Frontier Natural Products Co-op

We love our producers, suppliers and vendors and we think most of them have some pretty interesting stories behind their products too. We’re sharing some of our favorites here in an ongoing series opens in a new tab.  Frontier knows the quality of spices can make or break a recipe — just a dash of spice can make a world of difference. Frontier focuses on sourcing the best to ensure that home cooks and home bakers can perfect flavors in recipes when using spices like Frontier Fair Trade Ceylon Cinnamon in Sugar-Coated Gingerbread Twists opens in a new tab.From their roots as a two-person business in a small cabin to their current (and much larger) facilities in three Iowa towns, Frontier has always ensured that quality starts in the field and ends up on the shelf. Products go through rigorous testing in the Frontier labs (by extracting oil from cinnamon or hand-sifting samples of spices to ensure proper size, for example). Frontier’s dedication to quality and innovation has also resulted in preserving wild-harvested herbs and supporting the organic movement with an on-site research farm.Since the 1970s, when Frontier introduced their first organic products, the cooperative has grown faster than basil in the springtime, yet has never lost focus on what matters most — people. Frontier provides on-site childcare and a cafeteria that serves organic food to support work-life balance for employees. They have equal concern for the work environment of farmers and established the Well Earth Program to source Fair Trade products, create opportunities for farmers worldwide and support their communities.“We try to do business honestly and fairly and with a concern for both social responsibility and the environment,” says CEO Tony Bedard. And because it’s a cooperative owned by the people, Frontier’s unwavering passion for improving our planet is a direct reflection of the values shared by its wholesalers and customers.