From Comfort to Connection: How Saranoni Warms the World One Blanket at a Time

Saranoni is a luxury blanket company born in Logan, Utah, and is now known around the world. What began as an effort to raise funds for a necessary healthcare procedure for the founders’ daughter has grown into a brand synonymous with quality, comfort, and compassion.

“It was started out of love,” founder Emily Peterson said. “Love of two parents wanting to provide the best life for our daughter.”

Emily and Nathan Peterson’s oldest daughter, Eliza, was born with microtia, a congenital condition that left her without a fully developed outer and middle ear. As Eliza grew old enough to be considered for corrective surgery, the Petersons learned the procedure was considered cosmetic and would not be covered by insurance. The cost for the initial surgery alone was expected to be more than $100,000, with additional operations to follow.

At the time, Emily was a mother of three young children and knew she needed to find a way to contribute to these expenses. Inspired by the gift baskets Nathan’s employer had sent after the births of their children, in 2006 Emily launched a curated baby gift basket business. The couple named it Saranoni, after their great grandmothers Sarah and Nonie. The name also served as a tribute to the values these women embodied: faith, strength, hard work, service, and family. The legacy of these women has been an ongoing influence on the way the Petersons do business.

Saranoni’s early business approach included connecting with artisans in Cambodia, India, Peru, and China, sourcing handmade goods to include in the baskets. The model was designed not only to bring high-quality products to their customers, but also to support women in developing countries with fair pay and sustainable work.

For five years, Emily worked late into the night after her children were in bed. While the Petersons loved the business and the relationships they built with artisans around the world, they realized they were not saving money the way they had hoped. What stood out to customers, however, were the luxury blankets crafted in China. That became Saranoni’s focus — and the product that would allow the company to thrive.

Juggling a growing family — they eventually had six children — Emily and Nathan poured themselves into the business. Weekends were spent driving to craft fairs, long nights were dedicated to packing and shipping orders from their basement or warehouse, and some days it felt like nothing was working.

“At one point Nathan and I fulfilled orders from our storage unit in the freezing dead of winter, with our kids bundled in the car,” Emily said.

There were times the burden of balancing business and motherhood left Emily exhausted and ready to walk away. But through prayer and long conversations together, she and Nathan knew Saranoni was meant to continue. Nathan officially joined the company part time, and later, when their sixth child was born, he left his other employment to work full time with Emily at Saranoni.

They worked side by side doing everything together, from working to raising their children — they were a team. “I’m grateful for that,” Emily said.

In 2021, just before the holiday season, which is the company’s busiest, Nathan began experiencing memory lapses and fatigue — an alarming change for someone known for his meticulous attention to detail. He was soon diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, and passed away only two months later.

The loss was devastating. But Nathan’s vision and commitment to giving back has lived on.

Months before his diagnosis, Nathan was inspired to launch a new program: “Saranoni Cares.” He set aside thousands of dollars’ worth of luxury blankets, with the intent to donate them to people in their own community. After years of international humanitarian work, Nathan wanted to bring a charitable focus closer to home. Their first partnership was set to be with the Huntsman Cancer Institute — an institution he could not have known would soon be part of his own story.

The blankets arrived in the fall of 2021, just before Nathan’s cancer diagnosis.

“The following weeks leading up to Nathan’s passing were a blur,” Emily said. “We were overwhelmed and incredibly grateful for the loving support of our community.”

Despite his failing health, Nathan’s devotion to family and service endured. In response to the outpouring of love from their community in their time of need, Nathan told his family, “We need to step up our game!”

After Nathan’s passing, the Peterson family has done just that. One way they do is honoring his legacy through Saranoni Cares. In May 2023, they returned to Huntsman Cancer Institute — this time without Nathan, but with a U-Haul full of blankets and full hearts. They continue to deliver blankets to children’s hospitals and cancer centers as an ongoing initiative.

“It is a way we honor Nathan,” Emily said. “He loved Saranoni, he loved giving, we loved giving and sharing with people together — it is a way we serve as a family. It is healing in that way, that we have this way to help others.”