A Year in Bloom: Our 2025 Wrapped

What a year! Looking back, if we had to sum up the past twelve months, it would be purposeful growth — growth for our team and growth in our impact. From coast-to-coast trade shows to local clean-ups, from award wins to new videos that share our story, every effort in 2025 was focused on moving forward with intention and expanding what we can achieve together.

Here’s a look back at the moments that made this year one to remember:

1. Natcon + PPPC Awards: Three Big Wins

September took us to PPPC’s Natcon where we had a fantastic time reconnecting with the promotional products community! The real pinch-us moment happened at the PPPC awards, when we brought home three awards. Botanical PaperWorks was honored to win Supplier of the Year – Small Enterprise, Gold for Made in Canada (Handmade Soap), and Bronze for Most Creative New Promotional Product (Mini Eco Homelife Gift Sets).

These awards are a testament to the passion and teamwork that drives everything we do and we couldn’t have achieved it without every single person on our team. Special thanks to the distributors who voted for us for the Supplier of the Year award. You helped make this recognition possible.

Read more about the three awards here.

2. Launching Our First Impact Report

A proud milestone of 2025 was publishing out very first Impact Report. The project gave us a chance to clearly share our environmental commitments, the progress we’ve made, and the numbers behind the work that matters to us. It was an opportunity to celebrate what we’ve accomplished so far while setting the stage for the strides we plan to make next. We’re looking forward to building on this work and releasing an updated report every year.

3. Spring Clean-Up in the Exchange District

We welcomed Spring and the return of warmer weather by spending a morning cleaning up a portion of Winnipeg’s Exchange District. A few hours picking up litter and tidying the streets was a simple way to give back to the neighborhood we’re part of. It was a great chance for our teams to brighten the area, connect, and enjoy spending time together while supporting a place that truly matters to us. Thanks to Take Pride Winnipeg for providing us supplies for this clean up!

4. Circular Economy Spotlight

This year we were featured by Supply Chain Manitoba for our circular economy practices. Their video captured the heart of why we do what we do: keeping materials in use, reducing waste, and designing products that give back. Being recognized and spotlighted for our sustainable approach was a proud moment for the team and a reminder that thoughtful manufacturing can make a real difference. Read more about circular economy practices or watch the video here.

5. Our First Five City TOPS+ Tour

For the first time ever, we hit all five shows of PPPC’s TOPS+ Tour, traveling across Canada and connecting with so many amazing industry professionals. Each stop was full of great conversations about sustainability, eco-products, and all things seed paper. The tour was a major highlight of the year, giving us the opportunity to share our passion, showcase our products, and build connections from coast to coast.

6. New Product Launches

We’re always excited to launch new products, and 2025 was full of fresh additions! Our seed paper lineup grew with the addition of hand fans, a seed paper puzzle, and the Bag of Basil. On the soap and candle side, we introduced the refreshing Ocean Mist candle and the earthy Wild Woods soap and candle scents. Each launch is a chance to explore new ideas, bring something special to our customers, and continue expanding our sustainable product offerings. Plus, seeing these creations come to life never fails to energize the team!

7. Taking the Stage to Uplift Women

In 2025, our CEO and co-founder, Heidi Reimer-Epp took the stage at multiple events to champion women’s entrepreneurship and leadership. From speaking at the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada National Summit to sharing the Botanical PaperWorks journey at a Women’s Entrepreneurship Day even with WeMB, Heidi highlighted what is truly takes to build and lead through uncertainty. She and fellow leaders explored the mindsets behind resilience, creativity, courage, and reinvention — qualities that have shaped the evolution of Botanical PaperWorks from a mom-and-daughter idea into a global, purpose-driven business.

8. Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

Our team rose to the challenge of navigating the ever-changing tariffs, adapting to shifts while keeping our customers’ needs front and center. By strengthening our processes and improving collaboration across departments, we were able to maintain smooth operations and continue delivering quality products and service. This highlighted the power of teamwork and our ability to turn challenged into opportunity for growth.

9. Our First ASI Chicago Adventure

This year took us to ASI Chicago for the very first time, and what an experience it was! It was exciting to meet so many completely new faces and introduce them to our products, from seed paper to soaps and candles. Connecting with new industry professionals gave us fresh inspiration and ideas for the year ahead.

10. U of M Video Feature

Another standout moment this year was being featured in a University of Manitoba video series with UM President Michael Benarroch. Since Heidi Reimer-Epp is an Asper School of Business alum, being included in a series celebrating Bison-owned businesses making an impact felt especially exciting! During the visit, the UM team visited our space to capture our production process, talk sustainability, and explore how we’ve grown from seed paper into also making handmade soaps and candles. Watch the video here.

11. Holiday Cheer + New T-shirts

Our year wrapped up with a couple of our favorite annual traditions! We spent an afternoon decking the walls of our facility into a festive holiday wonderland. We also came together for a company holiday lunch, celebrating not just the season but all of the incredible accomplishments our team achieved throughout the year. The team was gifted new company t-shirts, a little something to show our pride!

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Thank you to everyone who supported Botanical PaperWorks throughout 2025! It has been a year full of growth, new products, and exciting milestones. We couldn’t have done it without our amazing team and customers. Looking forward to 2026, we’re ready for another year of innovation, sustainability, and shared successes. Here’s to growing even more good things in the year ahead!