Special moments at Orordinary times.

Just about twenty years ago, my husband and I met at an agricultural program for high school students at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. Our shared love for agriculture and the environment brought us closer together as high school sweethearts. Fast forward ten years, we got married, started our careers, was blessed with an amazing tribe, and later found a home in the Bronzeville area of Chicago, IL, with a spacious backyard perfect for gardening. Together, we recreated a beautiful garden, a dream we always shared and had two beautiful babies.

In the past we often talked about gardening with our children and introducing them to the wonders of agriculture and the environment. This passion led to a deeper desire to provide wellness opportunities for children and create special moments for families.

Growing up, tea was a cherished tradition in my family. My mother, a dedicated nurse for over 35 years, introduced tea to my brothers and I as a way to heal, spark intriguing conversations, explore new flavors, tackle homework, and, most importantly, create special moments at ordinary times. Starting in 2023, each night my one year old daughter and I started enjoying our own tea moments as I , introduced her to different teas from our garden somewhat like my Mom and I would do growing up.

As these moments filled my heart with joy, I had an idea on how to help parents nurture their children and create more peaceful moments. The recurring thought was to create wellness opportunities for young ones and foster special times between parents and children. God planted this thought so deeply in me I couldn’t let it go for months!! Yall, God sent numerous people and even a business coach to encourage me. Soon, my one-year-old son also started enjoying tea too and I new this was something bigger than me and our family. From these cherished moments, Teas for Tots was born.

Our Connection to the South Side

Teas for Tots is a South Side story at its core—not just because we’re rooted in Bronzeville, but because we reflect the South Side's deep legacy of resilience, creativity, and care for the community. I’m a Black woman entrepreneur and a South Side native, and this business was born out of needing to resolve my child’s teething pain and a desire to help others in our community address similar issues. From setting up at local farmers markets like the South Loop to collaborating with other South Side wellness brands, we’ve added our teas to the community. But we’re not just selling tea—we’re nurturing wellness, togetherness, and generational care.

What We Do

Teas for Tots LLC is a family-owned wellness brand creating herbal teas and syrups that support both children and adults with everyday health needs. Our products are gentle, safe, and effective—formulated to help families with common challenges like calming tantrums, easing teething, and creating peaceful bedtime routines. Some of our signature teas include Tantrum Tamer, Don’t Teethe Me, and The Royal Lullaby, which is known for its magical, natural color-changing properties. We also recently introduced two new tea lines, the Legacy Blends Collection, an adult line designed to support adult and more specifically parental wellness. Our teas support the anxious and sleep deprived parent. Our second tea line, Tea for Teens, was created to support Gen Z/AB as they matriculate through puberty. Every product is made with intention—using organic ingredients, kid-friendly formulations, and a focus on creating special moments between caregivers and children at the most ordinary times.

Impact on Family & Community

Teas for Tots is changing the conversation around family wellness in Black and Brown communities.

  • We’ve created a gentle, accessible wellness product that gives families an alternative to harsh medications for sleep and teething support. For example, a parent told us that Don’t Teethe Me was the first thing that helped their toddler rest through the night without medication. While tea is not a cure, it can be another tool in the parental tool kit that can provide a natural solution to everyday issues.

  • The way we approach our product itself is not just as a wellness remedy, but as a ritual that builds family connection. Each of our blends was created to solve a real challenge for parents—soothing tantrums, easing teething pain, calming nighttime energy—but they’re also meant to be enjoyed together. Our packaging and storytelling encourage caregivers to slow down, share a cup, and make tea time a calming ritual instead of a rushed remedy. That small shift has turned our teas into memory-makers for families.

  • We’ve also been able to provide paid opportunities for local businesses (by buying locally) and contracting with Chicago’s South Side creatives from photographers to graphic illustrators. These opportunities help circulate dollars within the South Side business community and economy.

