April 3, 2025 • 35 mins
Julie's Big Gorgeous Goals: Official Workbook is here! Order your copy today.
Engaging women entrepreneurs and health advocates, our latest episode features the award-winning Aeryon Ashlie, founder of Aeryon Wellness Supplements. We delved into the importance of NPN certifications and supporting Canadian products, navigating business challenges, and empowering women through education.
Aeryon Ashlie is an acclaimed holistic nutritionist, keynote speaker, and #1 Best Selling Author, and is known as the visionary force behind Aeryon Wellness Supplements. As the founder of Aeryon Wellness, she has championed holistic health for women from diverse backgrounds for nearly two decades.
With a mission to "Empower Women with Holistic Health," her company offers 100% all natural, scientifically formulated, 3rd party tested, support supplements designed by women, for women. The innovative use of QR codes on their products, aimed at revolutionizing education and support for women on their wellness journey, garnered three offers on CBC’s Dragons' Den in 2021.
You can learn more about Aeryon Wellness on their website.
You can also connect with Aeryon on LinkedIn.
You can connect with Julie on LinkedIn or Instagram.
Find Julie's writing at her blog or by ordering her book Big Gorgeous Goals and the brand new official companion workbook!
What did you think of this conversation? We'd love if you'd rate or review our show!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Julie (00:04):
Welcome to Figure 8, where we feature inspiring
stories of women entrepreneurswho have grown their businesses
to seven and eight figuresrevenue.
If you're in the mix of growinga bigger business, these
stories are for you.
Join us as we explore where thetough spots are, how to
overcome them and how to prepareyourself for the next portion
(00:27):
of the climb.
I'm your host, Julie Ellis.
I'm an author, entrepreneur anda growth and leadership coach
who co-founded, grew and exitedan eight-figure business.
This led me to exploring whysome women achieve great things,
and that led to my book BigGorgeous Goals.
(00:47):
Let's explore the systems,processes and people that help
us grow our businesses to newheights.
If you're interested in growingyour business, this podcast
will help.
Now let's get going.
Hello and welcome to thisepisode of Figure 8.
(01:07):
Today I am chatting with AeryonAshlie.
She's an acclaimed holisticnutritionist, keynote speaker,
number one bestselling authorand is known as the visionary
force behind Aeryon WellnessSupplements.
As a founder, she haschampioned holistic health for
women from diverse backgroundsfor nearly two decades and I'm
(01:28):
so excited to dig into this workof yours, this trailblazer,
today.
And welcome to the podcast.
Thank you so much for joiningme.
Aeryon (01:38):
Thank you for having me today.
This is wonderful.
I'm looking forward to theconversation.
Julie (01:42):
Yeah, I am too.
I am too.
Now I know when we chattedbefore, we talked about why it's
so important for products tohave what is commonly called an
NPN, which means they arecertified by Health Canada, and
with the advent of selling onInstagram and all the things
that come into our feeds, we'renot always buying the best
(02:04):
quality products.
So tell me about why you're sopassionate about that.
Aeryon (02:09):
Well, I mean for one, because I'm very passionate
about supporting Canada andbuying Canadian, now more than
ever, you know, and I've alwaysbeen touting this for quite some
time now.
But one of the big things withCanada, we have regulation,
which I want regulation in ournatural health industry.
For us to bring a product tomarket, we have to have, as you
mentioned, an NPN, which is anatural product number.
(02:30):
So what this basically means iswe submit all the certificate
of analysis of every singleproduct, every single ingredient
in that product, and the claimswe want to make.
We have to show that thedosages we are using are the
clinical doses used in studiesto get that claim.
So we can't just put a sprinkleand say, oh, it's going to help
with estrogen metabolism orweight loss.
We actually have the clinicaldose in order to validate that.
(02:53):
And so then you send that offto Health Canada and they look
into it and there's differentclasses.
There's a class one, class two,class three, and they tend to.
You know class three would bemore difficult and in that then
they would provide you with alicense and that usually takes
up to a year to get, sometimeseven longer.
So you're waiting for this tohappen.
You hire somebody who's an NPNexpert.
So there's a lot of work thatgoes into play to bringing a
(03:14):
product to market, and so, inthat, the frustration I have is
every product in Canada on theshelves that you see in your
natural health store will havean NPN right on the front.
But when we have companies fromthe US that are selling on Meta
or advertising on Instagram andFacebook, they don't have to
have this NPN so they're able tomake really outlandish claims.
One of the companies I see on aregular basis you know claims
(03:37):
you lose 14 pounds in a week,which we know is ridiculous, and
so, in that, we can't makethose claims in Canada, Canada,
because that is notscientifically proven, right.
So they're allowed to do thisand sell into Canada and people
can buy personal supply acrossthe border, but it's a real
disservice not only to thevendors like myself who are
doing the work that is requiredfrom Health Canada, but also to
(03:58):
our natural health retailer,because they can't carry these
products that don't have an NPN.
They're claiming these claims,so then it takes away from
supporting the people who workin our country, right, and so
that really riles me, and I, youknow, I've talked to CHFA,
which is our governing body,about having a conversation with
Health Canada.
Hopefully eventually we canhave this where with meta, the
(04:19):
same way that they.
You know we can't watch ourwatch the news it should be.
If you want to advertise intoCanada you have to provide an
NPN.
So we have amazon.
ca.
Everything on amazon.
ca for the most part should havean NPN and they're pretty label
compliant on amazon.
ca.
Amazon.
com is the States right, sothat's why it's harder for us to
order through the States.
You have to use the PO boxsomewhere down south.
(04:40):
But that's really where mypassion lies in that, because
it's about supporting theeconomy and supporting our
economy and also supporting thepeople who are doing the work
properly and following theregulation that we need to do.
And then also the consumer ontheir end knows that what
they're buying is not just smokeand mirrors, it's not just
fluff.
There's no proprietary blends.
(05:02):
If you see that on one of yourproduct, it's not a Canadian
product because you cannot havethat on there.
So for example, I'm going tocall them out.
A1 greens, for example, is aproprietary blend, so you don't
know the dosages that you'regetting of every single
ingredient.
So they can have spirulina andchlorella and all these
wonderful ingredients and callit a superfood, but they could
just do a little sprinkle of ithere in Canada.
(05:22):
You're going to have the actualdosages going down that label,
which is what you want to do islooking for a product that's not
proprietary blend, has an NPNand has that those dosages that
are in there.
Julie (05:32):
Yeah, that's interesting, because the other thing that
struck me as you were speakingthere is that process of
obtaining that NPN and the costassociated with it in that kind
of a timeline also makes it avery uneven playing field.
Aeryon (05:50):
Very uneven, I mean, and also, too, now we're in cost
recovery.
So health Canada is going to beputting right now we can file
for free and get an NPN.
That's not going to happenafter April.
This is what's kind of comingdown the pipeline where we will
have to pay for a class one.
Which class one would be like avitamin D right?
There's one ingredient.
That's a monograph.
So we all kind of know we allhave the same claims we're
allowed to make about vitamin D.
If you look at any vitamin Dacross Canada, it's kind of the
(06:11):
same.
But we get our own specializednumber, class two.
I think it's like two or threeingredients.
And then there's class three.
That's more comprehensive.
But the fees for each of theseto file are now going to start
in play as well.
So not only will we have to hirean NPN specialist who knows how
to file the paperwork properlyto Health Canada and submit in a
way that we need to get our NPN, but then on top of that we're
(06:32):
going to be paying as well toget that NPN license.
So all of a sudden these costsare stacked on top of us.
And then that's not even tomention the incurring costs and
the increasing costs that arehappening right now with
ingredients.
I mean, I just one of myproducts had a 50 cent increase
overnight on each bottle, andthat's due to tariffs and that's
due to all the other and thedollar right, our US dollar is,
(06:52):
you know, the Canadian dollar isdown.
So this all is going tocontribute to make it
challenging in our industry, andso we have to be very diligent
diligent, sorry in making surethat at least that we're on a
fair playing field and thatpeople are really aware of NPNs
and why it is so important tosupport Canadian companies.
Julie (07:12):
Yeah, yep, and then yeah, you trying to figure out on
that model piece of yeah.
With increasing costs that arecoming, how do you still play in
the marketplace and becompetitive in terms of price?
Aeryon (07:26):
Yeah, exactly, and I've had more.
I've been in this industry forover 20 years and I've been in a
variety capacity, from accountmanager and now I'm owner myself
, and I had more in this.
Last year I had more naturalhealth food stores closed down
than ever before.
So there is these smallerstores, the mom and pop.
They can't compete against thegiants you know of amazon.
