Our Mission
IMPROVE the lives of spice farmers by directly sourcing from small, sustainable farms.
INSPIRE culinary creativity by crafting blends that celebrate unique flavors from around the world.
We value organic, fair trade ingredients, supporting women, and enriching our local community – and making sure we all have the chance to eat well.
We're Changing the Narrative of Spice Trade and Production
We specialize in directly sourced spices from small farmers and women farmers sourced locally and globally.
We pay above Fair Trade price – sometimes as much as ten times the commodity rate – for spices that burst with flavor.
We give back through fundraising efforts via our Curio for a Cause campaigns, which support gender equality, climate resilience and community empowerment.
We instill in every product a respect for the land and the farmers who grow our spices, alongside a sense of wonder for the rare flavors available to us.
We’re a Certified Woman Owned B Corp.™
The Women Owned logo ensures we’ve been certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) as a company that’s at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by women.
Being a Certified B Corporation® means we’re part of a global movement of for-profit companies that use the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
These independent certifications back up what we believe in: supporting women, protecting the planet, and holding ourselves to high standards for social and environmental responsibility.
At Curio, we want to change the way spices are produced and traded, while creating unique spice blends that celebrate a sense of place and uplift the people who make them possible. As a Woman Owned B Corp™, we’re committed to doing business in a way that serves both our community and our planet.
How are we pursuing our mission?
We work directly with spice farms and pay above fair trade prices for spices grown with the highest standards in environmental and social responsibility. We also PRE-PAY farmers to assist with their cash flow.
Sourcing from origin highlights the terroir of spices from specific regions (just like wine), adding edible luxury, creativity and intense flavor to your cooking.
By sourcing specialty spices directly we are working to disrupt conventional supply chains and reverse the exploitive practices put in place due to colonization. Commodity spices are built on a system that keeps people in poverty around the world, and continues a history of exploitive practices built by white people. We strive to de-commodify and decolonize the spice trade.
We are 100% women owned, and we seek to support gender equality and female empowerment by sourcing from women-owned businesses as well as spice cooperatives that contribute to female education and improved livelihoods.
We continue to discuss racism and allyship as a team, sharing resources to further education in our DEIJ program. We are working together to identify changes we need to make in our business, especially as we grow, and using our creative strengths to deepen the material impact we have in the area of social responsibility.
We strive to make an impact on climate resilience by doing the following: choosing ocean freight for imports whenever possible, sourcing organically produced spices and herbs whenever possible, sourcing locally for packaging, spices and services locally whenever possible.
At both our production facility and storefront we participate in composting programs, water monitoring and low energy devices.
We support our community and local economy by sourcing from Massachusetts and New England farms.
The Lab @ Curio, our culinary education hub, is our community space where we host free and ticketed events to engage with and support our community. We also contribute to local education initiatives in the greater Boston area where Curio is based.
Approximately 70% of the spices used to make our blends are certified organic. Organic spice production ensures that no herbicides, pesticides or synthetic inputs were used to grow or process the spices. We NEVER use fillers or additives of any kind.
The packaging for our Signature line is made here in the U.S. and is recyclable. We also source from 22 New England farms, to support our community and bring you a fresher product. We use glass jars and metal lids for our pure spices and classic blends, both infinitely recyclable.
Founder Claire Cheney traverses the world to meet our farmers. Forming direct relationships at origin ensures transparency from the farm to your kitchen and ensures you receive a premium product that is making a positive impact.
Curio's Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that Curio Spice Co. operates on the traditional and ancestral land of the Massachusett, Naumkeag, and Pawtucket peoples, the original inhabitants of what is now known as Cambridge and Winchester. In our work here at Curio—sourcing, blending and storytelling about spices—we strive to honor this native land and its people through transparent information and direct-sourcing including sourcing from small local farms on this land and its waters (the Atlantic) and wild foragers who continue traditions of low-impact gathering.
As Americans, we must all strive to learn about the history of the land we inhabit and its people, including the legacy of displacement, forced migration, disease and disruption that was forced on the Indigenous people of North America through colonization. As members of this country and as citizens of our global community here at Curio we stive to continually pay our respects to the people of the Massachusett Tribe, past and present, and honor the land itself which remains sacred to the Massachusett, Naumkeag, and Pawtucket Peoples.
