Gathering Place Trading

Gathering Place Trading We’re a family business based in Campbell River, BC. We direct source the best organic spices & more! BC local business! Vancouver Island family owned.

We sell organic & fair trade spices, vanilla, artisan sea salt, & teas. Shop online and in stores. We source only the finest hand-harvested products. We connect face-to-face with other family farms around the world so we can deliver their bounty to you. Gather 'round beautiful products from a world of family farms at www.gatheringplacetrading.com

From cozy fall baking and warming drinks to holiday recipes and late-season preserving, October is full of reasons to re...
10/03/2026

From cozy fall baking and warming drinks to holiday recipes and late-season preserving, October is full of reasons to reach for your favourite seasonal blends.

Save 15% all October long on:

🎃 Pumpkin Spice - warm and aromatic, with Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Allspice, and Clove. A fall classic for pumpkin baking, oatmeal, lattes and more.

🍎 Apple Spice - a cozy blend of Cinnamon, Cardamom, Nutmeg, and Ginger. Made for apple pies, crisps, muffins, pancakes, and baked fruit.

🍪 Gingerbread Spice - rich, warming, and ready for gingerbread cookies, cakes, loaves, and other holiday baking.

☕ Chai Spice - an aromatic in-house blend for homemade chai, lattes, baking, oatmeal, and anywhere you want those classic warming chai flavours.

🍷 Mulling Spice - a fragrant blend of whole spices for warming apple c***r, cranberry juice, and other cozy fall and winter drinks.

🥒 Pickling Spice - because preserving season isn’t quite over yet! A classic blend of whole spices for pickles, vegetables, chutneys and more.

From Thanksgiving baking to the first hints of holiday season, there are plenty of reasons to keep these blends close by.

Enjoy 15% OFF throughout October! 🍂 Shop online.

Which one are you reaching for first?

🌿 Happy World Vegetarian Day!Today is a celebration of vegetarian food and a good reminder of just how much variety can ...
10/02/2026

🌿 Happy World Vegetarian Day!

Today is a celebration of vegetarian food and a good reminder of just how much variety can come from plants.

It’s a day that hits pretty close to home for our team, as many of us choose not to eat meat. An everyday choice or simply a meatless meal here and there, there are so many ways to cook a really satisfying meal around vegetables, beans, lentils, grains, and other plant-based ingredients.

And, naturally, we think spices and herbs are a pretty important part of that 🌱 The same simple ingredients can become a warming curry, a hearty chili, a fragrant rice dish, a colourful tray of roasted vegetables or something completely different depending on the flavours you add. Cumin and Coriander can add warmth and earthiness, Turmeric brings its distinctive flavour and colour, Paprika adds depth, while blends like Garam Masala or Hot Curry Powder add a twist to any dish.

World Vegetarian Day also connects with something we think about regularly as a Green Business Certified company: the impact of our everyday choices. Adding more plant-based meals into the week can be one way to make a more environmentally conscious choice - alongside reducing food waste, using what we already have in the pantry, and making the most of seasonal ingredients.

But you certainly don’t have to be vegetarian to join in. Maybe it’s trying a new recipe, finding a new way to cook a favourite veggie, or finally using those lentils that have been sitting in the cupboard!

What’s a vegetarian meal you could happily eat again and again?

09/29/2026

What a weekend, Toronto! 🇨🇦❤️

CHFA East is always about so much more than a trade show for me. Yes, we’re there to share Gathering Place, meet with buyers and talk about our products, but some of my favourite moments are simply connecting with the incredible people who make up Canada’s natural and organic food community.

I loved catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, discovering what other Canadian businesses are creating, and celebrating the passion and hard work behind so many of these brands.

A few of the wonderful Canadian businesses that made it into this little reel:

🥣 Āyurvedic Bone Broth | शोरबा |
☕ levelgroundtrading
🌱 Happy Gut Pro Water Kefir
🌊 Left Coast Naturals
🥥 Hippie Snacks
🍫 Giddy Yo
🌿 Oneka Elements
🥣 kitskitchen™
🌶️ Maureen Simon Foods
✨ Kindred Cultures Kefir Water

There is something really special about being surrounded by people who care deeply about good food, good ingredients, their communities, and doing business a little differently.

