This story will appear in the Spring 2024 issue of RED Magazine.
As a child, Keisha Mathes worried deeply about her mother, who had been in and out of the hospital for years with ulcerative colitis. But it wasn’t just the colitis that was plaguing her mother: Many of the treatments doctors prescribed caused allergic reactions, compounding her mother’s suffering.
Her mother has been in remission for 20 years, an experience that left an indelible impression on Matthes and led her down the path of research and ultimately her own business. Matthes, who earned a degree in Integrative Therapeutic Practice from Metropolitan State University of Denver, founded Herbal Honey in 2018. She designs healing herbal solutions to help her customers maintain their health.
“My philosophy is that these formulas don’t replace traditional medicine, but complement it,” the 2014 graduate said. “Each has its benefits, and this is a fusion of the two.”
Herbal Honey is a poster child for the food-as-medicine movement, as is Goodlove Foods, which specializes in frozen gluten-free baked goods. Goodlove founder Shenelle Diong is also a University of Michigan Denver graduate, having earned a degree in hospitality in 2016. Both graduates credit their college experiences with inspiring them to start a thriving company.
Turning ideas into businesses
Matthes’ journey to becoming a business owner began at Denver State University, where she gained a deep knowledge of herbs and botanicals. But before that, she was experimenting with healing formulas for friends and family. “I developed my first formula in 2008, and from there, a lot of people started asking about it,” she says.
Most of Herbal Honey’s products are teas made in two standard formulas, one for men and one for women, but Matthes customizes blends to suit customers’ needs and also offers herbal honey and herbal body products depending on the season.
Like Matthes, Diongue’s business began as a result of a loved one’s health issues: She began baking gluten-free bread because her then-boyfriend, now husband and business partner, had celiac disease.
“I grew up in a Filipino-American household where food was very important, but I didn’t realize how big a deal it was to find foods that were safe for someone with celiac disease,” she says. “It’s mentally and physically exhausting.”
Dion started cooking gluten-free meals and, in the process, realized she felt better on a gluten-free diet. After getting tested, she found out she had signs of celiac disease, and the seed for GoodLove Foods was planted.
“When I first started the business, I didn’t take it too seriously and never expected it to grow to the size it is today,” she recalls. After earning an MBA to further hone her business acumen, Diongue “wanted” to officially launch, and GoodLove began to take off.
Fostering entrepreneurial spirit
Rachel Shinley, dean and professor of nutrition at the University of Michigan Denver, defines food as medicine as “the notion that access to nutrition and healthy foods, and foods appropriate for certain medical conditions, is a right that we have as part of our medical care.” According to Shinley, access to good quality food and education is too often viewed as a privilege, rather than a public health issue.
MSU Denver’s nutrition program includes courses that prepare students to implement medical nutrition therapy. “Students learn community nutrition and apply those principles to larger groups and populations,” says Shinley. “We’re equipping them with the tools to develop customized nutrition.”
Shinley believes that Mattes and Dion’s venture is a great example of the “food as medicine” movement because it creates access to affordable food that has a tangible impact on health.
“Herbal Honey is a great example of taking a food that we don’t think of as therapeutic and creating an opportunity to incorporate it into a broader healthy lifestyle,” she said. “Good Love is a great example of taking a proactive approach to celiac disease and creating a delicious food that’s not nutritious until you eat it.”
Related: Better Ingredients for Better Health
Shinley noted that UMass Denver encourages entrepreneurship, providing a perspective that allows students from all disciplines to think about social disparities and turn potential solutions into businesses that benefit the public.
Becky Prater, senior lecturer of entrepreneurship at Michigan State University Denver, added that the university’s entrepreneurship program is specifically designed to teach the essentials of business ideas and feasibility. “We ask students what their ‘why’ is and who they’re doing it for,” she said. “Then we find out if there’s a market for their idea, where the funding would come from and what the business structure would be.”
Entrepreneurship courses are offered as a minor and major and will soon be offered as a certificate program. Prater emphasized that students with dynamic business ideas from a variety of majors take entrepreneurship classes.
Health Suggestions
In addition to mentoring students at Michigan State University Denver’s College of Business, entrepreneurship professors mentor students in the annual Denver Startup Week pitch competition.
Matthes and Diongue successfully competed in the competition last year, with Matthes reaching the semi-finals and Diongue winning the top prize of $48,000 to help grow his business.
“My time at UMass Denver allowed me to reach my full potential,” Diong said. “I’d like to think that my story is unique, but what I realized at the university, and especially in the School of Hospitality, is that we were all there to find our purpose.”
Related: 5 Tips for Starting a Successful Startup
Reflecting on her time at University of Michigan Denver and its role in shaping Herbal Honey, Matthes is especially grateful for the university’s flexibility. As a working mother of eight children, her options were limited, but the university was accommodating to her demanding schedule.
“I stumbled across an herbal medicine class and fell in love with it,” she says. “If I had known then that I would one day be a business owner, I would have definitely taken additional courses on entrepreneurship.”
Even without advanced education, Matthes is primed to achieve big things: She sells her herbal honey on her own website, at local markets, and in major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger. And she’s done it all without employing anyone but her children.
Diongue also sees her business growing and is gearing up to expand distribution. “The traction has been really steady and is increasing every month,” she says. “Once I’m finally able to spend the money from Pitch Week, I’m hoping to take it to the next level.”
