Growing Wellness, Legacy, and Black Entrepreneurship from the Soil Up: Dr. Nettles Natural Beauty
Growing Wellness, Legacy, and Black Entrepreneurship from the Soil Up: Dr. Nettles Natural Beauty
“We are creating more than a company, we are building a legacy rooted in integrity, sustainability, education, and service.” – Dr. Nettles.
For years, Dr. Nettles worked in healthcare, helping patients with chronic conditions and seeing the impact of overall health, not just medication. She worked as a pharmacist and understood the role prescriptions can play, but she also knew how nutrition, lifestyle, and preventive care can affect a person’s well-being. Those experiences strengthened her desire to help families make better choices and understand the relationship between what they eat and how they feel.
Instead of accepting the problem, she pursued a deeper solution, one that led her from the pharmacy to the farm. She committed herself to being a part of the solution in the community. Her background in healthcare, her faith, and her family’s connection to farming eventually led her in a new direction.
Today, that work has grown into Dr. Nettles Natural Beauty and Dr. Nettles USDA Organic Farm.
From Pharmacist to Founder: The Journey Behind Dr. Nettles Natural Beauty
“My journey to founding Dr. Nettles Natural Beauty began through my career as a pharmacist and healthcare professional,” she shared. Her experience helped her realize that some of the ailments affecting her patients needed more than medication. They needed a lifestyle and nutrition change and better access to preventive healthcare.
Her healthcare experience also showed her that what happens outside the doctor’s office, including nutrition, daily habits, and access to good information, can affect a person’s health.
That realization drove her to explore how natural, plant-based wellness could complement traditional healthcare, and the further she went, the clearer her path became. “I realized I could make an even greater impact by growing the plants myself,” she said.
That decision led her to launch Dr. Nettles USDA Organic Farm and Dr. Nettles Natural Beauty, where herbs are cultivated using USDA Organic practices that protect the environment and produce clean, nutrient-dense ingredients.
“Every tea, botanical blend, and wellness product is developed with the same commitment to quality, safety, and evidence-based care that guided me throughout my healthcare career.” That combination is what makes her story so powerful during Black Business Month.
Where Heritage meets Healing
“Dr. Nettles Natural Beauty is built on a foundation of family heritage, healthcare, and a deep respect for the healing power of nature,” she said. Growing up, she learned the importance of hard work, care for others, and respect for the land that provides food and medicine.
Those values continue to guide the business today. Every product reflects the same devotion, safety, and evidence-based care that shaped Dr. Nettles’ healthcare career. Her business bridges professional healthcare, ancestral plant knowledge, and community-centered wellness education.
She offers products such as Alabama Sunrise Yaupon Tea, Gulf Coast Yaupon Matcha, elderberry, butterfly blossom, turmeric, and wellness blends. These reflect her passion for her community, sustainability, and regional identity. But what makes the business truly distinct is its connection to the soil.
Amplified Mission: The Impact of Vivian’s Door
Participating as a vendor at a Vivian’s Door event gave Dr. Nettles more than a chance to sell products. It gave her an opportunity to explain the story behind them.
As a pharmacist, healthcare professional, herbalist, and USDA Organic farmer, she was able to speak directly with customers about how many of the herbs used in her products are grown on her family farm and why organic practices, natural wellness, and transparency matter to her business.
Those conversations helped customers see more than a product on a table. They were able to meet the person behind the brand, ask questions, and better understand the care and knowledge that go into what she creates. For Dr. Nettles, that face-to-face interaction helped build trust.
The impact continued beyond the event. Some of the customers she met continued following the business, supported her at farmers’ markets, and referred family and friends. She also connected with other entrepreneurs, creating opportunities to exchange ideas and strengthen relationships within the local business community.
The experience reinforced something important for Dr. Nettles: people are not only looking for quality products. They are also looking for authentic businesses with a story, a purpose, and a genuine connection to the communities they serve.
Overcoming the Challenges of Building an Organic Wellness Brand
Access to capital was another significant hurdle, as investments in organic certification, irrigation systems, specialized equipment, inventory, and packaging required substantial funding long before the business generated consistent revenue.
