Brand Photography: Sweet Willow Wellness

Heather Herdman, PhD, RN, Clinical Herbalist, is the owner of Sweet Willow Wellness in De Pere. She's an absolute wealth of information and illuminates all kinds of wellness opportunities in our community.

Heather is a clinical herbalist by trade and previously worked as a nurse practitioner. Her understanding of the holistic approach to wellness is a big asset to our corner of the state. Her storefront, Sweet Willow Herbal Co-op, provides a space for local businesses to sell their products. In this way, she supports businesses that might not be large enough to have a storefront presence and also provides the community with access to sustainable lifestyle products we cannot otherwise find locally. They also make delicious food here too! I'm a huge fan of her bowls, the tempeh BLT, and the cookies--ooh the cookies!

Inside the shop, you'll find a slew of products made with earth-friendly, sustainable intentions in mind. These products all serve the purpose of supporting your body and natural health. Heather is especially known for her tea products. She has a wealth of delicious custom dried herbal tea mixtures to support different wellness goals, different seasonal needs, and just delicious tea for sipping too. I love the Gingerade tea, and the Fall Bonfire right now!

For our first branding photoshoot, we went to Frozen in Thyme Herbs in Suamico. This local herb garden is where Heather sources the majority of her herbs for her tea blends. We walked around the garden, picked and foraged herbs, and brought them to the commercial kitchen on the farm. There, we dried and packaged the herbs. This entire process was captured in our shoot. We have also submitted this story for publication in a national magazine--more to come on this soon!

During our brand strategy session, Heather and I have been working on transitioning her business to align with the seasons. Our quarterly shoots are scheduled for each season, then follow her product offerings, blog posts, marketing, social media posts, and newsletter content. We also focused on making it more accessible to purchase and gift Heather's products. She created seasonal Equinox Boxes featuring a custom set of 3 seasonal teas, candle, local Maple Syrup, locally grown lavender eye pillow, and a tea seeping mug. Her seasonal boxes are available online so you can ship to your loved ones which is a great expansion for her brand!

Our strategy session also focused on making it easier for Heather’s customers to purchase seasonal food such as pumpkin lasagna. These will be available online for local pick up and her website will keep track of her limited quantities. We also worked together on specially curated gift boxes for the holidays. Making Heather's products easier to purchase and ship will expand her business reach dramatically in the upcoming year, which aligns with her brand goals.

I’m thrilled to see Heather through this amazing launch for her seasonal gift boxes and Equinox Boxes, all of which feature her special teas. We are continuing to work together on a quarterly basis, aligning her shoots with the seasons - spring, summer, fall, and winter. You can find all of Heather’s products on her website or at 327 Main Avenue, Suite B in De Pere.