Agribusiness June 9, 2023 1:48:00 am

Focus on multi-channel distribution a boost for Wishgarden

Catherine Hunziker, founder and president of Wishgarden Herbs Inc. Courtesy Wishgarden

By Lucas High

2023 Mercury 100 fastest-growing private companies

LOUISVILLE — The COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge for most businesses, and WishGarden Herbs Inc., an independent, woman-owned, family-run dietary supplement manufacturer, with national distribution at major retail stores and grocers, was no exception.

But an increased focus on online multi-channel sales and distribution sale strategies has allowed the company to “rebound nicely,” Wishgarden CEO Sam Hunziker, who runs the company alongside his mother Catherine Hunziker, founder of the company.

“Over the recent years, the shifting of distribution channels has been a significant issue. With COVID-19 and the rise of e-commerce, there has needed to be a rise in successful dietary supplement manufacturers being multi-channel and strategic,” Hunziker said.

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Between 2020 and 2022, the company’s sales grew from a hair under $8.2 million to more than 10 million, a two-year growth rate of nearly 23%.

“For us, we’ve the turtle in the ‘Turtle and the Hare’ parable,” Hunziker said. “We’ve been around for a long time and we’ve always had, what I would call, a sustainable growth rate.”

Wishgarden has about 40 employees, nearly all working locally. The company’s headcount has grown steadily along with sales since it was founded in 1979.

The sales environment has, of course, changed a lot in the past four or so decades.

“In recent years, we’ve been much more focused on our e-commerce platform,” Hunziker said. “That’s really been fueling significant growth since COVID. Supplements are a good product to sell online because they are dense, expensive and shelf-stable.”

While many supplement brands have been traded in M&A deals over the past few years, Wishgarden remains proudly independent.

“There’s been a lot of consolidation in the industry, both from the national retailers perspective and the supplement manufacturing space. A lot of people are being acquired,” Hunziker said, but Wishgarden has no plans to add smaller brands to its umbrella through acquisition or to be absorbed in a merger with a larger company.