By Sarah Stoesz
A Fishers brother and sister are becoming budding entrepreneurs after formulating their own line of organic floral tisane beverages.
On July 30, John and Andrea Burkhardt and John’s wife Alecia competed in the Hottest Kitchen Entrepreneur Challenge. The third annual challenge was sponsored by Ivy Tech Community College and Reliable Water Services. The Burkhardts presented organic floral tisanes from their startup business, Petality, to a panel of six judges.
“It was a really fun experience for us,” John Burkhardt said. “Going in, we were just confident that the beauty of flowers would sweep the judges off their feet.” Petality won first place in the startup category against two other finalists.
The Burkhardts decided to create their own line of beverages after discovering the world of authentic flower tisanes. “With the unique flavors and health benefits, we really just dove right in and have been loving it ever since,” Burkhardt said.
After the birth of John and Alecia’s daughter, Annabelle, the Burkhardts became more health conscious and decided to switch to organic foods. As tea drinkers, they realized a need for their product. “With healthy beverages on the market, it seems like there aren’t that many low sugar options that are organic,” said Andrea Burkhardt.
They spent over a year coming up with their original recipes. They had brew fests in which they would spend hours brewing and experimenting with different flower petals. Their goal was to showcase the flower in its truest form.
“We really wanted to do some of the key floral tisanes throughout history,” John Burkhardt said. “We really wanted to start there and do those rightly.” The Burkhardts’ mission is to allow people to experience the complete enjoyment of flowers.
“It was really born out of a passion for beauty, a pure delight in flowers, and enjoyment of good health. Those passions all merged into Petality,” he said.
Floral beverages are not as common on the market. The Burkhardts are working hard to reintroduce these historical floral tisanes.
“It has been really enjoyable to watch it blossom in a way,” said Alecia Burkhardt. “Just to see the simple enjoyment that someone can have getting to taste a red hibiscus flower has been fun.”
In the future, the Burkhardts hope to sell their product in local organic grocery stores and restaurants. They already have presales on their product.
To learn more about Petality, visit www.petality.org.