Our Journey

Teas for Tots started as a solution for my own family. I wanted natural remedies that I could trust for my children—gentle, beautiful, and effective teas that brought joy and calm into our lives. When I couldn’t find what I needed, I started blending my own teas at home. Friends and family quickly became customers. That spark turned into Teas for Tots, launched in April 2024. In August 2024, I was laid off from one of the top 4 consulting firms after coming back from maternity leave. Then, I decided to bring Teas for Tots to the community.

Notable memories include our very first day at the Bronzeville Farmers Market, where we sold out of Royal Lullaby tea and met dozens of families who said, “I’ve never seen anything like this.” I’ve been bootstrapping since day one, pouring my own savings into growing the brand, and every new blend or collaboration is a labor of love.

Creativity in Action

Creativity is at the heart of everything we do at Teas for Tots—from the vibrant, magical color-changing teas we design to the way we connect with families through storytelling and sensory experiences. One of our most successful creative strategies has been our interactive farmers market setup. Rather than simply selling products from behind a table, we built a kid-friendly, multi-sensory display where families could engage with the ingredients. Children were invited to touch dried lavender, smell fresh lemon balm, and watch how the tea colors transformed with citrus. This hands-on experience created lasting impressions, turning curious passersby into loyal customers and making our booth a go-to destination for families.

Another creative pivot was the launch of our Legacy Blends Collection. We noticed that parents were frequently buying teas like Tantrum Tamer for themselves, because they enjoyed the gentle calming effects. Instead of seeing this as a mismatch, we leaned in and developed a line of teas specifically for adults—focusing on stress relief, hormone balance, and energy. This pivot allowed us to expand our customer base and communicate that Teas for Tots is not just for children, but for families as a whole.

Future Plans / Vision

At Teas for Tots™, we’re preparing to launch single-serve travel wellness kits for airport kiosks and coffee shops, with our first targets being Midway International Airport on Chicago’s Southwest Side and two Chicago coffee shops that align with our wellness-focused brand. These TSA-compliant kits will feature our handcrafted tea blends in child-friendly, wellness-forward packaging—perfect for travelers and coffee shop customers seeking a calming, high-quality beverage on the go. Airports and coffee shops together give us the perfect mix of visibility, convenience, and community connection.

To bring this project to life, we’re partnering with local co-manufacturers to scale production while preserving our small-batch quality. The launch requires $10,000, allocated as follows:

  • $3,000–$4,000 for custom, TSA-compliant packaging design and initial bulk print runs

  • $2,500–$3,500 for initial co-manufacturing production runs

    • Tea blend inventory and accessories:

      • 250 paper tubes – $748.00

      • Custom labels – $350.00

      • Gift boxes – $677.50

      • Printed inserts – $750.00

      • Loose-leaf tea blend inventory – $1,100.00

  • $1,000–$1,500 for safety testing, labeling, and wholesale compliance

  • $500–$1,000 for product sampling kits to pitch to airport concession buyers, coffee shop owners, and airline lounges

Winning South Side Pitch would allow us to launch at Midway and in two Chicago coffee shops, creating both a national travel retail presence and a local community footprint—all while keeping the handcrafted integrity that defines Teas for Tots™.

What Sets Us Apart

In Bronzeville and the wider South Side, there are few businesses that center both wellness and family bonding in the way that Teas for Tots does. We’re filling a much-needed gap in our neighborhood by offering not just products, but a mindset shift. We are building a space where wellness is accessible, culturally resonant, and shared between generations. This approach doesn’t just solve a product problem; it meets an emotional and cultural need for our community.

Awards & Recognition

Teas for Tots has been selected for several business development programs that have accelerated our growth and refined our business strategy:

  • HOPE CENTER ARISE Program (Graduate) – hosted by Salem Baptist Church and the HOPE CENTER, supporting underrepresented and women founders

  • Sunshine Enterprises’ Community Business Academy – providing foundational skills in finance, marketing, and operations

  • Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Build Bronzeville – supporting businesses by providing individualized business advising and technical assistance

  • Thriving Leaders Cohort – hosted by Little Black Pearl, which supports emerging wellness brands on the South Side of Chicago