A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth to taste, chat, laugh, reconnect and hear a little more about what we do at Gathering Place.

We came home tired (of course! 😅), but also inspired, grateful, and very proud to be part of this Canadian natural food community. 🇨🇦

Until next time, Toronto! ❤️

🌶️ Pepper 101: from mild and sweet to seriously spicy.What makes one pepper mild and another fiery? Here’s how some of t...
09/29/2026

🌶️ Pepper 101: from mild and sweet to seriously spicy.

What makes one pepper mild and another fiery? Here’s how some of the peppers we carry compare.

First, a little pepper science: the Scoville scale measures the heat of chile peppers in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). The heat comes from capsaicin, the compound responsible for that familiar chile burn. So, how do the pepper powders we carry compare?

🫑 Paprika - Mild | approx. 100-500 SHU
Our Organic Paprika comes from Murcia, Spain. Mild and warming, it adds beautiful colour and flavour to soups, sauces, roasted vegetables and more.

🔥 Smoked Paprika - Mild & Smoky | approx. 100-500 SHU
Also from Murcia, our Smoked Paprika is slowly smoked over oak, creating a rich, layered smokiness without much heat.

🌶️ Ancho Chile - Mild | approx. 1,000-2,000 SHU
Ancho is the dried form of a poblano pepper. Ours is grown on a small-scale family farm in New Mexico and has a sweet, fruity and gently smoky flavour.

🌶️🌶️ Chipotle - Medium | approx. 5,000-8,000 SHU
Chipotle is made from smoked, dried jalapeños. Ours comes from the same family farm in New Mexico and adds rich, smoky flavour with a gentle kick.

🌶️🌶️🌶️ Cayenne - HOT | approx. 35,000 SHU
Our Organic Cayenne is made from Guntur Sannam chilies grown by a farmers’ cooperative in Southern India. It has a bold, direct heat, so a little goes a long way!

And what about Black, White and Green Pepper?

Unlike chile peppers, peppercorns don’t get their heat from capsaicin, so the Scoville scale doesn’t apply. Black, White and Green Pepper all come from Piper nigrum, but are harvested and processed differently.

Black Pepper is bold and warming, White Pepper is earthier and sharper, and Green Pepper is fresher and generally milder. Pink Pepper isn’t a true peppercorn at all - it’s a dried berry with a delicate, fruity, and slightly sweet flavour.

Peppers are about much more than heat - each brings its own flavour and character. Which one is your favourite? 🌶️

09/27/2026

A few seconds of time-lapse… and a whole lot of hours behind the scenes. 💪🌿

Trade shows like CHFA NOW might look shiny once the doors open, but getting here takes a village. From planning and packing, to organizing product, building displays, hauling boxes, travelling across the country and finally bringing the booth to life, there is SO much unseen work that goes into these few days.

We’re incredibly grateful to our Gathering Place team back home on Vancouver Island who worked so hard to get everything ready and send us off prepared. ❤️

And a huge shoutout to our distributor, Purity Life Grocery, for all the support that goes into making a show like this happen. We’re so thankful to have great people alongside us as we continue growing Gathering Place across Canada. 🇨🇦

And just like that… we’ve finished Day 1 of the CHFA Toronto! 🙌

If you’re at the show, come say hello in booth 1316B in the Purity Life aisle and see what we’ve been working so hard to share.

We’re heading to CHFA Toronto! 🍁Yout might - or might not - heard this abbreviation before... so what exactly is it? CHF...
09/25/2026

We’re heading to CHFA Toronto! 🍁

Yout might - or might not - heard this abbreviation before... so what exactly is it?

CHFA is one of Canada’s biggest trade shows for natural, organic and wellness products. While the show itself is for industry professionals rather than the general public, what happens there can eventually make its way to your local grocery or health food store!

For us, CHFA is a chance to connect with the retailers and distributors who help bring Gathering Place products to communities and stores all across Canada. It’s where we can introduce our spices, herbs, teas, and salts to new stores, reconnect with some familiar faces, and share the story behind the products you already know and love.

So while you might not be walking the trade show floor with us, you’re very much part of why we’re there. Every new retailer we meet means another opportunity to make Gathering Place products a little easier to find close to home 🌿

We’’ll be sharing a few glimpses from our time at CHFA Toronto in our stories - stay tuned!