(07:46):
ca and some of these big giantsthat are out there, but even
against, you know, there's themass, the grocery stores that
are really beginning to get intothe supplementation market as
well.
Right, so it's even moreimportant that we're able to
support Canadian retailer,canadian retailers, canadian
vendors and our economy.
And there's a you know and I'veactually admired that about the
(08:08):
US that they have a very proAmerica buy America mentality.
I think that's fantastic.
We've never had that before.
We're kind of like they're socool.
We want to be like them and Ithink we.
Now.
The one thing I think it'scoming out of all of the stuff
that's going on is that nowwe're like wait a second, we
need to be supporting our ownhere in Canada.
We need to actually reallystart looking at where our
(08:29):
dollar is going and what we'redoing to support our own economy
instead of just buying stuffwithout paying attention to it.
Julie (08:38):
Yeah, and I think it's also.
I mean the advantages to havinga system like we do, where
there is a higher level ofscrutiny and expectation.
I mean from a you know, safety,food safety, system stability
perspective.
That's actually a real pro forus as consumers.
(08:58):
100%.
Aeryon (08:59):
You know there is.
I think I mean I would neverbuy an American supplement,
that's just.
I just wouldn't.
I would only buy Canadian,that's all there is to it.
And I, you know, I go the extramile.
And even now, especially now inthe grocery store the other day
, I put back so many productsbecause I realized they were,
you know, product of the US,made in the US, shipped up to
Canada.
And I'm like, okay, nope, nope.
(09:20):
And I really I was literallysitting and it was funny because
there's another person in theaisle and I think they were
doing the same thing.
We both had our phones out andI'm like I want this to happen.
I want us to be, you know,paying just a little bit more
attention to where our dollar isgoing to be going.
But especially, my industry issupplementation, so I definitely
want people to pay attentionthere too.
Julie (09:40):
And so now take me way back and tell me how you got
into the holistic healthindustry 20 years ago.
Aeryon (09:46):
Yeah, um, so I my, you know, growing up my dad was an
amateur bodybuilder, my mom wasa figure skating coach, so
athletics and aesthetics werereally important in our
household.
So I've always worked out andhad a passion for the gym and
taking care of my body andtraining and, um, I started
doing fitness competitions in my20s and I became a sponsored
athlete for one of the bigcompanies and in that I begged
(10:09):
them for a sales job.
I moved from Toronto to Calgaryto take that job, tripled sales
in six months and then anothercompany kind of stole me and
took me back to Toronto.
I worked there for a year andthen they transferred me to
Vancouver.
So I worked for them for over13 years as an account manager
for the interior of BC and thecoast of BC and they were a
fantastic company, amazing boss.
(10:30):
And then about five years agomy boss decided to sell to
Jameson Wellness and it wasn't.
Shortly after that I waspackaged out and I got a good
chunk of money and I knew Ialways wanted to do my own brand
and at the time the only femalebrand in Canada also sold to
Jameson.
So I knew there was going to bean opportunity there to speak
(10:51):
to women, but I wanted to do ita little differently.
One of the things I don't likeis this whole magic pill
approach Take this andeverything's better Because,
based on my own health issues, Iknew that wasn't the case.
So one of the things we did waswe used QR codes on the front
of every label and that comeswith a complete wellness program
.
So there's a video explainingthe product, two meal plans,
workouts, affirmations, tons ofeducation, and that stems from
(11:16):
our mission, which are we havefive pillars, and they are the
thoughts you make, the friendsyou keep daily movement,
nutrition and, lastly,supplementation, because
supplements are there tosupplement you and you really
have to put everything into awhole.
There's nothing.
I mean, I do have a magic pillin the sense of boric acid,
which is yeast infections andbacterial vaginosis as a vaginal
suppository.
That would be my magic pill, butthe rest of them you have to,
(11:39):
and even that you want to makesure you're taking care of your
gut health.
But in that it really islooking at everything as a whole
and educating women in order tofind sustainable health and
wellness and understand thatit's not just a quick fix.
It takes work on all aspects,so that's kind of where I
started.
It's been five years now.
We're in about 600 storesacross Canada, online and on
(12:02):
Amazon as well amazon.
ca and it's been an incrediblejourney.
I travel and speak and educatewomen and hopefully inspire them
to live a healthier and betterlife.
Julie (12:13):
That's so exciting.
Yeah, it's so interesting.
I mean, obviously you were inthe industry and you knew a lot
about it, but still, thedifference of starting up your
own company, getting your ownformulations made, going down,
you know deciding even whatproducts you felt the world
needed, and you know formulatingthose and actually getting them
(12:34):
to market, like it's a bigproject.
Aeryon (12:36):
It is a big project.
I mean, I I do have a fantasticformulator, so I don't
formulate everything.
Um, I do have ideas a lot ofthe time and I'll come like, hey
, I love this product, I want tochange this, I want to add this
, let's use this new ingredient.
So we'll do those kind ofthings, kind of reinvent the
wheel.
But I do love.
I love what I do.
I know I wake up every morningand I'm so excited to take on
another day and tackle my list.
(12:57):
Sometimes my list is, you know,two, three pages long, but I'm
still really excited to get todo what I do, because I know,
when I get these emails fromwomen who are experiencing
hormonal balance be it inperimenopause or water retention
relief or sleep from snooze or,of course, you know, up and
away with our yeast infectionsand bacterial vaginosis being
like, oh my gosh, it's amazing,it fixed it right away.
(13:19):
That is reassurance that I'mdefinitely on the right path.
Julie (13:24):
Yeah, and what was it that made you sort of focus in
on women and perimenopause inparticular?
Aeryon (13:31):
I'm in perimenopause, so it's an easy one.
Julie (13:35):
Personal experience.
Aeryon (13:36):
Yeah, and what I you know, I started talking about
perimenopause about a year and ahalf ago, and that was kind of
before people really talkedabout perimenopause, and even
when I used to do my lecture Ihad a peri-menopause.
And so then now it's, of course, one word, and what I knew is I
had kind of gone through my ownhealth crisis at 35.
I was overtired, overworked,overstressed.
(13:56):
I was in this industry, but Ihad grown up in a household
where athletics and aestheticsare important, and so I was
quite an overweight child.
So I was always continuouslytrying to lose weight.
If I could just lose weight,I'd be, If I was just smaller,
I'd be, I'd be more worth it.
And that led to an eatingdisorder, 25 year battle with
(14:16):
bulimia, and in that at 35, myadrenals were shot.
My relationship with food washorrible.
My relationship with movementI'd over-exercise all the time.
So I really took a step backand re-evaluated what my
relationship was with holistichealth, and that's really what I
got the five pillars from aswell.
I really worked on cognitivebehavioral therapy.
First, what am I thinking?
Because that's going to controlif I'm training, if I'm eating
(14:38):
nutritious food, if I'm havingboundaries with certain
individuals, right, and I workedon all those five pillars and
that's why they became thefoundation of my company and in
that from that, you know, I hadstarted early perimenopause and
my mom had a horrible menopauseand so looking at that I was
like, wow, if I'm 35 and I'mgoing through this, what is
menopause going to be like forme?
(14:59):
So that's another reason why Ireally started digging in and
taking a look at habits andlifestyle and then from that,
everything kind of it'sinteresting, how timelines, all
you know, and then from that,then I got packaged out after
and so it all just kind of and Iwas like, okay, there's, I want
to create products on themarket that not only give a
message of education but thatalso have clinical doses.
So you're not taking four tosix a day, you can take one to
(15:21):
two, right?
So it's higher extracts, reallygreat formulas and products
that women can trust and getbehind, and it's a woman who has
designed them and I take themall myself.
Julie (15:34):
Yeah, yeah, and I think that is a foundational piece.
Like you're very committed tothe product that you put out
into the world, doing what youclaim it does.
Aeryon (15:45):
Yeah, exactly, and um, and I and I think, as I use them
all right, I mean, I'm I thinkthat you know something you want
to really look at too is aperson using the products
they're selling, um, but I usethem all and I use other
supplements too, and I use alldualities right.
So I think that's important is,I'm a big believer in using
hormone therapy.
I use hormone therapy and I usemy supplements.
(16:06):
It's using whatever makes youfeel better, and that's a big
part of my messaging when I talkabout perimenopause and
menopause is that women need toadvocate for themselves.
We would not walk into a doctornine months pregnant and say,
what am I going to do with this?
You have a birth plan.
The second I found out I waspregnant, I was like, oh my gosh
(16:29):
.
I had a birthing CD and I hadmy ball and I had pictures and I
had my whole suitcase ready togo.
I was so excited to join mom'sgroups and the whole thing.
But when it comes to thisimportant transitional time in
our life, not only that, we haveso many other things going on
too.
