2 Chicks with Scents and Sustainability

In 2015, the United States generated about 262 million tons of municipal waste. About 35 million tons of that came from plastic products, and almost 7 million tons came from glass. With these figures, it’s easy to see why it is so important that we do everything we can to help the environment and support businesses that do the same.

This is why we here at Panacea value sustainability, recycling, and upcycling as a way to help our environment. We offer reusable growlers and encourage you to bring your own containers to be filled with your favorite kombucha. We also have reusable cups. But we don’t stop there. We also like to partner with other local business owners that use their businesses to promote sustainability, recycling, and upcycling.

Bitsy Crawford and Kara Rider Two Chicks with Scents Wilmington NC

One of these local businesses is 2 Chicks with Scents owned by Bitsy Crawford and Kara Ryder.

It all started when owner Bitsy’s medical issues made her job as a chef too difficult to manage. She began making candles and other health products with essential oils in her home. Pretty soon friends and family began asking for her products and before she knew it, 2 Chicks with Scents was born. Officially started in 2012, 2 Chicks with Scents became a sustainable business that prompts health and wellness through essential oils, crystals, aromatherapy.

Two Chicks with Scents Products

Now, almost seven years later, Bitsy and her partner Kara make salves, balms, element sprays, bath salts, soy candles, and essential oil blends. When they first started, they sourced mason jars from China, but soon realized the unneccesary waste and expense. Then they poured candles into whatever containers they had available. Even as 2 Chicks with Scents grew, they kept with the theme of recycling and upcycling, and even added in a way to support other local businesses.

Two Chicks With Scents upcycled candles

All of the candles are hand poured at 2 Chicks with Scents into recycled or upcycled containers from the community. Friends and customers give old jars, teacups, and even beer bottles to Bitsy and Kara to use for their candles. In fact, Panacea saves the old Unity Vibrations bottles we sell and donate them to Bitsy to use for her business.

Two Chicks With Scents Herb and Crystal Candles

2 Chicks with Scents gets all of the pottery they use from local artists. These products are not just for candles. After the candles have burned out, you can use these containers as drinking glasses, pen or toothbrush holders, or for anything you need around your home or office. You can even bring the containers back to themfor a discounted candle refill. By doing this, 2 Chicks with Scents encourages their customers upcycle and recycle.

This is true even with the soy candles. The 2 Chicks team uses locally sourced soy for their products, which also double as a moisturizer. While many people think that candles are single use items, you can enjoy 2 Chicks with Scents’ candles and use the wax as a natural moisturizer, making a typically single-use item a multi-use item.

But 2 Chicks with Scents does more than just recycle and upcycle. They also make sure that all of their products come from companies that care about the environment just as much as they do.

The wooden wicks that they used are bought from Wooden Wicks, a small company based out of Oregon, that sustainability creates its products and helps plant more trees in the environment. Also, all the crystals that 2 Chicks with Scents are sustainability and naturally gathered. All of the plastic products that Bitsy and Kara use are BPA free, and when they need to buy jars for candles, they buy from a company that makes the jars from recycled glass.

2 Chicks with Scent sustainably provides Wilmington and the surrounding areas with great products all while helping support other local businesses. You can find their products at Madame Meerkat’s Cabinet of Curiosities, Going Local, local Farmers Markets, and on their website. Help support 2 Chicks with Scents as they support sustainability, recycling, and upcycling in our community.

2019 Price Increase

Price Increase.jpg

We’ve been working diligently to review our costs and increase our productivity to avoid pricing changes for the last two years, but the truth is we should have raised prices a long time ago. We’ve found that selling more kombucha at the same price just isn’t enough to cover inflation and the increased overhead we’ve incurred with our growth. We can no longer continue to organically grow our business just by working harder.

Rent, insurance, payroll, utilities, raw materials, equipment…every cost associated with running our business has skyrocketed as we’ve grown, and the increase goes beyond what we can absorb.

We won’t compromise quality or community.

Sure, there are ways to cut costs. Buy tea that’s not organic. Pay your employees less. Stop supporting local farmers by purchasing their produce for flavoring. Streamline our offerings to just a few flavors. Limit hours of operation. Augment the brewing process to speed it up. But that’s not how we do things.

Beginning January 1st, 2019, prices will increase on the majority of our products because it is important to us to be able to continue to offer the quality, availability, and service our customers deserve. While price increases are rarely welcomed by the producer or the consumer, we are thankful to still be able to offer our craft kombucha at a price below both the national and state average even with the increase. We’re thankful for your continued patronage and appreciate your loyal support as we keep working hard to expand our grassroots family business.

2019 Pricing

New Pint fill plus mini growler $7, Refill Pint $4

New Liter fill plus liter growler $11.50, Refill Liter $7.50

New Growler fill plus 64 oz growler $19, Refill Growler $14

Retro Wednesdays Special Every Week in 2019 $16 New 64oz Growlers, $11 for 64 oz Growler Refill

artnrobinthanks.jpg

 With your support, our business will continue to grow in 2019. Thank you!     











Look out 2019!

Picture_20180106_090330986.jpg

Phew, it’s been a crazy 2018! In fact, the entire past 2 1/2 years seem like a bit of a blur to us; it seems like we’ve been running trying to catch up with this business ever since we launched.  This community has been so good to us, allowing us to grow beyond our expectations, and for that we are supremely grateful. Here’s a look at where we’re headed in the next year and where we’ve come from. Buckle Up!

In 2019, we’re looking forward to some great things:

  • We’re launching our single use kombucha bottles to wholesalers. This means you could potentially get Panacea Kombucha just about ANYWHERE in New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick Counties. Wait till you see the fab bottle design by local Wilmington experts Ebbing Branding and Design.

  • We’re debuting our alcoholic products. That’s right, we got our federal brewing license this year and are working on recipes right now. Local kombucha beer on the way!

  • We’re moving our taproom! YES, more space, more taps, more fun coming your way! Where? Well, that’s a bit of a puzzle at the moment, but we’ll let you know as soon as we know!

If you’re a new fan of Panacea, or if you’ve followed along since our very first pour, here’s a quick walk down memory lane:

  • Panacea launched from the Burgaw Incubator Kitchen with an opening brewing capacity of 20 gallons in August 2016.

  • In 2017 we rented a small commercial space to expand our brewing capacity and we worked farmers markets 6 days a week through fall.

  • In October 2017 we opened the doors to our tiny taproom. Our brewing capacity increased from 340 gallons to 1400 gallons.

  • In 2018 we grew our team from 2 to 7 employees and moved into our new production brewery which has allowed us to increase our capacity to 2600 gallons.

We’re so glad you’re along for the ride! Thanks for an amazing year!