Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 12, 1992 TAG: 9202120338
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLYNE H. McWILLIAMS BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
HERBS: A HEALTHY INCOME
One thing's for sure in these health-conscious '90s: There's money in herbs.Once confined to the kitchen, herbs today are used in shampoos, fragrance and massage oils as well. Or they're in decorative dried arrangements and - frequently - in the medicine cabinet.
Just ask Alice Hanawalt, who has seen her herb business double in five years.
Hanawalt has been growing herbs since the late 1960s. Since opening Indian Run Greenhouse in Bedford in 1986, she's seen her business sprout and spread to clients in the Roanoke Valley.
A full-time park ranger at the Booker T. Washington National Monument in Franklin County, Hanawalt calls what she does a relaxing hobby. But it's a steady enough business that she hopes to retire to it in three years.
Cindy's Greenery Inc. in Roanoke also started with a small line of herbs about nine years ago. Because of increased demand, owner Cindy Dickerson said she now carries 30 varieties of herbs - and she really noticed an increase in herb purchases during the past two years.
"People like the fact they can grow them themselves," she said.
According to "The Business of Herbs," a publication for herb businesses, growers in the South accounted for the second-highest sales volume in the nation last year.
Hanawalt suspects customers are spending more time in the kitchen and using natural seasonings.
Area herb growers attribute their blooming business to increased health concerns. And once people learn about the advantages of the fresh plants, they're hooked.
Alenne and Bruce Walker have seen such a growth in their herb business - The Plant Plant in Christiansburg - that they hope to expand to mail-order sales and to supply local grocery stores.
The Walkers started their business seven years ago as a part-time venture, not suspecting it would become a full-time job for Alenne Walker and part-time work for Bruce Walker, a psychologist. They started specializing in herbs because there was too much competition in sales of potted plants and garden flowers.
Their facility includes five growing houses on two acres. They are able to show customers how the little plants they buy will look fully grown and how they can be used in landscaping. They also sell herb books, posters and clocks for herb enthusiasts.
To fertilize general knowledge about herbs, the Walkers also sponsor the New River Valley Herb Fest, which attracts people from across the state and North Carolina with seminars, samples and vendors to pique the curiosity and educate everyone from experts to herbal illiterates.
For example, they say buyers often need to be reminded that herbs lose their potency as they age. A jar of parsley, for example, should be thrown out after a year.
Supermarket chains such as the Kroger Co. and Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. also have seen an increase in herb sales in the past few years.
One Kroger produce buyer, Gene Knight, said his store has increased quantities from its Harrisonburg supplier because of increased demand.
Kim Cantu, produce buyer for the North Carolina and Virginia division of Winn-Dixie, said herb sales have increased in his stores.
Thirty of the division's 91 stores stock fresh-packaged herbs from California and Cantu said more stores will sell herbs soon. He said the division is looking for a local herb supplier to serve its Roanoke outlets.
\ The Virginia Herb Growers and Marketers Association will have its annual conference Friday and Saturday at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville. The theme is "Making Money in the Herb Business." Sessions are open to the public, but there is a fee. For more information contact the treasurer, Jennifer Lantrip, at (804) 643-0021.