Direct Sourcing
We gather authentic and trustworthy ingredients from hand-selected family farms and community sourcing partners. No one in the middle, just farmers to families.
About Us
We are a BC family business founded on Cortes Island in 2003.
It’s our mission to source the freshest, highest quality organic products from around the world and offer them to you.
We value the relationships we’ve built with our partners and give back 1% of total sales to grassroots projects in the communities where our products are grown.
Our homestead on 2.5 acres of land on Cortes Island feeds our family and allows us to grow some of the herbs for our All-Canadian Culinary Herb Collection.
We love providing our customers with delicious, healthy food that YOU can feel confident feeding your family. Enjoy!
—Lovena and Ryan
Our Certifications and Company Values
We carefully select our farming partners and suppliers, favouring family farms and co-operatives who share our values: stewardship of the Earth, sustainable farming practices, fair trade and equal pay, and a commitment to high quality.
Environmental Care
We are proudly Green Business Certified, always purchase Canadian-grown products when available, offer our employees CO2 credits for car pooling or biking, and use 100% recyclable packaging.
Organic & Non-GMO
We only partner with certified organic and non-GMO farms and suppliers who meet global food safety standards.
Integrity and Fairness
We love leading with our heart and hope to inspire change by humanizing the global food industry.
Giving Back
We take great joy in re-investing 1% of our total sales back into grassroots projects in the communities where our products are grown.
Gathering Place Trading Donates 1% of Total Sales
Our Origin Story
The Gathering Place story begins in South Africa in 2003.
Out for an afternoon drive through the countryside in our vintage VW camper van, we got lost. Although we didn’t know it yet, fate had placed us at the doorstep of the region’s most respected Rooibos tea farmers.
The farmers, Frans and Gerda, shared directions and offered us a cup of tea. It was the best cup of tea we had ever had! They had been harvesting by hand, fermenting in small batches, and sun drying their Rooibos for over 50 years.
We were so blown away by the quality and care that Frans and Gerda put into their work that we asked if we could import their tea to Canada.
They happily accepted, but on one condition. They wanted to trade a ton of their tea for our VW camper van. And just like that, Gathering Place Trading was born.
As our children have grown so has our business. As a family, we’ve travelled around the world to get to know our farmers. These excursions have helped deepen the values that we embed into our family and our business.
Our production facility is now in Campbell River and we have over 100 products that include in-house blends and many Canadian Grown products. We’re a family business, so we want the people who work for us to feel they are part of the family! To that end, we offer a four-day work week, extended medical benefits, living wages, and perks such as a $5/day C02 credit for commuting by bike or by foot.
We love to give back!
And we love to support the communities where our products are grown. Click each photo below for the story of how your dollars are used in meaningful projects around the world!
