Spices are more than just a seasoning; they carry stories, cultures, and livelihoods within their grains. This ethos drives Burlap & Barrel, a spice company and public benefit corporation founded by Ethan Frisch and Ori Zohar.
By sourcing single-origin spices and working directly with farmers, Burlap & Barrel ensures sustainability, quality, and fair trade practices. Their close partnerships with farmers go beyond sourcing—they empower them to manage packaging and export processes, enabling them to build economically viable businesses while preserving the authenticity of their products.
The result? Vibrant, flavorful spices straight from harvest to kitchen. Notable collaborations, like their work with Floyd and Barkha Cardoz on the FC Masala Blends, highlight their commitment to excellence. Their products have even made appearances on shows like Shark Tank and The Bear.
In season 1 of The meez Podcast, Ethan and Ori shared stories of sourcing spices worldwide, revealing the logistical challenges and the cultural connections that bring exceptional flavors to market.
From Ice Cream Carts to Revolutionizing Spices
Ethan and Ori’s journey as co-founders began over a decade ago with their first venture, Gorilla Ice Cream—an activist ice cream cart with flavors inspired by revolutions and political movements.
Operating in New York City during the summer of 2010, the venture was fueled by a passion for creativity and a desire to make a difference. Profits were donated to the Street Vendor Project, a nonprofit advocating for street vendors' rights. Renting kitchen space overnight, they crafted unique flavors and sold them at markets and restaurant stoops. While short-lived, this venture was a valuable test of their compatibility as business partners and storytellers.
After the ice cream chapter closed, Ori’s entrepreneurial path led him to co-found a Silicon Valley mortgage startup. He navigated the intense world of venture-backed growth, raising $32 million and scaling rapidly—only to face the challenges of unsustainable growth and eventual downsizing and sale. Reflecting on this rollercoaster experience, Ori shared key lessons about focus, prioritization, and building a sustainable business foundation.
Seven years later, the duo reunited, bringing their refined skills and insights from past ventures to the table. The shared experiences—whether scooping ice cream or navigating high-stakes tech—shaped their ability to make decisions, manage teams, and prioritize customer needs. These lessons became the cornerstone for their next chapter: creating a company driven by passion, purpose, and better practices.
The Birth of Burlap & Barrel
The journey to founding Burlap & Barrel began with an unexpected source of inspiration: a roadside meal in Afghanistan. At the time, Ethan was working in international development, living in remote areas of the country. He visited small villages in the mountainous Badakhshan province, monitored construction projects like schools, and met with local governing councils. During these travels, he encountered a variety of wild spices, including cumin, that were unlike anything he had tasted before.
The realization hit him: even the finest restaurants in New York City struggled to find high-quality spices. While they could source premium meats, truffles, and cheeses, their spice cabinets were often filled with subpar, mass-produced options. Ethan began bringing wild cumin and other Afghan ingredients like saffron, dried fruit, and nuts back to the U.S., sharing them with chef friends who responded enthusiastically.
This sparked the idea for Burlap & Barrel, officially launched in 2016 after years of Ethan experimenting with sourcing spices directly from farmers. Together with his co-founder Ori, they built the company on a mission to revolutionize the spice industry. They prioritized sourcing single-origin, high-quality spices directly from smallholder farmers and cooperatives, cutting out intermediaries, and ensuring fair prices for producers.
How Burlap & Barrel Connects with Farmers
Burlap & Barrel’s farmer relationships often begin through unique and personal connections—whether through nonprofits, friends of friends, or even social media. These connections lead to sourcing some of the highest quality, single-origin spices in the world, while also fostering long-term relationships built on trust and shared values.
Cardamom
Through Ethan’s involvement with Heifer International, an NGO he worked with during his nonprofit days, he met a local farmer in Guatemala. Armed only with empty duffel bags, Ethan arrived in the country, and by the end of the trip, he was leaving with them full of cardamom. Despite initial skepticism from the farmer about this newcomer, the partnership blossomed into a strong seven-year relationship, with Burlap & Barrel now serving as the farmer’s largest customer.
White Peppercorns
Before a planned trip to Indonesia, Ethan was hoping to find a specific fermented variety of white peppercorn known for its funky, umami-rich flavor profile. Just weeks before his journey, he received an email from a pepper farmer on Bangka Island, offering his pepper for sale.
When he arrived, he didn’t just meet this farmer but also visited several others in the area. The farmer who initially reached out stood out—not only for the exceptional quality of his product but for his entrepreneurial spirit. That chance email marked the beginning of a five-year partnership between Burlap & Barrel and this family farm.
Coffee and Peppercorns
Traveling to Dak Lak in central Vietnam proved to be another memorable experience. Dak Lak is a coffee-growing region where farmers intercrop coffee and peppercorns, with the vines providing essential shade for the coffee bushes. While visiting peppercorn farmers in the area, Ethan and Ori realized how much trust-building was needed.
Many farmers in the region had heard horror stories about foreign buyers making promises they couldn’t keep. To counter that, the team immersed themselves in the farmers' lives—literally. They stayed on the farm, dined with the families, and even joined the farmers in harvesting peppercorns.
One particularly hair-raising moment came when they climbed a precarious, wobbly ladder to pick peppercorns. Despite assurances that the ladder could hold four people, the team discovered that “four Vietnamese farmers” does not equate to “two American men.” The ladder buckled, and they tumbled to the ground—an incident later remedied with plenty of beer and laughter.
