FARM BUSINESS PROFILE: Herbalist and Gardener Brenda Conti Turns Entrepreneur

July 25, 2017

It’s funny how a hurricane can sometimes be a catalyst for business. Hurricane Floyd did just that in 1999 by taking down 11 trees around Brenda Conti’s house and opening up a sunny area for her to grow herbs. Her business, The Herbal Touch USA, was launched shortly thereafter and began with a focus on creams and lotions.

Today, Conti runs her business out of her home in Arnold, Maryland and produces 12 to 15 different types of skin products, from creams and lotions to bug sprays. She also makes dried herbs, white balsamic vinegar (several flavors), and homemade jams. Her half acre garden smells like basil (she grows seven variations) and is filled with seasonal fruits and vegetables that she sells at the farmers’ markets and uses to feed her family.

“I took some classes and did a whole lot of reading,” says Conti. “I started making creams and lotions but realized quickly that people weren’t going to buy this every week at the farmers market. I needed something else.”

Conti started to dry her herbs and began planting plugs in the winter. Her business exploded from there. She took holistic courses at Anne Arundel Community College and learned how to make balsamic vinegars.

You can see her diverse line of products at the Riva Road and Westfield Annapolis farmers’ markets, where she’s been a specialty vendor since 2001. “My best-sellers are the jams, and in the springtime, it’s plants,” says Conti. As a board member for Riva and the “Market Master” at Westfield, Conti puts in a lot of volunteer hours to make sure the markets runs smoothly and even finds time to judge herbs at the county fair.

“The markets have changed during the last five years,” explains Conti. “It used to be very seasonal, but now products are staying longer at the farmers markets. Because of greenhouses and other technological advances, farmers are growing year round. There are also many specialty products such as wine, candy, olive oil, meat, and homemade pierogies. It’s really a grocery store at the farmers market.”

A noticeable change in clientele has also occurred. “What used to be an older and middle-aged crowd is now a crowd filled with young families.”

When it comes to business in Anne Arundel County, Conti believes that the environment is friendly. “Our health department has worked with us and been flexible on a variety of issues,” says Conti. “I’ve also had a tremendous amount of help from Lisa Barge, AAEDC’s agricultural marketing and development manager, who helped me get an on-farm food processing license which is a daunting process if you are trying to figure it out on your own.”

A leader in the agricultural community, Conti is excited about what she does and encourages others to follow their passions. “No matter what confronts you, just keep moving forward, whether it’s slow or fast. Don’t ever give up if you have a good idea and you think it will work. It will.”

If Conti could go back and do one thing over, she would not have created so many products.

But aren’t we, as beneficiaries of her work, glad she did.

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