Founded by Karen Jane Brown in February 2024, the received specialist support from Business Gateway to help start-up. It provides workshops, walks, and educational events.

With a background in nutritional medicine, Karen is a qualified community herbalist working towards becoming a medical herbalist. Her passion for natural remedies stems from her time in India, where she witnessed the profound impact of plant-based medicine.

Helping the local communities during a time where there is so much struggle and despair and having a charitable aspect to her business was essential to Karen. 

Herb & Soul has partnered with local charities and support groups to bring “green therapy” to those in need, including young people experiencing anxiety and depression, service users of Women’s Aid, and individuals from deprived communities. These workshops are often socially prescribed, highlighting the growing recognition of nature’s therapeutic benefits.

Business Gateway played a crucial role in Herb & Soul’s success, providing Karen with essential support and guidance on various aspects of starting and running a business. This included access to workshops, advice on legal and financial matters, and securing funding for essential resources.

Karen met her Business Gateway adviser Irene Ramsay to discuss issues such as legal status, tax, marketing, insurance, community involvement and becoming a charitable offering.

Irene signposted Karen to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund Start-up grant, which enabled Karen to undertake a first aid course and purchase insurance that was expensive because of the nature of the business. She was also given support promoting the business through leaflets and online marketing methods such as improving her social media use.

Karen said: “My natural healing business is really flourishing and this is largely due to the support I’ve received from Business Gateway.

“Without Irene’s backing of my ideas and positivity as well as certainty that my business would be received well by many, I don’t think I’d have had the courage to start up a new business.

“To be able to help guide people from all walks of life towards ways they can improve their lives in both physical and emotional ways is huge for me and a big part of the reason I set up Herb & Soul. My intention with the work I do is to connect people back to nature and it’s truly rewarding to see this happen.”

Irene added: “Watching the growth of Herb & Soul has been fantastic, and it has also allowed Karen’s confidence in her business grow.

“It’s fantastic to see her be able to give back to the local community and give them an alternative way of dealing with illness and ailments.”