Cane & Herb, created in August 2019, is owned by wife and husband duo Lauren Thompson-Williams and Rob Williams. The name of the business comes from the cane sugar and herbs found in their syrup recipes. Lauren started growing rosemary on the kitchen windowsill and thought about using it in a different way, other than being used in food dishes. She made a syrup with it and wanted to see how it would pair with her husband’s bourbon. It was a hit with Rob, he even told his wife, “we gotta figure out a way to sell this!”
After tasting that rosemary syrup for the first time, Lauren and Rob knew that their creation was something special, but still needed to do some experimenting. Starting out with only rosemary and basil syrups, they went to their friends and family for their opinion. After some trial and error, Rob and Lauren figured out the perfect balance of ingredients, and it was time to start broadening their consumer pool. They shared their products with the leaders of The Memphis Farmers Market, and began selling not long afterward. As well as selling in markets, Cane & Herb also have products in brick and mortar locations across Memphis as well as in other states including Cordelia’s Market, The Curb Market, and Greenhouse Mercantile, which is in Georgia and Love Thy Neighbor Store in California, just to name a few.
Now Cane & Herb sells a variety of herb-infused syrups, including rose, lavender, hibiscus, and orange. You can find the full list here. All the ingredients used in their products are organic, grown in their home garden. Their syrups have many uses. Along with putting it in cocktails, they can also be used in cooking, non-alcoholic beverages like coffee or lemonade, or in any dish you want to make more interesting. I asked Rob if their product's versatility was the original plan during development. He said, “Absolutely! We want people to know that they can incorporate our syrups into their daily lives…Our flavor infusion twist allows you to really have fun with it.” If you want to find some inspiration for using their products, you can find a few recipes on their website here.
I wanted to know what their favorite product is and what their favorite pairing is. “One of our favorite flavors is our Rosemary infused simple syrup. Not only is it our flagship flavor, it really pairs well in any kind of dish: cocktails, lemonades, savory dishes.” You can tell how passionate they are about their products, as well as the time they have put into them. If you look at their products' labeling, anyone will tell you they are carefully and uniquely crafted. They were designed in-house, by Lauren and are made in small batches, to ensure the quality is up to their standards.
Lauren and Rob love bringing Cane & Herb to Memphis because “Memphis is love. And we feel it everyday with our small business. The community loves to support local businesses and has been nothing but supportive to us. I can't think of a better place for this business to have started.”
We would like to thank Rob and Lauren for their time and for telling us more about their business and beautiful syrups! If you want to find them on social media, they are @caneandherb901 and their website is www.caneandherb.com. If you are a small business and want to be featured on our blog, you can email us here: blog@theprofitlink.com. Here is a link to all of our social media so you can check them out: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.