Wildtree

Wildtree started in a home kitchen in Rhode Island. Founder Leslie Montie was a working mother whose two children had health conditions that limited what they could eat. Boxed dinners from the store were off the table. So she and her parents, Frank and Judy, began mixing their own herb and spice blends for pizza, pasta, roast chicken and barbecue, and stored them in recipe-sized bags.

Neighbors and friends asked for the blends. The family took them to local fairs, and then someone suggested home parties. Direct Sales Aid's records date the company to 1996 and its move to the party plan to 1999. The business was first based in Warwick, Rhode Island, where it traded as Wildtree Herbs, and later moved to 15 Wellington Road in Lincoln, Rhode Island, home to its own manufacturing plant.

“I didn’t know I’d be starting a company, all I wanted was to make dinner.”

Leslie Montie, founder — Wildtree “Our Story” page (mywildtree.com), 2018

By 2018 the company said its products were in “millions of homes across the country.” Its website pushed three ways to cook: Make Ahead freezer meals, Make Fresh recipes and Make Fast weeknight dinners, backed by a recipe library of more than 2,500 recipes. Wildtree also ran volunteer days with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans and Numana in Indianapolis.

In April 2020, Altair Acquisitions, an investment firm based in Frisco, Texas, bought the company's assets and kept its headquarters and manufacturing in Lincoln. Altair's chief executive, Erik Toth, said at the time that “the timing is perfect for an investment in an organization like Wildtree” (PE Professional, April 28, 2020). Leslie Montie rejoined the company that summer.

Wildtree sold the flavor part of dinner. Customers supplied the meat, grains and vegetables; Wildtree supplied the seasoning, sauce or oil that turned them into a meal. The company described its line as all-natural and organic, made without MSG, GMOs or artificial food dyes.

• Spice blends and rubs: Cajun, adobo, chili, chipotle lime, cilantro lime, Ethiopian spice, Italian, garlic and dill blends, plus BBQ rubs.
• Skillet meal seasonings: boxed blends for one-pan dinners such as lasagna, stroganoff, curry and Asian-style meals.
• Sauces and dressings: Alfredo, basil pesto, agave BBQ, orange sauce, enchilada sauce, vinaigrettes and dressing mixes.
• Grapeseed oils: natural, roasted garlic and basil pesto flavors, one of the brand's best-known lines.
• Dips, breads and sweets: dip mixes, bread and pizza dough mixes, pancake mix, dessert blends, jams and jellies.
• Meal shakes: plant-based balanced meal shakes, added around 2020.

Safety was a big part of the pitch. In 2020 the company said its Rhode Island plant held USDA Organic, gluten-free and Star-K kosher certifications, met Safe Quality Food (SQF) standards and was 100% peanut free. It aimed the range at what it called “health-conscious and allergen-sensitive families.” Most products came with recipes, and many were bundled into Cooking Collections that paired several products with a week of meal plans.

Sellers were called Representatives for most of Wildtree's direct sales years. They sold at two kinds of party. A Tasting was a classic party where guests sampled products and ordered. A Workshop was Wildtree's signature: guests chose a menu, then prepped a batch of freezer meals together and took them home. Representatives also had a personal replicated website, and the company shipped orders straight to customers.

Business Kit

New Representatives bought a New Representative Business Kit for $129 plus shipping and tax. Earlier versions included full-size products, tasting samples, 50 catalogs, host envelopes, order forms, invitations and a party prep kit.

Pay and rewards

In 2018 the company advertised “up to 40%” commission on retail sales, with the rate depending on time worked and sales, plus bonuses on team sales and all-expense-paid trips. Direct Sales Aid's earlier profile listed personal commissions of 25% to 40% and team commissions of 3% to 12% as leaders rose in rank. There were no monthly minimums, but a Representative needed $350 in personal volume every four months to stay active, and leaders needed $350 a month to earn team bonuses.

Hosts earned free products and half-price items. A party with $350 to $499 in sales earned $52.50 to $74.99 in free products and one half-price item; a party over $800 earned $160 or more and three half-price items.

The Advocate Program

After the 2020 sale, the new owners renamed sellers Advocates. The Advocate Program centered on “click & share” selling, with rewards on orders placed through an Advocate's website and a “partner program” for team builders. It did not last long. On June 1, 2021, Wildtree stopped selling through independent sellers altogether.

Wildtree's end came in two steps. The first was the end of direct selling. Altair Acquisitions bought the company's assets on April 24, 2020. On June 1, 2021, Wildtree stopped operating as a direct sales company. In a case closed on December 6, 2021, the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council recorded that Wildtree then “solely relies on direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales and private manufacturing.” The council had been reviewing income claims in older social media posts, all from before April 2020. Wildtree agreed to take down posts from the previous ownership period, and the council closed the case because the company no longer sold through Representatives.

The second step was the store itself. From 2021, wildtree.com ran as an ordinary online shop selling the same seasonings, sauces, oils and meal shakes. Wayback Machine captures show it was still trading on June 19, 2025, with a 50%-off clearance section. By July 11, 2025, the store showed a password page that read “Sorry We're Closed.” By April 2026, the wildtree.com domain was a parked placeholder page. The company did not publish a closure notice that we could find, and no reason was given.

Today Wildtree products are no longer made or sold. Former Representatives have no way to order stock. Unopened jars and bottles may still turn up on resale sites, but check best-by dates before buying. If you liked Wildtree's tasting parties and meal-prep ideas, live companies such as Tastefully Simple, Pampered Chef and Epicure still sell food and kitchen products through independent sellers; see Tastefully Simple or the full list of food and cooking companies on Direct Sales Aid.