Follow Spicegrove on Instagram and Facebook.

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Press Release

Minority-Female-Owned Drink Company Spicegrove Makes Big Splash on the East Coast

The year-old company’s handcrafted flagship drink Spicegrove Roselle is on trend for its exotic, spicy flavor and healthy-lifestyle appeal. An unsweetened version of the delicious hibiscus beverage debuts this fall.

Maplewood, NJ, September 17th, 2019. In a remarkably short time Spicegrove Roselle has built a thirsty cult following in New York’s hippest neighborhoods and festivals, and captured key shelf space at dialed-in, craft-focused retailers.

“I’m truly honored and humbled by the amazing response to my labor of love,” says Audrey Powell, who founded Spicegrove in 2018. “The first time people taste Spicegrove Roselle the usual response is ‘My God! I’ve never tasted anything like this, this is so good!’ and they become fans for life.”

The secret to Roselle’s revolutionary flavor is deeply rooted in Ms. Powell’s Jamaican heritage. She spent her formative years on her family’s farm, christened Spicegrove, surrounded by beautiful organic produce and spices that found their way into her community’s cuisine and celebrations. Spicegrove Roselle is her take on her mother’s spicy sorrel drink she loved growing up, with an extraordinary flavor like nothing else.

It’s a sassy, hand-made, all-natural hibiscus tea perfectly balanced with fresh ginger, lime peel, allspice, cinnamon and sweetened with raw organic cane sugar. With no preservatives, artificial flavors or coloring, Roselle boasts some exciting health benefits thanks to its freshly brewed hibiscus flowers. It’s loaded with vitamins such as calcium, niacin and riboflavin and also high in fiber, potassium and antioxidants. Based on overwhelming customer demand and requests, Ms. Powell will be launching an unsweetened version early 2020.

Fan favorite ways to drink Roselle include: over ice, with sparkling water, and as a spicy addition to craft cocktails made with rum, vodka, tequila, champagne, gin, and other spirits. With a flavor as full as it is unique, the possibilities are endless and savvy bartenders are starting to capitalize on this fact for their clever libations.

Flush with success in the NY market, Ms. Powell’s calendar is quickly filling up with appointments with retailers across the East Coast and she is actively seeking distribution partners in other markets.

“I want people around the country to relish in the liquid treasure that has been so dear to me for so long,” says Powell. “I want to share this special drink with them and bring a little bit of spice and happiness into their lives.”

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