http://www.kiwithebeauty.com

This post was sponsored by NOW as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

I am so excited to share with you all my recent press trip to Chicago to celebrate with one my favorite wellness brands NOW® for a few days of different activities and celebrating their 50 year anniversary of a trusted brand. The world is very concious of what we eat, the personal body products we use and even the health supplements we intake for a healthier lifestyle. So many people claim they are natural and staying away from GMOs, but how many of them are truly being authentic with their products verses just another marketing tactic to jump on trend?

Well I definitely learned a lot of about this brand, discovered so many products and educated myself on many of their other items and the depth on how they stay a trusted brand all of these years!

NOW® is celebrating 50 years as a trusted natural products manufacturer, and is dedicated to providing customers with a comprehensive approach to wellness by offering more than 1,400 high-quality, natural and affordable products, from functional foods and supplements to sports nutrition and health & beauty products, as well as essential oils. NOW is one of the largest independent manufacturers of natural products in the U.S. health food store channel.

“NATURAL”/Non-GMO Commitment:

NOW is a respected advocate and pioneer of the natural products industry, and we are committed to sourcing the very best natural ingredients for our products.

NOW believes GMOs are not natural, and has a strict Non-GMO Assurance Process that includes stringent quality standards, documentation and testing. NOW’s products are created using non-GMO, non-irradiated and organic ingredients whenever possible.

Our non-GMO commitment infographic: https://www.nowfoods.com/now/nowledge/our-non-gmo-commitment-infographic

QUALITY PROMISE:

NOW’s Quality Control and Quality Assurance programs are really what sets us apart and make us a trusted natural products manufacturer.

NOW goes above and beyond required cGMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices) to ensure it brings pure and effective natural products to market.

Specifically, NOW performs more than 16,000 tests on raw materials and finished products each month to make sure all products are safe from adulteration, contamination, and ingredient substitution. For decades, NOW has also been an industry champion for truth in labeling. Elwood, was instrumental in the creation of the Natural Product Association’s Tru-Label program, and continues to provide assurance through sampling and product testing that what’s on the label is exactly what’s in the bottle.

NOW was one of the first manufacturers to seek GMP certification in 2000 and has since received an A rating ever since (both in Bloomingdale and Sparks).

COOKING COMPETITION

Iron Chef” Session + Welcome Dinner

Welcome by Jim Emme (NOW CEO) & Dan Richard (Vice President of NHG Global Sales and Marketing). Also had a NOW Natural Foods Overview presented by Dave Rosenberg (Foods Category Manager).

Recipe demo by Chef Suzy Singh, R&D Corporate Chef

Natural Foods:

NOW’s family of food brands are all non-GMO and meet a variety of consumer needs, from gluten-free to gourmet.

NOW’s natural food brands include:

NOW’s Real Food® – high-quality pantry staples, such as dried fruit, nuts, seeds, healthy snacks, natural flour alternatives and powders, ancient grains, beans and more.  

NOW Real Tea® – 23 varieties of functional herbal teas that contain no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sugar, packaged in innovative no-staple bags.

Living Now® – For those with food allergies and/or looking to maintain a gluten-free lifestyle, this line of certified gluten-free ancient grains and quinoa, flours, baking mixes and new organic quinoa pastas let you enjoy the foods you love without sacrificing taste and texture.  

Ellyndale® Foods  – Offers premium-grade gourmet ingredients and foods, perfect for emphasizing the flavors and freshness of your favorite recipes, including cooking oils, Sugarless Sugar™ and new Q Cups™ (ready-to-eat quinoa in a cup!).

BetterStevia® – The zero-calorie, organic stevia sweetener that’s simply better than sugar and other alternative sweeteners. Free of artificial colors, flavors or additives, just the clean, sweet taste of stevia and a low glycemic impact. Available in powders, extracts, flavored liquids and flavored beverage packets.

So the cool engaging part about this Dinner was that Chef Suzy had us in a suprise Iron Chef competition! I thought we were going to learn how to make a dish, nope! It was just like the food cooking competitions; we broke up into teams, we had to come up with a drink and appetizer idea for the fall, quicky grab ingredients and get to mixing and cooking our ideas within 25 mins! PRESSURE!

It was fun but intense. None of us on my team were recipe bloggers or top cooks but we did come up with a concept within the 25 mins of time we had. We came up with Chia-tini and Apple Brie Bruchetta presentation. We didn’t win but we felt accomplished! It was a great team building and bonding experience with new bloggers too!

