Tea company starts operations in Franklin County
Franklin County, once billed as the moonshine capital of the world, may soon be know for another popular beverage.
Tea manufacturing company Traditional Medicinals announced the start of operations at its new Franklin County plant on Monday. It is the company's second manufacturing site, joining its original facility in Sebastopol, California, and marks the company's move to bicoastal manufacturing as it works to meet growing consumer demand for botanical wellness products nationwide.
Traditional Medicinals broke ground on its new $47 million, 110,000 square foot manufacturing facility in July 2025 at Summit View Business Park, located off U.S. 220 between Boones Mill and Rocky Mount. The company emphasized local construction, with all partners regionally based, and plans to continue that effort by hiring local talent, creating 19 new jobs.
Tea company Traditional Medicinals announced Monday it has started operations at its Franklin County manufacturing plant located at Summit View Business Park.
“This is a proud moment for our team and for Franklin County,” said Joe Stanziano, CEO of Traditional Medicinals, in a news release Monday. “We didn't just build a facility here — we built relationships, hired locally, and listened to this community every step of the way. This is just the start of what we hope will be a long and mutually rewarding partnership with Virginia.”
The first product run at the new facility is for Throat Coat Tea, one of Traditional Medicinals’ best-selling products, which has local significance. One of its key ingredients, slippery elm, is sourced domestically throughout Appalachia. Traditional Medicinals also supports ongoing research into the slippery elm tree through a partnership with Virginia Tech, according to the release.
The Sebastopol facility will continue operating at full capacity, producing Traditional Medicinals’ full line of more than 60 herbal teas, while Virginia ramps up to produce the same. The Virginia facility’s proximity to East Coast transportation networks will support the company’s ethical sourcing relationships with herb suppliers in more than 35 countries while improving distribution efficiency to the East Coast, the release said.
The start of operations is a long time coming in Franklin County. Plans for the new plant were announced in January 2020. The global pandemic a few months later paused plans for five years. Work restarted again in 2025 with announcement of a groundbreaking.
“Since we broke ground, it's been remarkable to watch this site go from an empty field to a working facility, together with this community,” said Steve Bess, plant director of Traditional Medicinals' Virginia facility. “None of it would have happened without Rocky Mount and Franklin County’s support and collaboration, and we're proud to call this community home.”
Jason Dunovant (540) 981-3324
Related
A groundbreaking event was held at Summit View Business Park in Franklin County on Tuesday to mark the start of construction on Traditional Me…
