Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / Alchemy Spices sit out on a display at Olive Chattanooga.* Owner: Ben Gordon, a mechanical engineer, took over the business in 2013
* Product: Freshly ground, all-natural spice blends
* Start: The business was started in 2002 by Chris and Jessica Chevalier
* Production site: 2502 E. 12th Street in Chattanooga
* Varieties: More than 100 varieties of all-natural herbs and spices are used to make more than 25 different blends.
* Retail outlets: About 20 retail outlets, including Olive Chattanooga, Niedlov's Breadworks, Clyde's on Main, Urban Stack, Chattanooga Market and others
* What's unique: Each spice blend is produced with a micro-batch method and every batch of spices is made-to-order, meaning that each bottle of spice is less than two weeks old when it arrives at your home. Like any consumable, spices provide the best flavor and aroma just after grinding, but the spices most people settle for in the grocery store have been sitting in storage for up to five years. All Alchemy products are formulated and packaged in small batches by hand.
* Alchemy ingredients: Spices are all natural, with no flavor enhancing chemicals like MSG and no synthetics like silicon dioxide to prevent caking. All spices are 100 percent free of gluten, dairy and soy.
* Website: alchemyspicecompany.com