Usually, our kids are kind ofgetting ready to go to
university.
Maybe we're looking at ourcareers are high, like the
highest they're at.
We're looking at that partner,going like who are you?
(16:50):
So all these things arehappening and then we hit
perimenopause right and all of asudden we're really thrown for
a loop.
And so it's so important thatin our forties, if early forties
, if we can go in and have aconversation with our doctor and
say tell me what you know aboutmenopause, what are some of the
options I have?
And if that doctor gaslightsyou or tells you you're just
getting older and it's just partof life, go find another doctor
(17:12):
and find somebody that's goingto talk to you about all of the
avenues that you can pursue andthat you can make an educated
choice for yourself.
What you want to do and that'sa big passion of mine is to
hopefully provide women with thetools that they can do that.
Julie (17:25):
Yeah, well, I think one of the things that has been I've
seen lots of dialogue aboutover the last few years is just
the fact that the medical systemhasn't historically been that
good at helping women throughperimenopause and into menopause
.
Aeryon (17:40):
Yeah, I mean I think it's getting a little, maybe a
little better now and thenbecause you know Generation X,
we're like, we're not.
I'm not taking this, I'm notjust going to feel like crap,
there's no way, right.
So I think there's a little bitof that in the fact that we're
like no, we need to find asolution and we're going to
speak up and we're going to saythis is not okay and the
advantage is for our own selfbut also for our daughters.
I have a 16 year old.
(18:01):
I mean I knew my mom wentthrough a tough menopause, but
we didn't have lots ofconversations about it.
Michaela has sat through the Mfactor when I hosted it here and
listened to all the doctorsspeak, and she has attended my
navigating perimenopause seminar.
She understands that we bothright now her being 16 and me
being 50 are both in like I'm insecond puberty and she's in
(18:22):
first puberty.
Our hormones are both doingthis right.
So there's a lot of tension inour household, sometimes lots of
tears, but I'm like it'shormones, babe, it's just
hormones, we're fine.
Julie (18:34):
So you've actually hosted events.
I mean, you talked about theseminar, and then is the M
Factor, a conference.
Aeryon (18:40):
No, the M Factor was through PBS.
We're actually hosting a newone in Calgary, so it's the
movie from the States and so init's really discussing menopause
.
So we hosted one out here andwe had a panel of incredible
doctors, and now we're justhosting one in Calgary on March
4th and I just literally postedit two days ago and we've sold
out, so we're going to.
200 women are coming to it, so,and it's just providing context
(19:03):
to what's going on, what'sgoing on in your body, and
afterwards, having doctors inwhich they can answer to that.
Because, I mean, this filmtalks a lot more about HRT and a
lot of women don't want to godown that route or MRT, and so
it having me there too and talkabout natural supplementation
because there are options ifthat's something people want to
pursue.
But, as I said, my whole agendais to provide women with the
(19:26):
education they need to reallyunderstand that this time in
life, your 40s and 50s it isgame time, right.
If you are not taking care ofyourself with nutrition and
having your fiber, making sureyou're having that 30 protein,
30 grams of protein per meal,eating it like it's your job,
right, lifting weights is themost best thing you can do for
(19:46):
yourself.
When I do my seminars I did onetwo days ago I was in Victoria
speaking at worthy this eventand, um, you know I'm very open.
I'm like I sell supplements.
I'm here, I have my brand, I'mselling supplements.
But today, if my conversation,if you can join the gym after
this and start lifting weightsthat is why I'm here speaking to
you that is the best thing Ican do for you because that will
(20:07):
change your life If you startdedicating time every day and
lifting weights right.
So that's, um, yeah, that's abig part of my passion is to
educate women, inspire them tostart making those habit changes
now.
So, when they're 70, 80, theyare thriving and aging with
purpose and kicking ass.
Julie (20:23):
So yeah, I remember someone saying to me you know,
oh, I wish I was 50 again and Icould, you know, and I was
starting another business.
And then you know, when you'resitting there at 50 and you're
like, oh, I wish I was 35 againstarting another business, like
like, we tend to not plantourselves in bloom in the era
(20:44):
that we're in, we wish for abygone time.
And it is just so interestingabout you know the actions that
you're taking today.
It's so true, right.
If you want to move into youryou know elderly years, you have
to start moving now and it'sgoing to come.
Aeryon (21:04):
I mean, 20 years goes by pretty fast.
And I had a lot of women canresonate with this.
But I had my daughter at 35.
My mom had me at 20.
I had my mom for an extra 15years of my life, right.
And so I had this kind ofrealization.
Last year I was looking atbooking a trip to Italy for
(21:25):
Michaela and I was like, oh, Idon't know if I should do it,
and it's expensive and I shouldsave money this year.
And I was driving back from thegym and all of a sudden I had
this realization that when, whenMichaela's 55, so I'm 50 right
now and Michaela's 55, I'll be90.
My mom's 70, right, 70.
So I get her for an extra liketill I'm seven.
(21:45):
I'm going to get my mom to likemy mom's going to live a long
life.
She's taking really good careof herself.
Mckaylee gets me to 55.
Like she's shorted 15 years oflife with me and in that I have
to be responsible because I wantto be around for her, you know.
And then I started crying.
I went home and booked our tripto Italy.
I'm like, we're going to Italy,we need to go.
(22:06):
And she's like okay, I'm like,cause I'm going to die when
you're 55.
She's like what she's like,stop talking about that I'm like
, but I'm going to be here lessthan grandma, you know.
So it's this like holy crap,this is it is.
You know it is time, cause Iwant to be here for her as long
as possible.
Julie (22:19):
Yeah, no, I think that's a really great point and
obviously that is what tiestogether, that sort of
underlying theme of tyingtogether, you know, the wellness
brand and everything thatyou've been building.
Aeryon (22:32):
Yeah, exactly it really is.
It's what I think about a lot.
It's all I think about air andwellness and care of health and
if I can impart that to somewomen and you know I've had I
had a woman messaged me a whileago.
I did a seminar and she said Ijust want to tell you that I've
been, I've been saying to myselfI need to join the gym, I need
(22:53):
to get back to the gym, and Ijust haven't been doing it and
she goes.
Tonight I came and listened toyou and I've joined the gym and
I just want you to know that andshe goes.
You made a difference.
So don't just join the gym, butbut in that, knowing that
that's going to change hertrajectory and how she's, how
(23:14):
she's operating in the world,that is, that is, to me, what
it's all about.
Julie (23:26):
Yeah, and this idea I think too, of like fitness is,
yes, the lifting weights andcardiovascular health and those
things, but it's also about likecan you pick something up off
the floor?
Can you get up off the floor ifyou fall down?
Like all the functional piecesabout having fitness and health
in your life that make a bigdifference as you age.
Aeryon (23:43):
After the age of 65, accidental falls are the number
one death.
If you are in your 70s and up,and if you fall and break a hip,
25% do not live past a year.
Taking care of your bonedensity is incredibly important,
especially for women, becauseas estrogen drops, that affects
our bone density levels.
So in that, vitamin D is a bigone.
We want to make sure we'retaking and having protein,
(24:03):
having to make sure I have anice muscle skeletal frame.
But jump training is a big oneyou can do as well.
I do plyos once a week where I'mjump training and research has
now shown that doing was it 10to 20 jumps twice a day
increased bone density in thehips.
Now I only do once a week.
So I'm jumping once a week andI do my walking on the treadmill
(24:25):
.
Then I go to the aerobics roomand I'll do jump squats, pop
squats.
I'll just do a bunch of them.
So you're constantly jumpingright.
You're giving your bone densitysome impact and in that the
research has shown that thatactually helps with bone density
as well.
And the big thing with that toois when we think about falling
and that jerk, let's say, youfall off a curb If you've done
jump training for 20 years.
(24:46):
When you do this, you're goingto be able to catch yourself
faster because your instinctsare better.
You're used to doing that kindof immediate catching, and so
that is another fundamentalreason why we want to make sure
that we're jump training andthen also lifting, because
that's going to help too.
Julie (25:01):
Interesting, interesting.
And so now, where, where do yougo from here with, with Aeryon
Wellness?
What's the, what's your path?
Aeryon (25:12):
Everybody's going to buy Arianne Wellness.
Well, right now I mean growingthe brand definitely.
You know that's, as I mentioned, 600 stores across Canada.
We always said being a globalbrand is one of the intentions
behind this product line.
We are in the States.
We've had to rethink what we'redoing in the States right now,
so we're kind of taking a pauseon that.
I'm just waiting to see kind ofwhat ends up rolling down the
(25:34):
pipeline eventually.
