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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spiceology products to be sold in select Nordstrom stores nationwide

Spiceology CEO Chip Overstreet is flanked by Director of Production Dan Kroetch and Vice President of Operations Steve Maillard at the company’s production facility in Playfair Commerce Park earlier this year.  (COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)

A growing Spokane spice and rub company with an established online presence is expanding to the brick-and-mortar retail market during the holiday season.

Spiceology’s variety packs will be sold through the end of the year at seven of Nordstrom’s pop-up shops and 21 of its holiday gift shops nationwide, including locations in downtown Seattle and Bellevue Square in Washington and the department store chain’s flagship store in New York City.

Variety packs include Spiceology’s Derek Wolf 6-Pack Beer Rub Sampler, 4-Pack Rub Collection and Popcorn Seasoning Variety Pack.

“We take a unique approach to the retail experience, and we immediately saw a connection with the way Spiceology’s brand aligns with our fun, yet practical approach to holiday gifting,” Olivia Kim, Nordstrom’s vice president of creative projects and home, said in a statement.

Pop-In@Nordstrom is an ongoing series of pop-up shops curated by Kim. Nordstrom’s holiday gift shops display a variety of products along with on-site photo booths and interactive displays.

Spiceology’s partnership with Nordstrom was sparked after connecting with the Seattle-based department store chain’s buyers, Spiceology CEO Chip Overstreet said.

“They had heard about the product, and the timing was perfect because they were pulling together their curation of brands for their holiday pop-ins,” Overstreet said.

Spiceology, which has experienced an uptick in sales during the pandemic, sees the retail and grocery sector as an area of growth, Overstreet added.

“Most digitally native brands – those born in e-commerce – eventually find their way into retail and grocery. It’s just a matter of when and how you do it,” he said. “For us, we knew we wanted to get into retail and grocery. In fact, the company did dabble with it a little bit in 2015, 2016. But it was too early. I don’t think that we were ready at that point.”

Since then, Spiceology has steadily grown and opened a new production facility in the Playfair Commerce Park earlier this year that brought process automation to the company’s blends, allowing it to increase production volume.

The company, founded in 2013 by executive chef Pete Taylor and food blogger Heather Scholten of Farmgirl Gourmet, sells more than 300 spices, salts, blends and herbs as well as fruit and vegetable powders, according to its website.

In August, Spiceology was named the fastest-growing Spokane-area company on the Inc. 5000 list for the second year in a row, ranking 903 with three-year revenue growth of 537%. Last year, it ranked 1,081 with three-year revenue growth of 423%.

In addition to Nordstrom, Spiceology is in discussions with other retailers to feature its products in stores.

“We have a very strong pipeline of potential partners that we’re having discussions with all the time,” Overstreet said. “It makes it a lot easier to build those channels when you’ve got that combination of a distinctive, unique, beautiful brand coupled with a fantastic product.”