Our President

The founder and president of Naturally Nova Scotia, Nancy Smithers, began her love affair with herbs in 1993. Nancy began researching local wild plants under the apprenticeship of an herbalist friend. She foraged over the diverse terrains of Nova Scotia, discovering the many medicinal herbs growing in marshes and woodlands, sometimes wondering if she had lost her mind. While she had deep family roots in nature, Nancy's main inspiration came from her sister, a physiotherapist interested in using natural healing remedies in her practice. Nancy and her sister found that despite the centuries of traditional herbal knowledge passed down from early medicine man to modern practitioner, high quality organic remedies were difficult to source.

Nancy's rudimentary herbal tincture production began in her kitchen. She harvested fresh herbs and packed them in amber glass bottles using the Folk Method, filling them to the rim with ethyl alcohol. "I had to put a secure lock on my wine cellar at home in order to legally be able to use ethanol. The liquor commission had to come and approve the cellar and the lock!" she laughs. Nancy remembers, "the kitchen looked like a disaster area with dirt and herb dropping everywhere." She tried to chop yellow dock, a large dense tuberous root, with a kitchen knife which kept breaking, and left her hands so sore that she could not move them for days. The many aches and pains she endured turned into realizations that fuelled her passion for the craft.

Throughout the 1990s, Nancy attended the Wild Rose College of Natural Healing, taking courses in Vitamins and Minerals, Human Physiology, as well as Herbology. This education helped guide her through to the realization of Naturally Nova Scotia; from modest roots to the branching international markets the company thrives in today.

This unique company started out in one entrepreneurial woman's kitchen and grew into a 250-acre farmstead. It is now a successful leading producer and processor of certified organic nutritional supplements, employing over 40 staff on the scenic eastern shore of Nova Scotia. Nancy continues to work hands on within the company and can sometimes be seen loading the freeze dryers and chopping herbs with a heavy machete. Her infatuation with her company has continued to blossom over the years as product development expanded into herbal capsules, whole food vitamins, superfoods, antioxidants, etc.

Despite the immense company and product line growth over the years, Nancy stands by her original company philosophies and practices; producing certified organic, whole food/herb products that are each created using the best technologies available to ensure the most densely nourishing finished product. This long standing integrity has engendered immense consumer confidence and a global Naturally Nova Scotia following.