But UK and I guess the bigthing is just growing the brand
and becoming the number onefemale supplement brand in
Canada is a big goal of mine.
That everybody understands thebrand, knows what it is, knows
it's trusted and reliable.
It's third-party tested thatthey can scan that QR code and
learn about the product.
We were featured on Dragon'sDen in 2022, and I walked away
(25:56):
with three offers and that's howwe walked away with three
offers and so in that we becomethe trusted brand known for the
average day consumer that AeryonWellness definitely has your
needs covered.
Julie (26:09):
Yeah, and what was that experience like going through
the pitching experience and haveyou pitched for investors
outside of Dragon's Den as well?
Aeryon (26:19):
So I own 100% of the company and I don't know if I'll
probably wait on that one.
I've had some really incrediblementors over the years, and one
of them was my old boss whosold to Jameson, and one of the
things they've always told me ishold on as much as you possibly
can.
So I want to wait until we getto a much higher level before I
start looking at bringingsomebody in.
(26:40):
And if I was able to bringsomebody in who came in as a
partner where I could still workin the brand, that would be
what I would really like to do.
But Dragon's Den was anincredible, intense experience
and I public speak quite a bit,but the thing is is with that
pitch, you know you have twominutes and you have to have it
memorized.
I'm usually using PowerPointand I speak off the cuff, so I
wanted to make sure I hadeverything nailed that I was
(27:02):
able to say it was ArleneDickinson that agreed to my
offer and so she said yes.
And then, after the show, Iwent through the due diligence,
which was interesting, because Idon't check out your numbers
before the show, right?
So they don't really know.
Julie (27:14):
Right.
Aeryon (27:15):
Um, and so I wanted them to come back to me and offer me
exactly what and say you're allyour numbers checked up here,
so you know, would you like tocome in?
So it was going to be a hundredthousand dollars I believe it
was for 15%, if I'm correct,back in 2022.
But what I did do was take theshow's episode and I went to TD
Bank, which is my bank, showedthem the episode and then I got
(27:37):
the a hundred thousand dollarline of credit instead.
So I didn't have to give upanything.
But it was interesting meetingArlene.
I mean, from what I've heardand new people have gone on the
show, they haven't had a chanceto sit down and have
conversations with her.
So her and I have I think I hadtwo, three zoom calls so I had
an opportunity to get to talkwith her.
She's an impressive woman inbusiness.
You know I have that muchrespect for her and looking at
(27:57):
for myself when I eventuallywalk away from Aeryon wellness,
my goal is to mentor young womenin business and also do
investment as well.
So I was really curious abouthow this all kind of went
through, how the process wasworking with that, and so that's
one of the things I know,eventually, I'd like to be doing
.
I already mentor women inbusiness through the forum, but
that's something I want tocontinue doing and working with
(28:18):
young women.
Julie (28:19):
Yeah, well, I think it's important and I mean it's one of
the reasons for this podcast isto tell the stories of people
who are doing it, so the peoplewho want to get there can
understand that it's possible.
Yeah.
Aeryon (28:34):
And that it's.
I mean it's it's a lot of work.
I mean there are definitely, Ithink, on a daily basis.
I'm like I should have goneinto real estate.
Why did I not just buy propertywith my money?
Why did I do this?
It was one thing you know, butI think that's when you have to.
You have to listen to thatwhisper.
And when I knew, when I got mymoney, when I got my package
from Jameson, I was like do Iknow?
(28:55):
If I don't do this, I'm alwaysgoing to wonder what, if I will
always wonder that you know, andno matter what, this is going
to teach me so much and I've hadso many expensive lessons, so
many expensive lessons.
But in that, doing this hasbeen probably one of the
greatest adventures Besides mydaughter's, my first greatest
(29:16):
adventure in my life.
It's definitely been one of thegreatest adventures in my life.
Julie (29:20):
Yeah, I think it's an interesting thing, the learning
curve that you feel like youknow.
There are the days where you'relike you know, have I learned
everything yet?
And the answer is always no.
There's always more to learn,and and sometimes it's steep and
bumpy.
Aeryon (29:37):
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
I mean we've had some prettyDecember was a pretty big
learning curve with me.
We had I've talked to a lot ofother entrepreneurs who've had
bookkeepers that weren't doingthe best job and we experienced
that Things were kind of messyand it's taken us a long time to
get through it, but in that Icame out with a very different
perspective and an amazingbookkeeper now who has had to be
(29:58):
really and now I'm morediligent and more weekly
meetings and really looking atthe numbers and dialing things
down, Because where I thrive andwhere I shine is sales and I
love being in my stores andtalking to my retailers.
I don't want to sit and doExcel spreadsheets Right and so
I trust somebody to do that andthey're not doing it.
So it's, I've learned a lotover the years, so it's just
(30:20):
getting better and smarter andwiser.
Julie (30:22):
Yeah, and figuring out what are the.
You know what are the like siximportant things that you have
to do at the end of every monthto check for the integrity of
the data, and you know thosekinds of things Because
financial is a huge risk forevery entrepreneur.
Aeryon (30:38):
It's a huge risk.
You know, and I think you know,there's a lot of conversation
about, you know, supportingwomen in business and how we
don't get money, we don't getthe funds, and it's still really
challenging to get money,especially right now, you know.
I mean, I've it's.
It's very challenging to getmoney from the bank and have
them give you extra, you know.
So you have to get reallyscrappy at times and my word for
(31:01):
2025 is no, no, no, no, no, no.
Have our marketing place.
No, you know, and I have agreat fractional operations and
marketing person who's a verydear friend of mine, and so
she's like no, and I'm like no,no, and I'll go to her.
I'm like I have an idea.
She's like mm-hmm and she'slike no.
So that's been something I'vehad to land in, because I think,
(31:25):
as an entrepreneur, when youhave people come to you with
ideas, you want to say yes toeverything, right.
So it's about really sayingokay, this is not, this is not
going to move the needle in theright way.
Julie (31:35):
Yeah, and in a way it's a luxury to have many, many more
things you could do than like.
That number of options is ablessing, but it's really hard
to be to let go of some of themor put them in the parking lot
or say not right now.
Aeryon (31:52):
I know, and there's so many things you know when you
look at, oh, but this could growthe brand, it can make it work,
and it can make it.
But then I think my big thingis what I know is sticking with
what I know and just doing,repeating, rinse and repeat
exactly what has worked for meup to now, and that's what I
need to focus on.
Just because we've had suchtremendous growth this past year
that that's been challengingwhen you're trying to not only
(32:15):
launch new products in ourindustry is we don't just have
one product we like live onforever.
We, you know, two a year.
So, in that, looking at whenyou have growth, having to buy
inventory and then create a newproduct makes it almost
impossible, right.
So really really having to becrappy so it's um, that's
something else and I love, Ilove launching new products.
(32:36):
Like nothing makes me happierthan launching something new,
right.
And then I'm onto the next one.
But I've had to be like, okay,we can focus on what we have.
Julie (32:44):
We can love all of our children, not just the new one.
Aeryon (32:50):
I know but the new ones are always like look so shiny
and new and look at all thethings it does.
I'm so proud of it, you know.
So, yeah, I definitely.
Um, I'm learning to land alittle bit more in that too.
Julie (33:01):
So yeah, well, I think that's one of the big shifts as
the company grows out of startupand into scale up, is that like
you have to find a landing spotwhere you get the traction that
you need.
You can't just keep switchingand switching and following all
the ideas.
Aeryon (33:18):
Looking at filling the gaps, looking at what products
aren't moving.
How do we support retailerswhen those aren't moving?
Because it's not just listing aproduct, it's making sure that
product is turning and thatthey're selling it.
And if they're not selling it,it's like okay, what do I need
to talk to the retailer about?
Does your staff need to beeducated?
Do we need to do a contest instore?
Do we need to put it on flyer?
What you know?
What are the flyer prices?
Are they way too much for me tocontribute to?
Julie (33:53):
And if thinking cap on and being like, how can we
support a store level so we canget this product moving and make
sure that it gets in the handas many of consumers as possible
.
Yeah Well, and back to worlddomination.
I can't wait to see where youtake it so thank you.
Aeryon (34:02):
Thank you, yeah, I'm excited it's going to be a good
year.
I'm manifesting it.
Now it's the Leo moon and I'm aLeo, today's the Leo moon, so
the big moon for me.
So this is I'm putting it allout there what I want, good.
Julie (34:15):
Well, we will put all the details about the brand and
where people can find you in theshow notes for today, and I
hope that your growth path is asbig and explosive as you are
planning for this year.
Aeryon (34:29):
Thank you so much.
Thank you for having me on.
I really appreciate it.
Julie (34:32):
Thanks for chatting with me today.
