The year was 2014. And by all the typical measures, Matt and Ashlea Hogancamp were living the American dream. 

 

They were young professionals and new parents to a beautiful baby girl. They had bought a home in a neighborhood of Houston, Texas before it got popular and now it was booming.

 

Ashlea had recently returned from maternity leave to her 70+-hour-a-week position at an architecture firm where she was managing multiple high-value projects. And, in a company where 30-something female partners were unheard of, she was on-track for just that. The only problem was, to work like she had pre-baby was…not working.

 

Matt, meanwhile, was “dying in a cubicle,” as Ashlea describes. While his hours weren’t as extreme as his wife’s, he definitely wasn’t doing anything close to the kind of work that set his heart on fire. He felt the lifestyle weighing him down, literally and figuratively.

 

Every night Matt and Ashlea felt the struggle to figure out a dinner that met their standards for quality, but also get home and enjoy a little time with their five-month-old daughter before kissing her goodnight. A daily juggle every health-conscious working parent can relate to.

 

One particular October evening as they stood in the kitchen, exhausted and trying to figure out the daily what’s-for-dinner question, Ashlea reached her breaking point over a bottle of sauce, of all things. After purchasing said sauce, she did some digging on the sourcing. It turned out to be the exact same thing as a generic-labeled big box store version. 

 

“I could have gotten the same thing for a fraction of the price,” Ashlea remembers. “That extra money was for pretty packaging and marketing.” 

 

It was a classic case of “greenwashing.”

 

In her frustration, Ashlea told Matt “there should be a place where busy, working parents can go where when you spend a dollar, you know it’s worth a dollar!”

 

Matt’s eyes lit-up as he replied, “that’s what we should do. We should open a health store.”

 

That night they envisioned creating a place people could come and trust the sourcing. Where every ingredient and product had already been vetted. 

 

Ashlea imagined the idea might end there. They had careers going and everything was on the “right track.” But with Matt’s persistence, Ashlea realized there was no getting out of this one.

 

That next year, God continued to nudge them in the direction of starting the health food market. What, on-paper, seemed insurmountable kept aligning for them. 

 

They decided on Franklin, TN. It was within a day’s drive of both sides of their families in Kentucky, and had small town charm plus international taste. It was a place in which they could envision raising their daughter. 

 

The Hogancamps sold their Houston home, most of their possessions, quit their jobs, and decided to put everything into this new dream.

 

They would call it Herban Market.

 

Inspired by the European lifestyle of buying fresh and only what you planned to use that day, the name represented a combination of being part urban-hustle-and-bustle and part farmers’ market know-your-farmer vibes 

 

Just one year later, on October 26th 2015, the Hogancamps were opening the doors of Herban Market; a health food store, grocery, olive oil and balsamic bar, and coffee shop.

 

The demand for more food offerings was immediate and Matt’s knack for cooking had him whipping up paninis and soups for their customers.

 

A local Chef came on board part-time the week before Herban Market’s second birthday. He helped the Hogancamps develop a small menu to add to their coffee bar offering.

 

As business grew, their back office and back stock room also became a bakery and food prep area. And their "Barbie doll kitchen," as they lovingly referred to it, was bursting at the seams.

 

Within two years, plans for expansion were underway - in their business and their family. 

 

The space next door to the market had become available and the Hogancamps decided to take the leap. With Ashlea's background in architecture, they hit the drawing board with plans to add a full commercial kitchen, salad and pizza bar, wine bar, and more seating. 

 

Meanwhile, Ashlea was expecting baby number two! 

 

Their son, Jude, was born in July of 2018 and the construction project broke-ground in October of that same year. By mid-2019, the new space opened, doubling the footprint of Herban Market. 

 

Since opening, the demand for growth has been consistent. 

 

Often, new customers walk in and ask where they can find other locations of Herban Market. But the truth is, the story of Herban Market is as organic as the produce on the shelves. 

 

It started with a need, then a vision, and then a lot of hard work. There’s no secret investor, nor a secret to their success. 

 

And, just like the holistic approach to health that inspired the Hogancamps in the first place, there are no short-cuts. Instead, it’s the slow-and-steady approach that has made them beloved among their customers. The care they pour-in day after day.

 

It continues to be a labor of love. When you walk in the doors of Herban Market, you feel that love. You might even see Matt and Ashlea’s kids running down the aisles (try as they might to remind them to “walk please!”).

 

All these years later, the Hogancamps are still just two working parents with the same question to ask at the end of each day - “what’s for dinner?!” But the difference now is, they have that market they were looking for. One where they can trust the sourcing, the ingredients, the quality, and the care that goes into each and every item.

 

In building the market they needed, they also built something they didn’t expect to - a community of equally caring people and families. A hub of conversations that promote health on every level: mind, body, and spirit.

 

It’s not a coincidence that the idea for Herban Market was born in the heart of the home - the kitchen.

 

When asked if there’s anything she would tell her past self, Ashlea pauses for a moment…

 

“Would you do it all over again?” I ask.

 

“Yes,” she replies with certainty. “I wouldn’t tell myself how hard it was going to be. I would tell myself to trust in God’s plan more.”