Could you give us a snapshot of Aeryon Wellness as a brand. What is the company about and what's the story behind it?
My mission is really empowering women with holistic health - that’s the big driver. That really comes from my own personal health issues and my journey to finding sustainable health and wellness really came from understanding that it's not just about supplementation.
I really wanted to use this platform (and the supplements) to educate women on using all facets of the thoughts you think, the friends you keep, daily movement, nutrition, and then supplementation. The synergy between all of them is so important in order to have sustainable health and wellness or to help yourself deal with any of the health-related issues you may be having.
It's not just about taking a vitamin; it's how we integrate all these different aspects of life. Live your best life and be your best self. I know for so many years I was trying to figure that out, so I'm basically taking all of the knowledge I have gained, and partnering with people in the industry who I really respect, to help me create this company.
How many products do you have in your line now? Which one was the first and how did it all round itself out?
We have seven products. We started with our Restore and Snooze products, which are daytime and nighttime adrenal support products. I struggled with bulimia and eating disorders for about 25 years. I have a book on Amazon that's hit number one in five different categories that really chronicles my journey with my eating disorder.
I also did fitness competitions for 13 years. When I came out the other side, I recognized I had to make a dramatic shift in my patterns and my habits to create a different life and a different result because my adrenals were shot. That's really why we started with Restore and Snooze.
I had been on hormonal birth control and then I had been on the hormonal IUD and I'd come off of that at that point, too. We did Reset, a hormonal birth control detox, to help people come off the pill and deal with everything that comes along with that process.
I also wanted day-to-day hormonal supplements and that's where Reclaim came into the picture. Then came Water B Gone, which is a diuretic for women, and guys can take it too because black cohosh is good for guys and for the prostate. That one really came from my experience with competing; before you get on stage, you take diuretics to suck all the water out of your system. When I had taken it, I was like how come this isn't marketed to women? Women gain five to eight pounds of water every month. That's where Water B Gone came from. L
Lose It is the metabolism support product. That came after hearing from women asking me at all the talks I would do about what do we had for their metabolism.
Sleep N Beauty, our latest product, is a powder and it's a ginger mint. This one does have melatonin in it. This one helps with collagen production at night and then also helps with sleep. It's a unique product. I wondered if I could take a beauty product, make it with magnesium and voila! Sleep N Beauty was born. It tastes fantastic. You can make it into a nice warm tea before bed and it's wonderful.
The seven different products all lend themselves to different issues. You've also found a way of combining them and making them part of a more comprehensive overall women's health program. How do those bundles work? Can you use all the products together or are there limitations?
You certainly can if you want to. Everything is quite stackable. That's the other thing as well with the brand. I got that more from the sports nutrition side of things, where they tend to stack everything together.
With Restore and Snooze, you can stack those two easily: daytime and nighttime. Snooze is not a product that's going to knock you out. It is really looking at stress at night, lowering those cortisol levels, getting you into that relaxed state, and getting a good night's sleep. It has no melatonin in it, so that's a real selling point with the product.
The QR codes on the bottle give you access to meal plans, tips, strategies and tools, plus an educational video, so you really have all the support you need. One of the coolest things about the brand is the QR code, which nobody else has done yet. These QR codes can scanned and customers get that 30- to 60-second video of me telling them what's in the product.
What's also interesting is my returns have gone down dramatically since this because the customer knows what's in it. I'm pretty clear in the video that there is no magic pill. If you're thinking of taking this and that you're going to drop 50 pounds, it's probably unlikely. Good on you if you can, but let's make sure we’re being realistic.
You mentioned you could be over the top and take every single product because they’re available to stack. Water B Gone is selling very well. Do you think that is the best universal product that you have as a starting point for ladies, or is there something else that you find yourself recommending as the first product that they should try?
I think Reclaim is my favourite, hands down. The feedback we get from Reclaim is through the roof. People notice dramatic differences in their mood, hormonal balance, cycle regularity, and cravings. The product has immune support, hormonal balance and mood support. We're the only brand that has all of this, which is why I think it's the most comprehensive hormonal balancing product on the market today.
There's a naturopath in Chilliwack who swears by it and has all his customers buying it, too. He believes in it quite strongly. It's a one pill per day product, which I really like as well. I'm horrible at taking pills, so I really try to make all of my stuff more of a one-a-day supplement.
Water B Gone is great not only for PMS, but I also think it's something everybody should just have in their cupboards. When you have a salty meal or go out for sushi, take a couple and you're not going to have that water retention, lines on your face when you wake up the next morning. It really does just suck the water right out of you. It's really nice and guys can take it, too!
For somebody that's going through a transition, trying to find something that fits their lifestyle, what's something that you can share with us from one of your mantras to stay inspired, stay empowered and to keep up with their journey?
To me, it's the small habits every day. It's not easy to be inspired at times and it's not always easy to be motivated, but it's like brushing your teeth; it becomes part of your patterns.
I put my gym clothes out every night, so that's what I put on first thing in the morning when I get up. I get out of bed, I put my tights on and my runners on, and that's the first thing I do. I lay it out every single night before I go to bed so there's movement of some kind. It makes it that much easier to follow through with that plan.
I think if you can create that, then that's the key to start creating and building more habits and healthier patterns. If you can, every day, take these little small action steps and not live with an all-or-nothing mentality when it comes to that, which a lot of us tend to live to do when it comes to health and wellness. Just little steps every day.
Do you mind giving us a little snapshot of what one of those QR code videos contain? Going beyond that, what if someone does connect to you in the video and wants more? Is there more behind all of that and where would they find all that?
Do you know the average woman gains three to five pounds of water weight pre-period? I know I experience this. My clothes are tight and I feel puffy and I definitely don't feel myself. This is why we created Water B Gone. We also have the meal planners, both vegan and non vegan. All the grocery lists and everything you’d need.
Lose It now has one with an actual workout video, as does Reclaim. Reclaim is broken into the four monthly cycles for women because we don't operate off a 24-hour clock, we operate off a 21-day schedule. We have the follicle phase, lutean phase, all those different phases. We help show you what foods and exercises you want to focus on. It's fun to help educate women about these aspects of their life.
You're on the front and back ends of your company, right? Is this how you understand all of the pieces you need so that you can bring people in and help them do it the way you want it to be done?
Yeah, definitely. I have formulators, so that's a blessing: I have science behind it. It's not like I'm going, "ooh, let's make this". I do think, “this would be a good product”, but then I go to them and say “here are some ideas” and “I've heard this is a great ingredient”. Then they put it all together.
How many stores are you in currently?
We're in 350 stores across Canada.
Where do you see the company going? Do you have any big aspirations for the company?
I see the company just growing and making more of a difference. By next year, I’ll have 10 to 12 products. With every bottle sold, I also donate a portion to the Downtown Eastside Women's Shelter, which is something I've done since I started the brand. It's really important for me to support these grassroots organizations that are helping women. It just ties in so naturally to what the brand really is about. I’d love to get the brand to a point where there's enough money coming in that we could really make a difference for women in that area.