I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode.
Please remember to hitsubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform so you won'tmiss any episodes.
Figure 8 isn't just a podcast.
It's a way of seeing the big,gorgeous goals of women
entrepreneurs coming to life.
If you're interested inlearning more, you can find my
(34:55):
book Big Gorgeous Goals onAmazon.
Anywhere you might live.
For more about my growth andleadership training programs
visit www.
julieellis.
ca.
To see how we might worktogether.
Read my blog or sign up to getyour free diagnostic.
Are you ready for growth?
(35:16):
Once again, that's www.
julieellis.
ca.
When we work together, we allwin.
See you again soon for anotherepisode of Figure 8.
Welcome to Figure 8, where we feature inspiring
stories of women entrepreneurswho have grown their businesses
to seven and eight figuresrevenue.
If you're in the mix of growinga bigger business, these
stories are for you.
Join us as we explore where thetough spots are, how to
overcome them and how to prepareyourself for the next portion
(00:27):
of the climb.
I'm your host, Julie Ellis.
I'm an author, entrepreneur anda growth and leadership coach
who co-founded, grew and exitedan eight-figure business.
This led me to exploring whysome women achieve great things,
and that led to my book BigGorgeous Goals.
(00:47):
Let's explore the systems,processes and people that help
us grow our businesses to newheights.
If you're interested in growingyour business, this podcast
will help.
Now let's get going.
Hello and welcome to thisepisode of Figure 8.
(01:07):
Today I am chatting with AeryonAshlie.
She's an acclaimed holisticnutritionist, keynote speaker,
number one bestselling authorand is known as the visionary
force behind Aeryon WellnessSupplements.
As a founder, she haschampioned holistic health for
women from diverse backgroundsfor nearly two decades and I'm
(01:28):
so excited to dig into this workof yours, this trailblazer,
today.
And welcome to the podcast.
Thank you so much for joiningme.
Aeryon (01:38):
Thank you for having me today.
This is wonderful.
I'm looking forward to theconversation.
Julie (01:42):
Yeah, I am too.
I am too.
Now I know when we chattedbefore, we talked about why it's
so important for products tohave what is commonly called an
NPN, which means they arecertified by Health Canada, and
with the advent of selling onInstagram and all the things
that come into our feeds, we'renot always buying the best
(02:04):
quality products.
So tell me about why you're sopassionate about that.
Aeryon (02:09):
Well, I mean for one, because I'm very passionate
about supporting Canada andbuying Canadian, now more than
ever, you know, and I've alwaysbeen touting this for quite some
time now.
But one of the big things withCanada, we have regulation,
which I want regulation in ournatural health industry.
For us to bring a product tomarket, we have to have, as you
mentioned, an NPN, which is anatural product number.
(02:30):
So what this basically means iswe submit all the certificate
of analysis of every singleproduct, every single ingredient
in that product, and the claimswe want to make.
We have to show that thedosages we are using are the
clinical doses used in studiesto get that claim.
So we can't just put a sprinkleand say, oh, it's going to help
with estrogen metabolism orweight loss.
We actually have the clinicaldose in order to validate that.
(02:53):
And so then you send that offto Health Canada and they look
into it and there's differentclasses.
There's a class one, class two,class three, and they tend to.
You know class three would bemore difficult and in that then
they would provide you with alicense and that usually takes
up to a year to get, sometimeseven longer.
So you're waiting for this tohappen.
You hire somebody who's an NPNexpert.
So there's a lot of work thatgoes into play to bringing a
(03:14):
product to market, and so, inthat, the frustration I have is
every product in Canada on theshelves that you see in your
natural health store will havean NPN right on the front.
But when we have companies fromthe US that are selling on Meta
or advertising on Instagram andFacebook, they don't have to
have this NPN so they're able tomake really outlandish claims.
One of the companies I see on aregular basis you know claims
(03:37):
you lose 14 pounds in a week,which we know is ridiculous, and
so, in that, we can't makethose claims in Canada, Canada,
because that is notscientifically proven, right.
So they're allowed to do thisand sell into Canada and people
can buy personal supply acrossthe border, but it's a real
disservice not only to thevendors like myself who are
doing the work that is requiredfrom Health Canada, but also to
(03:58):
our natural health retailer,because they can't carry these
products that don't have an NPN.
They're claiming these claims,so then it takes away from
supporting the people who workin our country, right, and so
that really riles me, and I, youknow, I've talked to CHFA,
which is our governing body,about having a conversation with
Health Canada.
Hopefully eventually we canhave this where with meta, the
(04:19):
same way that they.
You know we can't watch ourwatch the news it should be.
If you want to advertise intoCanada you have to provide an
NPN.
So we have amazon.
ca.
Everything on amazon.
ca for the most part should havean NPN and they're pretty label
compliant on amazon.
ca.
Amazon.
com is the States right, sothat's why it's harder for us to
order through the States.
You have to use the PO boxsomewhere down south.
(04:40):
But that's really where mypassion lies in that, because
it's about supporting theeconomy and supporting our
economy and also supporting thepeople who are doing the work
properly and following theregulation that we need to do.
And then also the consumer ontheir end knows that what
they're buying is not just smokeand mirrors, it's not just
fluff.
There's no proprietary blends.
(05:02):
If you see that on one of yourproduct, it's not a Canadian
product because you cannot havethat on there.
So for example, I'm going tocall them out.
A1 greens, for example, is aproprietary blend, so you don't
know the dosages that you'regetting of every single
ingredient.
So they can have spirulina andchlorella and all these
wonderful ingredients and callit a superfood, but they could
just do a little sprinkle of ithere in Canada.
(05:22):
You're going to have the actualdosages going down that label,
which is what you want to do islooking for a product that's not
proprietary blend, has an NPNand has that those dosages that
are in there.
Julie (05:32):
Yeah, that's interesting, because the other thing that
struck me as you were speakingthere is that process of
obtaining that NPN and the costassociated with it in that kind
of a timeline also makes it avery uneven playing field.
Aeryon (05:50):
Very uneven, I mean, and also, too, now we're in cost
recovery.
So health Canada is going to beputting right now we can file
for free and get an NPN.
That's not going to happenafter April.
This is what's kind of comingdown the pipeline where we will
have to pay for a class one.
Which class one would be like avitamin D right?
There's one ingredient.
That's a monograph.
So we all kind of know we allhave the same claims we're
allowed to make about vitamin D.
If you look at any vitamin Dacross Canada, it's kind of the
(06:11):
same.
But we get our own specializednumber, class two.
I think it's like two or threeingredients.
And then there's class three.
That's more comprehensive.
But the fees for each of theseto file are now going to start
in play as well.
So not only will we have to hirean NPN specialist who knows how
to file the paperwork properlyto Health Canada and submit in a
way that we need to get our NPN, but then on top of that we're
(06:32):
going to be paying as well toget that NPN license.
So all of a sudden these costsare stacked on top of us.
And then that's not even tomention the incurring costs and
the increasing costs that arehappening right now with
ingredients.
I mean, I just one of myproducts had a 50 cent increase
overnight on each bottle, andthat's due to tariffs and that's
due to all the other and thedollar right, our US dollar is,
(06:52):
you know, the Canadian dollar isdown.
So this all is going tocontribute to make it
challenging in our industry, andso we have to be very diligent
diligent, sorry in making surethat at least that we're on a
fair playing field and thatpeople are really aware of NPNs
and why it is so important tosupport Canadian companies.
Julie (07:12):
Yeah, yep, and then yeah, you trying to figure out on
that model piece of yeah.
With increasing costs that arecoming, how do you still play in
the marketplace and becompetitive in terms of price?
Aeryon (07:26):
Yeah, exactly, and I've had more.
I've been in this industry forover 20 years and I've been in a
variety capacity, from accountmanager and now I'm owner myself
, and I had more in this.
Last year I had more naturalhealth food stores closed down
than ever before.
So there is these smallerstores, the mom and pop.
They can't compete against thegiants you know of amazon.
(07:46):
ca and some of these big giantsthat are out there, but even
against, you know, there's themass, the grocery stores that
are really beginning to get intothe supplementation market as
well.
Right, so it's even moreimportant that we're able to
support Canadian retailer,canadian retailers, canadian
vendors and our economy.
And there's a you know and I'veactually admired that about the
(08:08):
US that they have a very proAmerica buy America mentality.
I think that's fantastic.
We've never had that before.
We're kind of like they're socool.
We want to be like them and Ithink we.
Now.
The one thing I think it'scoming out of all of the stuff
that's going on is that nowwe're like wait a second, we
need to be supporting our ownhere in Canada.
