Sibling synergy fuels nutbar-Othership collab

Michael Sommers

Larry Heng

10 months ago

For entrepreneurial siblings Kate Taylor Martin (founder and CEO of nutbar) and Harry Taylor (co-founder of Othership), there was never a question if they would combine creative forces to make the world (or at least Toronto) a happier and more holistic place – but when.

Growing up in a tight-knit family of four kids, Kate and Harry were the sibs in the middle. That they were the closest in terms of personality and age (Kate has a two-year edge on Harry) led them to frequently butt heads as they vied for adults’ attention. Yet amid bouts of competitiveness and contentiousness were moments of intense harmony.

Kate recalls that a holistic approach to well-being was an integral part of the Taylor children’s upbringing. This played out most memorably at the family cottage on Georgian Bay where breathwork circles, sauna sessions and icy lake plunges were followed by the downing of smoothies prepared from fresh garden botanicals.

Kate Taylor Martin (founder and CEO of nutbar) and Harry Taylor (co-founder of Othership).

At the time, neither Kate nor Harry suspected that these rituals would not only inspire, but evolve into their individual, and combined, future callings. Nor did they imagine that their sibling rivalry would morph into sibling revelry.

“As we’ve grown into adults, I’d say that of all four sibling relationships, we have the strongest bond,” confesses Harry. “And it’s beautiful how that has unfolded.”

“Harry is one of my best friends,” adds Kate. “We operate in a very similar way, see the world in a very similar way, have similar interests and passions.”

There’s this yin and yang. And it feels so right,” agrees Kate, in reference to the Othership, the partnership – and the siblingship.

By interests and passions, Kate is referring to both siblings’ fervent devotion to creating spaces and communities where people can maximize their physical, emotional and even spiritual well-being, via age-old, natural therapies, revisited and repackaged for the (all-too) digital era.

The nutbar space – and community – came first. Kate had been working at St. Michael’s Hospital where, galvanized by the obvious links between heavily processed foods and poor health, she enrolled at the hospital’s Institute for Holistic Nutrition.

At IHN, she discovered the power and potential of superfoods – and the (ironically radical) truth that human beings are actually meant to feel good. Through late-night study sessions, she also discovered that one of the few options for healthy food on-the-go was the banana at the Starbucks cash register.

Such realizations fueled the idea to open a “healthy cafe.” When nutbar unveiled its first location at Summerhill and Yonge, in 2016, the healthy options verged on limitless. In addition to coffee, there were superfood-packed snacks, tonics, matchas, juices, smoothies, bites and bars, all as tasty as they were nutritious. What sets nutbar apart today is that they are very committed to quality — all of their food is organic, the make their own nutmilk in house from scratch and everything is superfood-focused.

Meanwhile, Harry had fallen in love with Amanda Laine. Having bonded over sauna sessions and ice baths, the couple sought to fuse their love partnership with a professional partnership. As Harry recalls, “Kate launching nutbar was a huge inspiration for Amanda and me that we could put forward into the world something we could believe in.”

Instead of boozing and cruising, Othership offers communal free flows, guided classes and social events. Far from the madding crowd, patrons bond over breathwork, movement, contemplation and communion in a Zen space that incorporates a sauna, ice baths and a tea room.

“I’m probably Othership’s biggest fan,” confesses Kate, adding that when the space next door became available, she jumped at the chance to have nutbar and Othership side-by-side. After months of renovations, the new nutbar is opening in January 2023.

“What motivates both me and Harry is this feeling of doing good and nurturing our communities. When this opportunity fell into my lap, it reaffirmed what lights us both up.”

The siblings’ plan is to nurture their respective communities – quite literally – by offering two unique, and nourishing, pre- and post-sweat tonics. Created by Kate, in conjunction with a master herbalist, each tonic’s ingredients have been selected for their powerful, and precisely targeted, properties. Depending on your preference, they can be downed as a super-concentrated shot, or diluted into either ice or steaming water, and sipped contemplatively.

To be imbibed prior to an Othership journey, pre- and post- tonics is a stimulating and relaxing diaphoretic. Its ingredients – ginger, cayenne, elderberry pulp, lemon juice and cordyceps – promote hydration, while opening pores and enhancing circulation.

Once the transformational, and often transcendental, Othership journey is over, “replenish” comes to the rescue. True to its name, the ingredients – organic lemon and lime juice, organic maple syrup, schisandra, crystal sea salt, trace minerals, astragalus and sea buckthorn – are packed with vitamins, minerals and electrolytes. Following exposure to the stressors of extreme heat and cold, the tonic nourishes and replenishes, regulating the pores and rebalancing the body.

Both drinks reflect the sibling synergy that feeds effortlessly, and organically, into the synergy that exists between the two businesses – and their respective, and overlapping, communities. As Harry points out, “It’s an inherently beautiful partnership… On one hand, you’re sweating out these toxins. On the other, you’re nourishing yourself.”

“There’s this yin and yang. And it feels so right,” agrees Kate, in reference to the Othership, the partnership – and the siblingship. “To round out the journey, you need both.”