About Spice Admiral
Spice Admiral is a full-line spice importer and processor headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. We buy directly at origin, process in our own facilities and run the whole operation on software we built for the spice trade. Our customers are food manufacturers, foodservice distributors, private label packers and other spice companies who need dependable supply, documented quality and straight answers.
Who We Are
Founded in 2011 by Charles Tanner, a self-taught programmer and warehouse hand turned spice trader, together with three veteran traders, Spice Admiral set out to answer a simple question: why should an industry as old as the spice trade still run on fax machines, spreadsheets and guesswork? Fifteen years later we import more than 400 items from over 30 countries, operate processing plants on both coasts, and maintain forward warehouses in Dallas, Chicago and Savannah.
We are American owned and operated. Every lot we sell has been cleaned, tested and, where specified, sterilized in the United States under our own SQF certified food safety program.
Our Mission
To deliver pure, safe and consistent spices to the commercial food industry by pairing the judgment of experienced spice people with the discipline of intelligent automation.
What Makes Us Different
Traditional Spice Craft
- Buyers who have walked the pepper gardens of Vietnam and the chili fields of India
- Our own cleaning, sterilizing, milling and blending lines
- Sensory evaluation by trained panels on every production run
- Long-term relationships with growers, cooperatives and exporters
Intelligent Automation
- HELM, our proprietary platform for harvest forecasting, evaluation, logistics and markets
- Automated vision and near-infrared inspection of every inbound lot
- Automated customs, FDA and FSVP documentation
- Quarterdeck, a customer portal with live order status, documents and lot genealogy
We do not believe software replaces the spice trader. We believe it gives the spice trader better information, sooner, so that experience can be applied where it matters most. Read more about the HELM platform.
Our Facilities
| Location | Function | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Newark, New Jersey | Headquarters, East Coast processing and distribution | Cleaning, steam sterilization, milling, blending and packaging; two automated inspection lines; analytical laboratory; test kitchen |
| Long Beach, California | West Coast processing and distribution | Cleaning, milling, blending and packaging; automated inspection line; minutes from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach |
| Dallas, Texas | Forward warehouse | Stocking programs for the South Central region |
| Chicago, Illinois | Forward warehouse | Stocking programs for the Midwest |
| Savannah, Georgia | Forward warehouse | Stocking programs for the Southeast; direct container receiving |
Leadership
Spice Admiral is led by its founder and chief executive officer, Charles Tanner, who wrote the first version of HELM himself and still takes a monthly shift on the receiving dock. Around him is a team drawn from the spice trade, food science and supply chain software. Our buyers average more than twenty years in spices. Our quality department is staffed by food scientists and microbiologists. Our technology team came to spices from logistics, agriculture and industrial automation, and they spend as much time on the plant floor as they do at a keyboard.
Memberships and Certifications
Spice Admiral is a member of the Spice Importers and Processors Federation (SIPF). Our facilities are SQF certified and Kosher certified, and we are a certified organic handler. Details are on our Certifications and Memberships page.