We need to actually reallystart looking at where our
(08:29):
dollar is going and what we'redoing to support our own economy
instead of just buying stuffwithout paying attention to it.
Julie (08:38):
Yeah, and I think it's also.
I mean the advantages to havinga system like we do, where
there is a higher level ofscrutiny and expectation.
I mean from a you know, safety,food safety, system stability
perspective.
That's actually a real pro forus as consumers.
(08:58):
100%.
Aeryon (08:59):
You know there is.
I think I mean I would neverbuy an American supplement,
that's just.
I just wouldn't.
I would only buy Canadian,that's all there is to it.
And I, you know, I go the extramile.
And even now, especially now inthe grocery store the other day
, I put back so many productsbecause I realized they were,
you know, product of the US,made in the US, shipped up to
Canada.
And I'm like, okay, nope, nope.
(09:20):
And I really I was literallysitting and it was funny because
there's another person in theaisle and I think they were
doing the same thing.
We both had our phones out andI'm like I want this to happen.
I want us to be, you know,paying just a little bit more
attention to where our dollar isgoing to be going.
But especially, my industry issupplementation, so I definitely
want people to pay attentionthere too.
Julie (09:40):
And so now take me way back and tell me how you got
into the holistic healthindustry 20 years ago.
Aeryon (09:46):
Yeah, um, so I my, you know, growing up my dad was an
amateur bodybuilder, my mom wasa figure skating coach, so
athletics and aesthetics werereally important in our
household.
So I've always worked out andhad a passion for the gym and
taking care of my body andtraining and, um, I started
doing fitness competitions in my20s and I became a sponsored
athlete for one of the bigcompanies and in that I begged
(10:09):
them for a sales job.
I moved from Toronto to Calgaryto take that job, tripled sales
in six months and then anothercompany kind of stole me and
took me back to Toronto.
I worked there for a year andthen they transferred me to
Vancouver.
So I worked for them for over13 years as an account manager
for the interior of BC and thecoast of BC and they were a
fantastic company, amazing boss.
(10:30):
And then about five years agomy boss decided to sell to
Jameson Wellness and it wasn't.
Shortly after that I waspackaged out and I got a good
chunk of money and I knew Ialways wanted to do my own brand
and at the time the only femalebrand in Canada also sold to
Jameson.
So I knew there was going to bean opportunity there to speak
(10:51):
to women, but I wanted to do ita little differently.
One of the things I don't likeis this whole magic pill
approach Take this andeverything's better Because,
based on my own health issues, Iknew that wasn't the case.
So one of the things we did waswe used QR codes on the front
of every label and that comeswith a complete wellness program
.
So there's a video explainingthe product, two meal plans,
workouts, affirmations, tons ofeducation, and that stems from
(11:16):
our mission, which are we havefive pillars, and they are the
thoughts you make, the friendsyou keep daily movement,
nutrition and, lastly,supplementation, because
supplements are there tosupplement you and you really
have to put everything into awhole.
There's nothing.
I mean, I do have a magic pillin the sense of boric acid,
which is yeast infections andbacterial vaginosis as a vaginal
suppository.
That would be my magic pill, butthe rest of them you have to,
(11:39):
and even that you want to makesure you're taking care of your
gut health.
But in that it really islooking at everything as a whole
and educating women in order tofind sustainable health and
wellness and understand thatit's not just a quick fix.
It takes work on all aspects,so that's kind of where I
started.
It's been five years now.
We're in about 600 storesacross Canada, online and on
(12:02):
Amazon as well amazon.
ca and it's been an incrediblejourney.
I travel and speak and educatewomen and hopefully inspire them
to live a healthier and betterlife.
Julie (12:13):
That's so exciting.
Yeah, it's so interesting.
I mean, obviously you were inthe industry and you knew a lot
about it, but still, thedifference of starting up your
own company, getting your ownformulations made, going down,
you know deciding even whatproducts you felt the world
needed, and you know formulatingthose and actually getting them
(12:34):
to market, like it's a bigproject.
Aeryon (12:36):
It is a big project.
I mean, I I do have a fantasticformulator, so I don't
formulate everything.
Um, I do have ideas a lot ofthe time and I'll come like, hey
, I love this product, I want tochange this, I want to add this
, let's use this new ingredient.
So we'll do those kind ofthings, kind of reinvent the
wheel.
But I do love.
I love what I do.
I know I wake up every morningand I'm so excited to take on
another day and tackle my list.
(12:57):
Sometimes my list is, you know,two, three pages long, but I'm
still really excited to get todo what I do, because I know,
when I get these emails fromwomen who are experiencing
hormonal balance be it inperimenopause or water retention
relief or sleep from snooze or,of course, you know, up and
away with our yeast infectionsand bacterial vaginosis being
like, oh my gosh, it's amazing,it fixed it right away.
(13:19):
That is reassurance that I'mdefinitely on the right path.
Julie (13:24):
Yeah, and what was it that made you sort of focus in
on women and perimenopause inparticular?
Aeryon (13:31):
I'm in perimenopause, so it's an easy one.
Julie (13:35):
Personal experience.
Aeryon (13:36):
Yeah, and what I you know, I started talking about
perimenopause about a year and ahalf ago, and that was kind of
before people really talkedabout perimenopause, and even
when I used to do my lecture Ihad a peri-menopause.
And so then now it's, of course, one word, and what I knew is I
had kind of gone through my ownhealth crisis at 35.
I was overtired, overworked,overstressed.
(13:56):
I was in this industry, but Ihad grown up in a household
where athletics and aestheticsare important, and so I was
quite an overweight child.
So I was always continuouslytrying to lose weight.
If I could just lose weight,I'd be, If I was just smaller,
I'd be, I'd be more worth it.
And that led to an eatingdisorder, 25 year battle with
(14:16):
bulimia, and in that at 35, myadrenals were shot.
My relationship with food washorrible.
My relationship with movementI'd over-exercise all the time.
So I really took a step backand re-evaluated what my
relationship was with holistichealth, and that's really what I
got the five pillars from aswell.
I really worked on cognitivebehavioral therapy.
First, what am I thinking?
Because that's going to controlif I'm training, if I'm eating
(14:38):
nutritious food, if I'm havingboundaries with certain
individuals, right, and I workedon all those five pillars and
that's why they became thefoundation of my company and in
that from that, you know, I hadstarted early perimenopause and
my mom had a horrible menopauseand so looking at that I was
like, wow, if I'm 35 and I'mgoing through this, what is
menopause going to be like forme?
(14:59):
So that's another reason why Ireally started digging in and
taking a look at habits andlifestyle and then from that,
everything kind of it'sinteresting, how timelines, all
you know, and then from that,then I got packaged out after
and so it all just kind of and Iwas like, okay, there's, I want
to create products on themarket that not only give a
message of education but thatalso have clinical doses.
So you're not taking four tosix a day, you can take one to
(15:21):
two, right?
So it's higher extracts, reallygreat formulas and products
that women can trust and getbehind, and it's a woman who has
designed them and I take themall myself.
Julie (15:34):
Yeah, yeah, and I think that is a foundational piece.
Like you're very committed tothe product that you put out
into the world, doing what youclaim it does.
Aeryon (15:45):
Yeah, exactly, and um, and I and I think, as I use them
all right, I mean, I'm I thinkthat you know something you want
to really look at too is aperson using the products
they're selling, um, but I usethem all and I use other
supplements too, and I use alldualities right.
So I think that's important is,I'm a big believer in using
hormone therapy.
I use hormone therapy and I usemy supplements.
(16:06):
It's using whatever makes youfeel better, and that's a big
part of my messaging when I talkabout perimenopause and
menopause is that women need toadvocate for themselves.
We would not walk into a doctornine months pregnant and say,
what am I going to do with this?
You have a birth plan.
The second I found out I waspregnant, I was like, oh my gosh
(16:29):
.
I had a birthing CD and I hadmy ball and I had pictures and I
had my whole suitcase ready togo.
I was so excited to join mom'sgroups and the whole thing.
But when it comes to thisimportant transitional time in
our life, not only that, we haveso many other things going on
too.
Usually, our kids are kind ofgetting ready to go to
university.
Maybe we're looking at ourcareers are high, like the
highest they're at.
We're looking at that partner,going like who are you?
(16:50):
So all these things arehappening and then we hit
perimenopause right and all of asudden we're really thrown for
a loop.
And so it's so important thatin our forties, if early forties
, if we can go in and have aconversation with our doctor and
say tell me what you know aboutmenopause, what are some of the
options I have?
And if that doctor gaslightsyou or tells you you're just
getting older and it's just partof life, go find another doctor
(17:12):
and find somebody that's goingto talk to you about all of the
avenues that you can pursue andthat you can make an educated
choice for yourself.
