Image for Local Profile: Roots Essential

Roots Essential was started in 2015 by local female entrepreneur Evangeline Stacy. She creates therapeutic bath and body care products in small batches using plant-based ingredients and recyclable, locally sourced packaging. No synthetic chemicals or fragrances, fillers, artificial colors, petroleum, formaldehyde or parabens are ever used. This guarantees clean, safe hygiene options rich in beneficial plant-based properties. You’ll find their aromatic fine mist sprays, essential-oil-based body lotions, therapeutic bath soaks and all-natural vegan soaps in our Wellness department. Located in Wayzata, Roots Essential has been providing their certified non-GMO and cruelty-free products to Mississippi Market Co-op shoppers since August 2018.

Prior to founding Roots Essential, Stacy worked as a sports massage therapist with both the University of Minnesota football team and the Minnesota Timberwolves. During this time, she began creating therapeutic bath soaks and body lotions to assist clients in sports injury rehab. As a practitioner of Ayurvedic massage and cooking, Stacy incorporated plant-based ingredients into her homemade body care formulas. The healing properties of plants have been shown to boost immunity, reduce inflammation and stress, aid muscle relaxation and repair, and assist in improving sleep habits. Using organic ingredients, including coconut, peppermint, and lavender essential oil, these lotions and oils became such a hit with her clients that she decided to produce them wholesale. Today, Stacy continues making Roots Essential bath and body care products by hand with help from family. By doing so, she is able to keep overhead costs low and passes those savings on to you in the form of affordable, clean products.

Roots Essential prioritizes a holistic approach to health and wellness. For example, by using a sustainable sourcing standard, they opt to obtain raw product ingredients from small, reputable farmers and ethically operating essential oil distillers. This core value can also be seen in their use of responsibly sourced amber glass containers that are reusable and recyclable. This packaging protects their products from harmful UV rays while ensuring optimal potency. It also enables a reduction in packaging waste heading to landfills.

Furthering Roots Essential’s holistic philosophy, they partner with the nonprofit Clean the World Foundation. The foundation is a global health organization committed to improving quality of life for vulnerable communities through access to personal hygiene products and sustainable sanitation solutions. A percentage of all Roots Essential net sales is donated to the foundation, supporting their efforts to reduce body care waste from the hospitality industry. Rescued personal hygiene items are then distributed to those affected by poverty, homelessness, humanitarian crises, and natural disasters around the world. Over the past 10 years, Clean the World Foundation has distributed more than 48 million bars of recovered soap to 10 million people in over 127 countries. Your purchase of Roots Essential personal care products directly supports these noble efforts.