How to Make a Profit Growing Rosemary

If you're looking for a home business idea that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get started, then you may wish to consider a home herb business. Selling herbs, such as rosemary, can be profitable if done correctly and it requires little in the way of upfront or overhead expenses. Rosemary is one of the easier herbs to grow and can provide the perfect choice to get your herb business started.

Business Plan

Before you embark on your business of growing and selling rosemary, conduct some research and put together a business plan to outline how a rosemary garden could turn into a viable business. Examine the demographics for your area, conduct surveys near local grocery stores and restaurants and make calls to grocers, chefs and restaurant owners to determine whether there will be market demand for your herbs. Once you have determined the demand, find ways to sell rosemary that others are not using. For example, you may sell the sprigs to grocers and restaurant owners, but you could expand your profit by selling whole plants as well. Find additional ways to use and sell rosemary. For example, look into producing gourmet foods such as rosemary-infused olive oil, flavored vinegars or dried spice blends.

Establishing Your Garden

One positive benefit to setting up a business selling herbs is that you don't necessarily have to set up a garden in the ground to do so. You can run this type of business by purchasing large growing pots and seeds. When starting out, picking one herb, like rosemary, is a good idea because it can help you establish a niche for that single herb, which may be easier to handle than trying to sell several different types of herbs. The advantage to an herb business is that herbs can grow all year long and don't require you to have a large space set aside for growing them. You can also learn to use a hydroponic growing system, which does not require the use of soil, to increase your rosemary yield to sell for additional profit.


Marketing your rosemary is key to making a profit. Once you have established a market need or desire for the product, you can begin marketing to the same restaurants and grocery stores that you initially contacted. You can also market your rosemary through other avenues, such as local classified advertisements, a company website or even local flea markets and garage sales to drive additional sales. Create signs and fliers that you can leave around town. You can also sell products in a booth at local farmers markets.


Over the course of time, you may wish to consider venturing out to sell additional herbs other than rosemary to create additional profit. Rosemary is a good herb to start with because it is considered easy to grow with little maintenance. Rosemary can help you get your foot in the door, but it may only provide you with an avenue for limited profits. If you rely solely on your local market for your profits, you may be limiting your earning capacity.