Meet Jennifer Tice | Founder & Formulator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Tice and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
It really all started with 9/11, if I’m being honest with it. Sitting in traffic while pregnant with my first child, it was a chilling event that changed everyone’s lives. More directly, my husband was activated as a reservist and I found myself suddenly as a new mom to be, alone, and without that 2nd half, suddenly my corporate position which involved long hours and travel was just not the right fit for our family. I started exploring turning the apothecary world I had grown up with into something more sustainable. It had always been the perfect marriage of chemistry and nature, and something I was truly passionate about. If ever there was a time to take the leap, that was it.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We’ve definitely had our ups and downs, just like any other small business owner. Taking a really good, hard look at who we are helped us make some of the harder changes with the company. Given the length of time that we’ve been around, we had alot of products that weren’t serving our company best, and even though they might have been personal favorites, we had to really take a look at what products sold the best, and make the tough call to discontinue ones that weren’t. It was hard, they might have been special editions or ones that we loved in house, but in the end, with the cost of raw materials and supply chain, we had to make sure we were allocating those to our top sellers, and not the ones that sat on the shelves. We never want to disappoint our customers and we felt like we were letting them down, especially because we make so many personal connections with our customers, some who’ve been shopping with us for years. Those are always the hardest calls to make. We hope that if supply chain regulates a little bit, we’ll be able to bring back some of those as a ‘throw back’.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are SO many great places to see and restaurants to eat at in our city. The usual ‘tourist’ spots that can’t be missed, everything from historical spots like the MLK History Center, the High Museum, and to fun spots like the World of Coke. One of our favorites is the Georgia Aquarium. And then there are some beautiful mountain spots in Ellijay and Dahlonega. But then we get to the food. Coffee and pastries at Little Tart Bake Shop is the perfect start to the morning. Brunch on Sunday at Hen Mother Cookhouse. Buttermilk Kitchen and Osteria Mattone are definitely on the list of our favorite must eat spots.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
That’s such a hard question! I could shout out so many people, the biggest being family and friends. My family have always been such strong supporters, jumping in to box soaps, labeling bath bombs, lip balms, you name it. Even working the farmers markets as we hustled. I wouldn’t be here without them.

But who do I shout out the most? My collaborators. My farmers. Every single one of my local ingredient partners that I pick up and grab the heart of so many of my products. From the honey and beeswax, to the cucumbers, pumpkins, and goatmilk (one of my favorites). They are truly what make my products special.

Website: www.evolvebotanica.com

Instagram: @evolvebotanica

Twitter: @evolvebotanica

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Image Credits
Evolve Botanica Owl Eye Creative Sarah A.