What you want to do and that'sa big passion of mine is to
hopefully provide women with thetools that they can do that.
Julie (17:25):
Yeah, well, I think one of the things that has been I've
seen lots of dialogue aboutover the last few years is just
the fact that the medical systemhasn't historically been that
good at helping women throughperimenopause and into menopause
.
Aeryon (17:40):
Yeah, I mean I think it's getting a little, maybe a
little better now and thenbecause you know Generation X,
we're like, we're not.
I'm not taking this, I'm notjust going to feel like crap,
there's no way, right.
So I think there's a little bitof that in the fact that we're
like no, we need to find asolution and we're going to
speak up and we're going to saythis is not okay and the
advantage is for our own selfbut also for our daughters.
I have a 16 year old.
(18:01):
I mean I knew my mom wentthrough a tough menopause, but
we didn't have lots ofconversations about it.
Michaela has sat through the Mfactor when I hosted it here and
listened to all the doctorsspeak, and she has attended my
navigating perimenopause seminar.
She understands that we bothright now her being 16 and me
being 50 are both in like I'm insecond puberty and she's in
(18:22):
first puberty.
Our hormones are both doingthis right.
So there's a lot of tension inour household, sometimes lots of
tears, but I'm like it'shormones, babe, it's just
hormones, we're fine.
Julie (18:34):
So you've actually hosted events.
I mean, you talked about theseminar, and then is the M
Factor, a conference.
Aeryon (18:40):
No, the M Factor was through PBS.
We're actually hosting a newone in Calgary, so it's the
movie from the States and so init's really discussing menopause
.
So we hosted one out here andwe had a panel of incredible
doctors, and now we're justhosting one in Calgary on March
4th and I just literally postedit two days ago and we've sold
out, so we're going to.
200 women are coming to it, so,and it's just providing context
(19:03):
to what's going on, what'sgoing on in your body, and
afterwards, having doctors inwhich they can answer to that.
Because, I mean, this filmtalks a lot more about HRT and a
lot of women don't want to godown that route or MRT, and so
it having me there too and talkabout natural supplementation
because there are options ifthat's something people want to
pursue.
But, as I said, my whole agendais to provide women with the
(19:26):
education they need to reallyunderstand that this time in
life, your 40s and 50s it isgame time, right.
If you are not taking care ofyourself with nutrition and
having your fiber, making sureyou're having that 30 protein,
30 grams of protein per meal,eating it like it's your job,
right, lifting weights is themost best thing you can do for
(19:46):
yourself.
When I do my seminars I did onetwo days ago I was in Victoria
speaking at worthy this eventand, um, you know I'm very open.
I'm like I sell supplements.
I'm here, I have my brand, I'mselling supplements.
But today, if my conversation,if you can join the gym after
this and start lifting weightsthat is why I'm here speaking to
you that is the best thing Ican do for you because that will
(20:07):
change your life If you startdedicating time every day and
lifting weights right.
So that's, um, yeah, that's abig part of my passion is to
educate women, inspire them tostart making those habit changes
now.
So, when they're 70, 80, theyare thriving and aging with
purpose and kicking ass.
Julie (20:23):
So yeah, I remember someone saying to me you know,
oh, I wish I was 50 again and Icould, you know, and I was
starting another business.
And then you know, when you'resitting there at 50 and you're
like, oh, I wish I was 35 againstarting another business, like
like, we tend to not plantourselves in bloom in the era
(20:44):
that we're in, we wish for abygone time.
And it is just so interestingabout you know the actions that
you're taking today.
It's so true, right.
If you want to move into youryou know elderly years, you have
to start moving now and it'sgoing to come.
Aeryon (21:04):
I mean, 20 years goes by pretty fast.
And I had a lot of women canresonate with this.
But I had my daughter at 35.
My mom had me at 20.
I had my mom for an extra 15years of my life, right.
And so I had this kind ofrealization.
Last year I was looking atbooking a trip to Italy for
(21:25):
Michaela and I was like, oh, Idon't know if I should do it,
and it's expensive and I shouldsave money this year.
And I was driving back from thegym and all of a sudden I had
this realization that when, whenMichaela's 55, so I'm 50 right
now and Michaela's 55, I'll be90.
My mom's 70, right, 70.
So I get her for an extra liketill I'm seven.
(21:45):
I'm going to get my mom to likemy mom's going to live a long
life.
She's taking really good careof herself.
Mckaylee gets me to 55.
Like she's shorted 15 years oflife with me and in that I have
to be responsible because I wantto be around for her, you know.
And then I started crying.
I went home and booked our tripto Italy.
I'm like, we're going to Italy,we need to go.
(22:06):
And she's like okay, I'm like,cause I'm going to die when
you're 55.
She's like what she's like,stop talking about that I'm like
, but I'm going to be here lessthan grandma, you know.
So it's this like holy crap,this is it is.
You know it is time, cause Iwant to be here for her as long
as possible.
Julie (22:19):
Yeah, no, I think that's a really great point and
obviously that is what tiestogether, that sort of
underlying theme of tyingtogether, you know, the wellness
brand and everything thatyou've been building.
Aeryon (22:32):
Yeah, exactly it really is.
It's what I think about a lot.
It's all I think about air andwellness and care of health and
if I can impart that to somewomen and you know I've had I
had a woman messaged me a whileago.
I did a seminar and she said Ijust want to tell you that I've
been, I've been saying to myselfI need to join the gym, I need
(22:53):
to get back to the gym, and Ijust haven't been doing it and
she goes.
Tonight I came and listened toyou and I've joined the gym and
I just want you to know that andshe goes.
You made a difference.
So don't just join the gym, butbut in that, knowing that
that's going to change hertrajectory and how she's, how
(23:14):
she's operating in the world,that is, that is, to me, what
it's all about.
Julie (23:26):
Yeah, and this idea I think too, of like fitness is,
yes, the lifting weights andcardiovascular health and those
things, but it's also about likecan you pick something up off
the floor?
Can you get up off the floor ifyou fall down?
Like all the functional piecesabout having fitness and health
in your life that make a bigdifference as you age.
Aeryon (23:43):
After the age of 65, accidental falls are the number
one death.
If you are in your 70s and up,and if you fall and break a hip,
25% do not live past a year.
Taking care of your bonedensity is incredibly important,
especially for women, becauseas estrogen drops, that affects
our bone density levels.
So in that, vitamin D is a bigone.
We want to make sure we'retaking and having protein,
(24:03):
having to make sure I have anice muscle skeletal frame.
But jump training is a big oneyou can do as well.
I do plyos once a week where I'mjump training and research has
now shown that doing was it 10to 20 jumps twice a day
increased bone density in thehips.
Now I only do once a week.
So I'm jumping once a week andI do my walking on the treadmill
(24:25):
.
Then I go to the aerobics roomand I'll do jump squats, pop
squats.
I'll just do a bunch of them.
So you're constantly jumpingright.
You're giving your bone densitysome impact and in that the
research has shown that thatactually helps with bone density
as well.
And the big thing with that toois when we think about falling
and that jerk, let's say, youfall off a curb If you've done
jump training for 20 years.
(24:46):
When you do this, you're goingto be able to catch yourself
faster because your instinctsare better.
You're used to doing that kindof immediate catching, and so
that is another fundamentalreason why we want to make sure
that we're jump training andthen also lifting, because
that's going to help too.
Julie (25:01):
Interesting, interesting.
And so now, where, where do yougo from here with, with Aeryon
Wellness?
What's the, what's your path?
Aeryon (25:12):
Everybody's going to buy Arianne Wellness.
Well, right now I mean growingthe brand definitely.
You know that's, as I mentioned, 600 stores across Canada.
We always said being a globalbrand is one of the intentions
behind this product line.
We are in the States.
We've had to rethink what we'redoing in the States right now,
so we're kind of taking a pauseon that.
I'm just waiting to see kind ofwhat ends up rolling down the
(25:34):
pipeline eventually.
But UK and I guess the bigthing is just growing the brand
and becoming the number onefemale supplement brand in
Canada is a big goal of mine.
That everybody understands thebrand, knows what it is, knows
it's trusted and reliable.
It's third-party tested thatthey can scan that QR code and
learn about the product.
We were featured on Dragon'sDen in 2022, and I walked away
(25:56):
with three offers and that's howwe walked away with three
offers and so in that we becomethe trusted brand known for the
average day consumer that AeryonWellness definitely has your
needs covered.
Julie (26:09):
Yeah, and what was that experience like going through
the pitching experience and haveyou pitched for investors
outside of Dragon's Den as well?
Aeryon (26:19):
So I own 100% of the company and I don't know if I'll
probably wait on that one.
