How a passion for herbs and for people delivers a celestial size profit!

Do you remember hearing about the "Summer of Love," when a generation of flower power kids were tuning in and then dropping out by going back to what they thought was the simplicity of nature? A few of those kids turned their love of nature into one of the biggest corporate giants of the decades that followed.

It was back in 1969, that a small group of flower loving kids, led by a 19 year old fellow by the name of Morris Siegel, (who friends call Mo for short), began foraging through the mountains and canyons of Colorado looking for naturally growing herbs. After they found and picked the herbs, they dried, blended and packaged them in hand sewn muslin bags. They would close the bags up with colorful pieces of tiny scrap phone wires they were able to get from the local phone company. Then with creative and colorful names, like Moe's 36 Herb Tea, Red Zinger, Sleepytime and Grandma's Tummy Mint, they began marketing the colorfully packaged, decaffeinated teas to local Colorado health food stores as "soothing teas for a nervous world."

The beginnings of Celestial Seasonings were humble, but meaningful, as Siegel and company stayed committed to their passion and their vision. Their prospects increased considerably when John Hay joined the team in 1971. Having John on board presented a strategic advantage as he possessed not only a business degree, but venture capital he was willing to invest in their tea making venture. Soon, the aspiring herb gatherers no longer picked the herbs themselves, but began buying the herbs. Gradually, little by little, a national herbal tea company began to emerge leading to a colossal success.

Sales expanded beyond $1 million in 1974, and a sister company called Celestial Transport for carrying freight, was set up in 1976, which lead to the distribution of teas to international markets in 1977. By the early 1980's, Celestial Seasonings was positioned as the leader in a market that was growing rapidly and attracting an increasingly larger customer base. Annual sales by 1983 were approaching $30 million, a significant increase over the measly $1 Million a decade earlier. Business was booming and expansion plans were proceeding with the purchase of 91 acres of land in Boulder, Colorado in 1982 for the construction of their corporate offices.

Today, Celestial Seasonings is the largest herbal tea manufacturer in North America. They distribute more than 1.6 billion tea bags every year, and import more than 100 different ingredients from over 30 different countries to create their wonderfully healthy and all-natural teas.

Despite their amazing success story, the good folks at Celestial Seasonings like to remember that ultimately, and most importantly, they're still about people and passion — bringing health and joy in the form of soothing, relaxing herbal teas to a nervous and sometimes crazy world.

Solid Gold Performance...

Success ON Purpose... Success OF Purpose... Mo Siegel has proven they are the same when you start with clearly defined Values, an Inspirational Vision and a well-defined Role within which you can achieve your Mission of making the world a better place than how you found it.

How Did Celestial Become a Gold Mine? By Superior:

Mission...     Marketing...     Production Management...

Click on Function... Insert a Do It in your Strategic Plan... then Just DO IT!

Your Thoughts and Observations...

"It's not about money, it's about doing something that makes people's lives better." ~ Mo Siegel