Some businesses are built in boardrooms. Stone Bridge Herbal was built on a farm in the
Eastern Cape highlands, by two women who love the land they work and believe that what
grows there is worth sharing with the world.
Stone Bridge Herbal is the creation of Fiona and Emma Sephton, a mother-and-daughter
partnership rooted in a corner of South Africa that most people never see: high, wild country close to the Lesotho border, where the air is clean, the seasons are honest, and the
landscape has a character entirely its own.
Fiona
Fiona has spent her working life in public service, thinking carefully about communities,
natural resources, and the places people call home. Alongside that, she has quietly carried a deep love of South African indigenous plants, the kind of knowledge that builds over
decades of living close to the land. Stone Bridge Herbal grew directly from that love. When
she looks at the farm, she sees not just what is there, but what is possible.
Emma
Emma is the younger half of the partnership and brings a different kind of energy to the
business. A university student balancing her studies alongside co-founding a farm-based tea brand, she is proof that Stone Bridge Herbal is built for the long term. She is the next
generation of this story, already shaping where it goes.
A Business Unlike Most
What makes Stone Bridge Herbal genuinely uncommon is the combination of where it
operates, what it grows, and what it stands for. The Artemisia afra in every cup is cultivated on the Sephtons; own farm in the Eastern Cape highlands, in the same kind of terrain where this plant has grown wild for centuries. Rather than harvesting from natural stands, which places pressure on wild populations, the decision was made to bring it into cultivation under the family's direct care. That choice matters. It means the plant is grown with intention, managed responsibly, and harvested in a way that does not deplete what the landscape has to offer. The Rooibos, for its part, comes from the Cederberg region of the Western Cape, where it has been grown and certified organic for generations, and where the knowledge of how to tend it is deep and well established.
Together, these two ingredients represent something that is increasingly important in the global wellness market: an indigenous biotrade product with genuine local roots. The concept of indigenous biotrade is about more than provenance. It is about building economic2value from what naturally belongs to a place, doing so sustainably, and ensuring that the communities and environments connected to those resources benefit from the process. Stone Bridge Herbal is a small but meaningful expression of that idea: a business that earns its living from the South African landscape and takes seriously its responsibility to that landscape in return.
The Sephtons approach the farm with a clear environmental ethic. The land is managed with care for what lives on it and around it, the cultivation practices are designed to work with the natural environment rather than against it, and the longer-term vision for the business is tied to the health of the farm itself. For them, stewardship is not a marketing word. It is simply how they work.
This is not a product you can replicate somewhere else. It belongs to this place, these people, and this particular patch of the Eastern Cape. That is what you are buying when you choose Stone Bridge Herbal.
Quality and Safety Assurance
Our Artemisia Afra is carefully tested to ensure that we know the exact quantities of active ingredients. Each growing habitat has a unique chemical profile, and we have identified the chemical profile of our habitat. This allows us to formulate a safe quantity of Artemisia Afra in our herbal tea. Additionally, we test for microbiological pathogens, yeasts, and moulds to ensure that our product is safe for use.
Compliant with international standards
Our blends meet the European Union standards for beverages containing Artemisia, and the quantities contained are considered safe by the European Medicines Authority. In the absence of guidelines from SAHPRA, South Africa, we have ensured that our blends are formulated to meet the highest safety standards. Additionally, we comply with the International Fragrance Regulatory Authority requirements to ensure that our products are safe for use.