I've had some really incrediblementors over the years, and one
of them was my old boss whosold to Jameson, and one of the
things they've always told me ishold on as much as you possibly
can.
So I want to wait until we getto a much higher level before I
start looking at bringingsomebody in.
(26:40):
And if I was able to bringsomebody in who came in as a
partner where I could still workin the brand, that would be
what I would really like to do.
But Dragon's Den was anincredible, intense experience
and I public speak quite a bit,but the thing is is with that
pitch, you know you have twominutes and you have to have it
memorized.
I'm usually using PowerPointand I speak off the cuff, so I
wanted to make sure I hadeverything nailed that I was
(27:02):
able to say it was ArleneDickinson that agreed to my
offer and so she said yes.
And then, after the show, Iwent through the due diligence,
which was interesting, because Idon't check out your numbers
before the show, right?
So they don't really know.
Julie (27:14):
Right.
Aeryon (27:15):
Um, and so I wanted them to come back to me and offer me
exactly what and say you're allyour numbers checked up here,
so you know, would you like tocome in?
So it was going to be a hundredthousand dollars I believe it
was for 15%, if I'm correct,back in 2022.
But what I did do was take theshow's episode and I went to TD
Bank, which is my bank, showedthem the episode and then I got
(27:37):
the a hundred thousand dollarline of credit instead.
So I didn't have to give upanything.
But it was interesting meetingArlene.
I mean, from what I've heardand new people have gone on the
show, they haven't had a chanceto sit down and have
conversations with her.
So her and I have I think I hadtwo, three zoom calls so I had
an opportunity to get to talkwith her.
She's an impressive woman inbusiness.
You know I have that muchrespect for her and looking at
(27:57):
for myself when I eventuallywalk away from Aeryon wellness,
my goal is to mentor young womenin business and also do
investment as well.
So I was really curious abouthow this all kind of went
through, how the process wasworking with that, and so that's
one of the things I know,eventually, I'd like to be doing
.
I already mentor women inbusiness through the forum, but
that's something I want tocontinue doing and working with
(28:18):
young women.
Julie (28:19):
Yeah, well, I think it's important and I mean it's one of
the reasons for this podcast isto tell the stories of people
who are doing it, so the peoplewho want to get there can
understand that it's possible.
Yeah.
Aeryon (28:34):
And that it's.
I mean it's it's a lot of work.
I mean there are definitely, Ithink, on a daily basis.
I'm like I should have goneinto real estate.
Why did I not just buy propertywith my money?
Why did I do this?
It was one thing you know, butI think that's when you have to.
You have to listen to thatwhisper.
And when I knew, when I got mymoney, when I got my package
from Jameson, I was like do Iknow?
(28:55):
If I don't do this, I'm alwaysgoing to wonder what, if I will
always wonder that you know, andno matter what, this is going
to teach me so much and I've hadso many expensive lessons, so
many expensive lessons.
But in that, doing this hasbeen probably one of the
greatest adventures Besides mydaughter's, my first greatest
(29:16):
adventure in my life.
It's definitely been one of thegreatest adventures in my life.
Julie (29:20):
Yeah, I think it's an interesting thing, the learning
curve that you feel like youknow.
There are the days where you'relike you know, have I learned
everything yet?
And the answer is always no.
There's always more to learn,and and sometimes it's steep and
bumpy.
Aeryon (29:37):
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
I mean we've had some prettyDecember was a pretty big
learning curve with me.
We had I've talked to a lot ofother entrepreneurs who've had
bookkeepers that weren't doingthe best job and we experienced
that Things were kind of messyand it's taken us a long time to
get through it, but in that Icame out with a very different
perspective and an amazingbookkeeper now who has had to be
(29:58):
really and now I'm morediligent and more weekly
meetings and really looking atthe numbers and dialing things
down, Because where I thrive andwhere I shine is sales and I
love being in my stores andtalking to my retailers.
I don't want to sit and doExcel spreadsheets Right and so
I trust somebody to do that andthey're not doing it.
So it's, I've learned a lotover the years, so it's just
(30:20):
getting better and smarter andwiser.
Julie (30:22):
Yeah, and figuring out what are the.
You know what are the like siximportant things that you have
to do at the end of every monthto check for the integrity of
the data, and you know thosekinds of things Because
financial is a huge risk forevery entrepreneur.
Aeryon (30:38):
It's a huge risk.
You know, and I think you know,there's a lot of conversation
about, you know, supportingwomen in business and how we
don't get money, we don't getthe funds, and it's still really
challenging to get money,especially right now, you know.
I mean, I've it's.
It's very challenging to getmoney from the bank and have
them give you extra, you know.
So you have to get reallyscrappy at times and my word for
(31:01):
2025 is no, no, no, no, no, no.
Have our marketing place.
No, you know, and I have agreat fractional operations and
marketing person who's a verydear friend of mine, and so
she's like no, and I'm like no,no, and I'll go to her.
I'm like I have an idea.
She's like mm-hmm and she'slike no.
So that's been something I'vehad to land in, because I think,
(31:25):
as an entrepreneur, when youhave people come to you with
ideas, you want to say yes toeverything, right.
So it's about really sayingokay, this is not, this is not
going to move the needle in theright way.
Julie (31:35):
Yeah, and in a way it's a luxury to have many, many more
things you could do than like.
That number of options is ablessing, but it's really hard
to be to let go of some of themor put them in the parking lot
or say not right now.
Aeryon (31:52):
I know, and there's so many things you know when you
look at, oh, but this could growthe brand, it can make it work,
and it can make it.
But then I think my big thingis what I know is sticking with
what I know and just doing,repeating, rinse and repeat
exactly what has worked for meup to now, and that's what I
need to focus on.
Just because we've had suchtremendous growth this past year
that that's been challengingwhen you're trying to not only
(32:15):
launch new products in ourindustry is we don't just have
one product we like live onforever.
We, you know, two a year.
So, in that, looking at whenyou have growth, having to buy
inventory and then create a newproduct makes it almost
impossible, right.
So really really having to becrappy so it's um, that's
something else and I love, Ilove launching new products.
(32:36):
Like nothing makes me happierthan launching something new,
right.
And then I'm onto the next one.
But I've had to be like, okay,we can focus on what we have.
Julie (32:44):
We can love all of our children, not just the new one.
Aeryon (32:50):
I know but the new ones are always like look so shiny
and new and look at all thethings it does.
I'm so proud of it, you know.
So, yeah, I definitely.
Um, I'm learning to land alittle bit more in that too.
Julie (33:01):
So yeah, well, I think that's one of the big shifts as
the company grows out of startupand into scale up, is that like
you have to find a landing spotwhere you get the traction that
you need.
You can't just keep switchingand switching and following all
the ideas.
Aeryon (33:18):
Looking at filling the gaps, looking at what products
aren't moving.
How do we support retailerswhen those aren't moving?
Because it's not just listing aproduct, it's making sure that
product is turning and thatthey're selling it.
And if they're not selling it,it's like okay, what do I need
to talk to the retailer about?
Does your staff need to beeducated?
Do we need to do a contest instore?
Do we need to put it on flyer?
What you know?
What are the flyer prices?
Are they way too much for me tocontribute to?
Julie (33:53):
And if thinking cap on and being like, how can we
support a store level so we canget this product moving and make
sure that it gets in the handas many of consumers as possible
.
Yeah Well, and back to worlddomination.
I can't wait to see where youtake it so thank you.
Aeryon (34:02):
Thank you, yeah, I'm excited it's going to be a good
year.
I'm manifesting it.
Now it's the Leo moon and I'm aLeo, today's the Leo moon, so
the big moon for me.
So this is I'm putting it allout there what I want, good.
Julie (34:15):
Well, we will put all the details about the brand and
where people can find you in theshow notes for today, and I
hope that your growth path is asbig and explosive as you are
planning for this year.
Aeryon (34:29):
Thank you so much.
Thank you for having me on.
I really appreciate it.
Julie (34:32):
Thanks for chatting with me today.
I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode.
Please remember to hitsubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform so you won'tmiss any episodes.
Figure 8 isn't just a podcast.
It's a way of seeing the big,gorgeous goals of women
entrepreneurs coming to life.
If you're interested inlearning more, you can find my
(34:55):
book Big Gorgeous Goals onAmazon.
Anywhere you might live.
For more about my growth andleadership training programs
visit www.
julieellis.
ca.
To see how we might worktogether.
Read my blog or sign up to getyour free diagnostic.
Are you ready for growth?
(35:16):
Once again, that's www.
julieellis.
ca.
When we work together, we allwin.
See you again soon for anotherepisode of Figure 8.
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