And if you’d like to see our products in a store near you, drop us the name of the store in the comments, or ask them to carry !

With cooler mornings and fall baking season arriving, we think it’s a pretty good time to put the kettle on! 🍂And in cas...
09/24/2026

With cooler mornings and fall baking season arriving, we think it’s a pretty good time to put the kettle on! 🍂

And in case you missed it… there are a couple of newer additions to the Gathering Place tea shelf!

Alongside our much-loved Rooibos, Honeybush, and other teas, we now carry Organic Ceylon Black Tea and Organic Black Chai.

Our Organic Ceylon Black Tea comes from small-scale farmers in Sri Lanka, who grow their tea on carefully tended plots, often less than one acre, using traditional methods such as contour planting. If you make your own kombucha, this one is for you! Its classic, full-bodied flavour makes it a great base for brewing kombucha at home. And, of course, it’s just as good by the cup - hot, iced, with a splash of milk, or made into a tea latte.

If you prefer something a little more spiced, Organic Black Chai combines Ceylon Black Tea with a warming blend of aromatic spices. Brew it simply with hot water, add your favourite milk, sweeten it to taste, or turn it into a cozy homemade chai latte.

Are you Team Black Tea or Team Black Chai?

🌎 Today is World Cleanup Day!This year, this day is focused on food waste - something that can be reduced through small,...
09/21/2026

🌎 Today is World Cleanup Day!

This year, this day is focused on food waste - something that can be reduced through small, thoughtful choices at home and throughout the food industry.

As a Green Business Certified company, reducing waste is something we think about throughout our day-to-day operations.

Here are a few of the ways we work to reduce food and product waste:

🌿 We pack in small batches, helping us manage inventory carefully and avoid unnecessary overproduction.

🌱 We encourage proper storage, because keeping spices cool, dry, well sealed and away from direct sunlight helps preserve their flavour and aroma for longer.

💡 We educate customers about best-before dates - spices don’t necessarily need to be thrown away just because they’ve reached their best-before date; checking aroma, flavour and condition can help prevent unnecessary waste.

💚We make the most of our products. When spices or other products aren’t suitable for regular sale but are still perfectly good to use, we look for opportunities to use them in our staff kitchen, sample or otherwise keep them from going to waste whenever possible.

What’s one thing you’ve recently started doing to reduce food waste?

A little care goes a long way when it comes to keeping your spices fresh and flavourful. And as the spice pros we are, w...
09/19/2026

A little care goes a long way when it comes to keeping your spices fresh and flavourful. And as the spice pros we are, we thought we’d share a few tips for storing spices so they hold onto their wonderful aroma and flavour for as long as possible!

🌿 Keep them cool. The cupboard above the stove might be convenient, but regular heat from cooking can cause spices to lose their flavour and aroma more quickly.

🌿 Keep them dry. Try not to shake spices directly from the package over a steaming pot. Add what you need to a spoon or your hand first to help keep moisture out.

🌿 Keep them away from direct sunlight. A cupboard, drawer or pantry is usually a better home than a sunny countertop.

🌿 Keep them well sealed. Close packages and containers tightly after each use to limit their exposure to air and moisture.

🌿 Keep bulk spices in smaller containers - If you buy large quantities, keep your main supply tightly sealed and refill a smaller everyday jar as needed. This means you’re not constantly opening the entire supply.

These simple storage habits can make all the difference, helping your spices hold onto their flavour and aroma for longer. Do you already follow any of these tips?

Looking for a cozy dinner idea as we head into fall? 🍂This creamy coconut chickpeas recipe with spiced cardamom rice is ...
09/17/2026

Looking for a cozy dinner idea as we head into fall? 🍂

This creamy coconut chickpeas recipe with spiced cardamom rice is warm, comforting and packed with flavour.

The chickpeas simmer in creamy coconut milk with Turmeric, Coriander, Ginger, Garlic, Black Pepper, Cumin Seed, Mustard Seed and Bay Leaf. And the rice gets its own little spice treatment with Cardamom, Cinnamon, and Clove!

Best part? It takes about 40 minutes from start to finish and makes three to four servings - perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.

Find the full recipe on our website and save it for your next cozy dinner night!

Address

1495 Baikie Road
Campbell River, BC
V9W4G9

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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