What's Happening, What's Ahead

Good morning, & happy Sunday! What a few weeks. This was going to be an email about tariffs, but instead, we’ll talk about more enjoyable things like community & packaging, and then discuss tariffs at the end. (Like, at the end of this letter… not at, you know… the end of the world. That’s at least another week away!) Community — who would you like to meet? Let us know for a chance to win $25. In my last Flavor Note, I mentioned that we’re working on an online community space for you to learn & share ways to cook & brew with our spices & teas. It’ll be an opportunity to get tips & tricks from each other and our staff about this vast spice library, ask questions, and show off any favorites you have. We’re also recruiting culinary experts. Maybe they’re famous. Maybe you think they should be. Maybe there’s a type of food or a technique you want to learn about, and we can find someone to teach us all that thing. Please tell me: I would love to know if you have a few favorite culinary influencers or authors or personalities you think others would like to know. OR, if you have a certain cuisine or technique you’d love to learn more about and how our spices can help. If you contribute a few ideas, you’ll be entered into a chance to win $25 of spice cash — on us! We’ll pick one winner from these suggestions. Stacking Packaging This is just a teaser. I cannot wait to tell you more about what we’re working on, our new “flagship packaging” to sit or stack in your kitchen, protect your spices, and still be easy-to-open. Stay tuned for a future Flavor Note. How Tariffic We’re getting asked a lot — how are the tariffs affecting your business? It’s hard to say. Some of our importers raised costs in anticipation of tariffs. Some have not. Some might still. Then direct suppliers from overseas… same story in that there’s no consistent story. (Just like the tariffs themselves.) We last really raised prices in 2023 when we took the baton from the previous owner, our old boss. Just in the past 3 months, we’ve seen several costs jump (like cumin, +42%). A few things skyrocketed (cardamom seed doubled). In all, most of our spices & teas are up since 2023 in the 10-25% range, some much more, and a precious few have somehow dropped. Right now, with tariffs, I think this will be a slow boil. Just an opinion, but that’s guiding our approach. How We’re Beating Tariffs (and Whatever Else) You. You’ve supported World Spice for 30 years, through financial crises, a pandemic, and no doubt a few recipes gone awry. Hopefully, you’ve felt the love back, with aromas and flavors that light up your senses. Each other. Our team cares a lot about each other and our products. Being smart. We try to run lean. We do our own everything! We renovated the store ourselves, we handle our own technology & design, you name it, we get our hands dirty. The #1 thing you can do right now? Try something new, enjoy a warm cup of tea, or tell a friend about us. It means the world. Yes, Some Price Changes This is part of us trying to be smart. There are some prices changes happening…some up, some down. We recently unified our blend pricing, which meant most blends went up a touch, while some prices dropped (Cascade Mushroom for one!). We did this the week of Liberation Day the tariff increase, but we’d already decided on the pricing plan. We’re about to tweak our pure spice & tea prices, and as a rule you’ll see some of the larger quantities actually decrease in price. We don’t expect major shifts to single spice/tea right now. Thank you. It’s a real treat to get to spend time in your inbox on a Sunday morning.

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Our Mission

Wow. What a year 2025 is, and what a story it tells. The world at-large is changing rapidly, and here in the US, it's turning inward in so many ways.  At World Spice, we're focusing on turning outward. As keepers of a vast library of spices, teas, and recipes, and as enthusiastic lovers of sharing a good meal and taking culinary adventures together, we think it's a good time to talk more about where we've come from and to lay out the mission our team is on. Three Decades in the Making World Spice was founded 30 years ago in a 1300-square-foot Seattle space that we still call home. Back then, it was a retail store and a warehouse where we'd receive large sacks and barrels of pure spices from around the world, somehow storing it all. So many flavors, such a small space — a culinary genie crammed inside a little lamp on Western Avenue. Two years ago, almost to the day, our previous owner and boss retired, selling the company to us — her team. We're now an employee-owned venture we like to call The Spice Company That Cares. We raised wages to sustainable rates, improved our healthcare plan, maintained our vendor relationships, and started moving forward in a familiar but bigger direction. Our Mission: Opening Doors to Global Cuisine At World Spice, we believe every bite for every diet should be spectacular, achievable, affordable, judgment-free, filler-free, and rooted in culinary wisdom from all around the globe. I'm proud to share this mission and how we plan to achieve it through empowerment and connection. You know as well as we do the difference fresh, quality spices make. A quick whiff or taste lights up the senses! And what joy it brings to create something delightful for the people we care about. We also know there are barriers to cooking and brewing at home. You might be short on time, too dang tired, or find certain dishes — especially new cuisines — intimidating. Your diet may have also changed. This leads me to our first core team value. Empowerment To us, empowerment takes on many shapes, but it centers on giving you knowledge and support through:  Fantastic recipes, from the easily-achievable to the daring Spice tips from our expert team — like this recent post on Creole Spice Coming Soon: Series — recipes & guides that build on each other, particularly to learn about cuisines from around the world Access to the best spices, teas, and tools we find scouring the world and the web We're investing more and more into each of these categories, with the goal that every product has plenty of ways to get you cooking and brewing any time of day. Connection Our second core value is connection. We can all use more of that now, right? We're building a community. It began in the store, where conversations help inspire & empower your next cooking adventure.  And now we're building an online community space, launching later this year, that we hope will bring that experience to you everywhere. Hundreds of you told us in our August survey that you want to read and share spice tips and recipes from each other, in addition to culinary experts. We're making that happen. We'll soon have a digital space where we publish — and let you publish — recipes, tips, and discussions. It's a space where we'll host culinary experts, whether well-known or just damned great at cooking up a dish and a story. And where we can all ask no-judgment questions, get answers and support, and have fun. World Spice will be the best place to try, learn, play, and perfect new flavor experiences from around the world. Thank you! We've come this far, thanks to you. There was truly a time when we weren't sure World Spice would survive, but with your support, we're beginning to thrive. We should get to profitability this year, and our vast library remains small batch and as fresh & flavorful as ever. We know that every single product you purchase from us enters your homes, makes its way onto your tables, and becomes part of your stories. Thank you. It's truly an honor, and we are SO EXCITED about what's coming next. p.s. Reach out Future Flavor Notes will dive into sustainability, our packaging and what's next, tariffs (or, maybe not! 😅), our remodeled & ever-evolving retail store, a tea rebrand, and more. Let me know what questions you have by sending me an email: porter@worldspice.com.

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