Transforming Farming Practices
Beyond the adventures, the goal is clear: empower farmers to retain more value for their spices. In many regions, farmers sell raw spices to middlemen, who then clean, dry, and package them for export. Burlap & Barrel encourages farmers to take on these steps themselves, significantly increasing their earnings.
This process isn’t just transactional; it’s deeply personal. Ethan and Ori don’t rely on contracts or rigid legal agreements. Instead, they foster relationships rooted in mutual trust, built through time spent together on the farms, sharing meals, and understanding the farmers’ lives and challenges.
The trips are more than just business—they're experiences that bridge worlds. As Ethan put it, "You can't do this over text or WhatsApp. Spending time on the farm, sharing dinner with families, and hearing their stories—this is what connects the dots between our two worlds."
Finding Visionary Farmers
It’s not just about finding farmers—it’s about finding the right farmers. Burlap & Barrel seeks out farmers who are passionate about sustainable, regenerative, and organic practices. They look for growers who cultivate culturally significant or heirloom varieties, resisting the pressure to prioritize high-yield, commodity crops.
As Ethan explained, “We’re looking for farmers who have already concluded independently that the system sucks.” These visionary farmers, who prioritize quality and flavor over volume, become the best partners.
The heart of Burlap & Barrel’s model is personal interaction. Before committing to a partnership, they visit farms to meet farmers, walk the land, and learn about their processes. These visits allow Burlap & Barrel to establish trust and transparency while sharing their own practices and values.
Their farmer-forward pricing model is another cornerstone. Farmers set their own prices, and Burlap & Barrel pays upfront, often making purchase commitments a year in advance. They also provide support like organic fertilizers to help farmers prepare for the next harvest. By handling logistics and ensuring farmers are paid fairly and promptly, the company builds relationships that are mutually beneficial.
Origin Blends and Shifting Demands
Burlap & Barrel’s e-commerce model offers them the freedom to experiment with new spices and blends, offering unique, hard-to-find ingredients that you won't typically find in grocery stores.
For example, they have created their own line of Origin Blends—a product line that not only celebrates traditional recipes but also empowers partner farmers by adding value at the source. These blends honor local traditions while offering unique spice combinations that elevate everyday cooking. Some of these spice blends include:
- Turkish Baharat Blend: A rich mixture of two types of chilies, cumin, allspice, and garlic, sourced from a multi-generational spice-blending family in Istanbul’s famed Spice Bazaar.
- Herbs de Provence: A classic blend from a French co-op that not only grows but also dries and mixes the herbs. Interestingly, theirs avoids the contentious addition of lavender, staying true to a traditional ratio.
- Vietnamese Five-Spice Blend: This isn’t just your typical five-spice mix. Burlap & Barrel’s version includes Macken, a wild relative of Sichuan peppercorns, adding a citrusy and tingly note that sets it apart from its Chinese counterpart.
Limited Supply, Endless Possibilities
Burlap & Barrel's inventory is constantly evolving, with many spices available on a limited basis. This is largely due to their focus on sourcing from smaller, unique producers. When a spice doesn’t move as quickly as expected, it’s dropped from their lineup to make space for new offerings.
The company’s e-commerce model allows them to experiment with these "specialty" spices, bringing them in for a few months and giving customers a chance to try something rare—without the risk of overstocking.
For instance, their anise seeds have been an underrated gem. Though they haven’t been the most popular, the versatility of anise—whether in raw salads for a crunchy bite or as an ingredient in traditional beverages like Turkish Raki—keeps it in the spotlight for those in the know.
Shifting from Restaurants to Home Cooks
While Burlap & Barrel originally focused on restaurant supply, the onset of COVID-19 drastically shifted their business model. As restaurants closed their doors, home cooking surged, and the company quickly pivoted to meet the rising demand. The home cook market brought a new wave of customers who were looking to elevate their home meals with high-quality spices.
Today, 80% of Burlap & Barrel's business is e-commerce, a balance of direct-to-consumer sales that allows for a more immediate connection with customers. Their ability to quickly introduce new products to a large audience through newsletters has helped the brand thrive in an unpredictable market. Whether it’s a new spice blend or a unique ingredient, the company can test products and receive instant feedback from home cooks.
As restaurants continue to bounce back post-pandemic, Burlap & Barrel is seeing renewed interest from the foodservice sector. However, the company is committed to maintaining a balance between restaurant sales and their home cook audience. The goal is not to prioritize one over the other but to have a foot in both worlds.
This balance gives them the flexibility to adjust when market conditions change. If the economy shifts and more people start cooking at home again, their e-commerce and grocery sales could rise. On the other hand, as restaurants continue to recover, they’ll be able to adapt and meet those needs as well. This dynamic approach to inventory, customer base, and distribution ensures that Burlap & Barrel is always ready to meet spice lovers where they are—whether in their kitchen or at their favorite restaurant.
Conclusion
Burlap & Barrel’s journey is a testament to the power of connection, authenticity, and sustainability in reshaping industries. From their humble beginnings with wild spices in Afghanistan to their innovative approach of working directly with farmers, the company has transformed the spice trade into a platform for storytelling, empowerment, and exceptional flavor.
Their commitment to sourcing high-quality, single-origin spices and fostering strong, personal relationships with farmers has redefined what it means to bring flavor to the table.
Listen to the full conversation with Ethan and Ori on The meez Podcast