Dr. Nettles described one of her biggest challenges as “transforming a vision for high-quality, USDA Organic, farm-grown wellness products into a scalable business while maintaining the highest standards for quality and sustainability.”
For her, entrepreneurship includes far more than product development. For her, entrepreneurship is more than just developing the product. It means learning to balance it all from the farming, harvesting, processing, packaging, labeling, regulatory requirements, marketing, and direct customer engagement.
Despite the inherent challenges of farming, such as weather conditions, seasonal cycles, and rising production costs, Dr. Nettles is unwavering. Her impactful experience with a community at the Vivians door event also reinforced her confidence in her mission.
A Promise Rooted in Integrity
Attaining USDA Organic certification is one of her greatest achievements. For Dr. Nettles, the certification is not merely a qualification; it is a promise. “It stands for much more than just a label,” she said. It reflects her commitment to providing high-quality products to her customers and promoting health and wellness to the community.
We pledge to our customers that our herbs are grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and that we are committed to protecting the environment while producing exceptional-quality products.
This promise shows the excellence, accountability, creativity, and commitment found in Black entrepreneurship. Dr. Nettles’ business proves that you can succeed without giving up your integrity.
Cultivating Wellness Beyond the Farm
Education is one of the main ways Dr. Nettles helps her community. “We believe informed consumers make healthier choices,” she said. Through her programs, she teaches people about medicinal herbs, preventive wellness, sustainable farming, and how healthy soil leads to healthy plants and communities.
One of her most meaningful projects is a Senior Community Garden she helped put together, which is run in partnership with a local senior center. “Each week, we teach hands-on gardening classes that empower older adults to grow their own vegetables, herbs, and medicinal plants,” she said.
These classes encourage healthy eating, physical activity, lifelong learning, and social connection. The garden is more than just a program. It shows that when businesses focus on service, they become facilitators of change in the community.
Dr. Nettles also volunteers as a Master Gardener and docent at the Mobile Botanical Gardens. There, she teaches visitors about sustainable gardening, native plants, and the importance of protecting natural resources.
She also teaches classes for both youth and adults about the history, growing, and health benefits of medicinal herbs.
A Legacy for the Next Generation
“The legacy I hope to leave is one of education, health, and stewardship,” she said. She wants Dr. Nettles USDA Organic Farm to remind people that caring for the land and caring for their health are connected.
This vision matches the spirit of Black Business Month. Black Business Month is also a reminder to look beyond the purchase and recognize the work, sacrifice, and community impact behind Black-owned businesses.
It’s about seeing that every business owner has a unique story, and some stories can heal, teach, and inspire. Dr. Nettles’ journey shows that Black entrepreneurs often build with a strong sense of responsibility.
They are not just asking, “What can I sell?” They are also asking, “Who can I serve? What can I teach? What can I preserve? What can I leave behind?”
A Call to Celebrate and Support
This Black Business Month, Dr. Nettles’ story is both a celebration and a call to action. Support Dr. Nettles and her work by visiting her at local farmers’ markets, attending educational workshops, volunteering in community garden projects, purchasing her USDA Organic teas and herbal products, and sharing her story with others.
Every act of support helps expand people’s access to wellness education, helps strengthen community outreach, and preserve the Gulf Coast’s agricultural heritage. Supporting Dr. Nettles’ work helps her continue educating the community, growing her outreach, and sharing the agricultural traditions that shape her business.
Be sure to connect with Dr. Nettles by visiting her website here https://drnettlesbeauty.com/
And connect with her on Facebook HERE and Instagram HERE
This feature is part of Vivian’s Door’s Entrepreneurship & Legacy Series, created in recognition of Black Business Month and Black Philanthropy Month, and featured in the Vivian’s Door Media Hub. The series shares the stories of entrepreneurs, leaders, and changemakers who are building wealth, creating opportunity, strengthening community, and creating a legacy for future generations.
Watch the Full Interview → HERE
Explore More Stories in the Vivian’s Door Media Hub
One response to “Growing Wellness, Legacy, and Black Entrepreneurship from the Soil Up: Dr. Nettles Natural Beauty”
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This is an inspiring article. Congratulations Dr. Nettles, keep up the good work.