Anatta, a global online marketplace for natural, organic and raw products from farmers worldwide, has joined the growing list of companies striving to make a social impact while also delivering high-quality products. Josh Thomerson, who along with Victoria Dantcheva and Oscar Bueno co-founded the New York-based company in 2019, says its unusual business model is designed to achieve both goals.

“We let our customers communicate directly with farmers that grow the plants used in our products,” says Thomerson, the company’s chief executive officer. “We pay farmers upwards of 50 percent more than our competitors, and the business model will assist in delivering social and medical services to build stronger communities for the farmers, and a better quality of life.”

Among the initial products available for sale through Anatta are a variety of essential oils, including Lavender, Frankincense, Helichrysum, Peppermint, Geranium, Blue Chamomile, Fennel and Lemon Ironbark, as well as Rose and Lavender waters. Spices and teas are expected to become available later this year. 

Under the typical business model, farmers were taking an oversized risk in producing essential oil crops, Thomerson says. “The broker-to-broker supply chain meant most of their future was out of their hands. Consumers purchase and farmers produce in small quantities, so it’s of no value to the end customer or the farmer to send the product to different facilities and brokers.” 

Anatta streamlines the process, giving customers a direct link to farmers, he says. “It allows customers to access pure quality at an affordable price while compensating the farmer tremendously more than in a broker market.’’ 

Building Communities Thomerson got the idea for a new business model from his years of experience working with farmers and producers. “I felt this complicated supply chain made it difficult for businesses and customers to get the quality they were trying to purchase,’’ he says. Anatta’s products are grown on farms in Australia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, China, Somaliland, Rwanda and Tasmania. Thomerson says more farms are being explored as potential partners, including some in the United States. 

One of Anatta’s main goals is to help farmers with their techniques to ensure crops are grown under ecologically sustainable, environmentally responsible and conflict-free conditions, he says. The process incorporates quality analysis, including an independent third-party evaluation. 

“Customers will always be able to read two opinions on the quality of any given lot,’’ Thomerson says. “Once a lot has been purchased, the customer has access to all the documentation from their dashboard. We make sure to include a professional’s comment on each lot so that the results are easy to understand and give clarification on the quality.”

A portion of every Anatta purchase goes to partnership farmers to support their livelihoods and the means to maintain their land with dignity and respect for the environment. 

“Anatta is a business driven by the desire to make positive change around the world,” Dantcheva says. “Our goal is to create a direct connection between consumers and the people who produce the goods in order to foster a better understanding of these men and women and their communities, so the world can successfully grow together in more ways than one.”

For more information, visit AnattaMarket.com. See ad on the back cover.