How Boreal Folk Apothecary Manages Their Authentic Business Model

We managed to track down Raphaelle Gagnon, co-owner, co-creator and formulator of husband-and-wife team Boreal Folk Apothecary. Living a nomadic lifestyle deep in the Canadian Forests, Raphelle and her husband source and process Boreal Folk Apothecary’s natural skin care products entirely by hand, creating a unique and sustainably-sourced business that has proven to be a big hit with consumers worldwide!

Hello! Perhaps you could introduce yourself?

My name is Raphaelle Gagnon, I am the co-owner, co-creator and formulator of Boreal Folk Apothecary (my husband is the other half). This is the first business we’ve launched together, we started back in 2015. It’s now both of our full time jobs.

Tell us more about your business.

Boreal Folk Apothecary handcrafts natural skincare products are made from sustainably wildcrafted botanicals from Canada’s forests. We live in a 1967 bus, and converted a trailer into our mobile studio. Since 2015, we’ve been living remotely and creating our line of goods in the forest. My inspiration stemmed from my background in silviculture. I planted over 2.3 million trees over the span of 9 years and became fascinated with the Boreal Forest and our diverse Canadian resources. We handcraft each product with plants we mindfully gather ourselves and then process to make a sustainably sourced product and packaged in recyclable or biodegradable packaging.

What does your business look like today?

Our business grows each year and thus far it is still my husband & I who operate it. Soon we will need a team of people to help us continue to grow.

What are you working on at the moment? What are your future plans?

We are working towards creating a larger production facility. For the past 5 years we operated in 99 square feet but as our business grows we need more stability and space. We love working towards improving our products and growing our customer base by sharing our authentic lifestyle.

What are your biggest challenges? What motivates you?

Our most freeing aspect (being mobile) is also our biggest challenge since operating with less than 100 square feet and sometimes not having access to power or running water can be challenging. It’s also been more than rewarding to create our business in such a way that we’re able to wake up next to herds of wild horses and create our products in the heart of the wilderness.

What is the best business advice you can share with others?

Stay Authentic to your ethos and really dive into the “why” behind your motives.

Could you recommend any books, movies, podcasts, learning materials?

To be honest, we live in the woods and dance to the beat of our own drum. We don’t listen to podcasts, read books or take in much outside information when it comes to business.