EARLY MORNING KICK-BOXING

So the next day we had to get up early to participate in a 7am workout class. Let me tell you all, I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON, let alone work out so early in the morning. I was open for the fitness class and participated and it was actually not too brutal. We all started with NOW® Sports BCAA BIG 6 refreshing pre-working drink. It actually helped as during the kickboxing class I didnt feel as tired and I actually felt energized for it being so early in the morning. So I can testify the BCAA Big 6 mix was effective as a workout staple.

DIY SMOOTHIE MAKING STATION

Right after our kickboxing session, it was DIY smoothie time! I love smoothies but we took it to the next level with some NOW® Sports, NOW’s Real Food® and their other products we didnt think to use in a smoothie before. I added NOW® chlorella and spirulla botanical herbal powders into my smoothies for an extra kick.

NOW® Sports Overview Led by Bryan Morin, NOW® Sports Brand Manager

Sports Nutrition:

NOW® Sports products are among the most premium in the industry, backed by world-class research and development standards and quality-sourced ingredients, to support a range of sports nutritional needs for professional to amateur athletes of all ages. NOW® Sports is one of the few brands of natural sports products that does not use any artificial ingredients, including artificial sweeteners, colors, or flavors.

This is an exciting year for NOW® Sports, as the brand not only announced its third-party certification through Informed-Sport for detection of banned substances, but it will be getting a major facelift with new silver labels featuring stand-out product benefits.   

NOW HQ PLANT AND LAB TOUR

Jim Emme (NOW CEO) welcomed us into the NOW Operations Facility – Bloomingdale,IL Introduction to NOW Foods/History

Tour led by Jessica, NOW® Nutrition Education Manager. We had to put on official safety plant gear such as googles, smock and plant shoe covers to enter the facility. We got to see different places on how the supplements, oils, beauty products and more are create, assembled and packaged on site. We also got to see several labs as it way more than just a distribution warehouse.

NOW has serious intergity with their brand and products so you can see several scientist, chemist and more who are observing and disecting the products to make sure they are natural and true to the product that will be put on shelves. As they pride themselves on being GMO-Free and natural, they truly stand by their brand and its not just a marketing concept. This brand is literally hand-on with every step of the distribution process.

DIY BEAUTY & PERSONAL CARE SESSION

Recover + Renew! DIY Natural Health & Beauty Recipes for Your Daily Routine Led by Tina Tews, NOW® Solutions Brand Manager

This was my absolute favorite part of this entire press trip where we got a chance to make our own NOW beauty products! I fell in love with this brand years ago because of the essential oils and personal care items so it was fun to do my own DIY onsite at the corporate headquarters!

We made a facial spray mist and a foot soak. Of course we used all of the NOW well known essential oils and even some products I didnt know they had such as Magnisum flakes to put in the foot soak.

Beauty & Health:

NOW® Solutions is a line of superior personal care products (facial care, hair care, body care, carrier oils, hygiene) derived from pure, natural ingredients free of harsh preservatives, to support a variety of individual needs at an affordable price.

Essential Oils:

NOW® essential oils – Certified Organic, 100% Pure and Blends – are a wonderful way to enjoy the fragrances of some of today’s most sought after extracts.

NOW assures the identity and purity of its essential oils using state-of-the-art testing and analysis and adhering to the strictest quality standards. For more information, visit Quality page for a complete NOW Essential Oils Purity Guide.

Amplify Your Fit Routine NOW – Race Training Secrets from #NOWWellness Influencer Toni Church

After the beauty DIY, we got to hear from NOW longterm ambassador, Toni Church, who share with us how she is prepping for a major Chicago running marathon and which supplements she uses to keep up her endurance.

Dietary Supplements:

NOW’s extensive line of more than 900 nutritional supplements offers innovative formulations which provide something for everyone to help meet their wellness needs, all at a great value. Customers can feel good knowing that what’s on the label is in the bottle.

In addition, NOW was one of the first companies to be certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for its dietary supplement manufacturing process. It’s a certification that’s recognized by many consumers to ensure them NOW has been scrutinized, and meets high manufacturing standards.

WIN $500 worth of NOW Products

After all of the fun activities and talking points, they sent myself and all of the influencers home with $500 with of products to take home. Something from each of their collection of products of Sports, Beauty, Supplements and Food! I’m not here to brag, I am here to share as everything I got in my goodie bag, you can get the exact same products!

All you have to do is comment below how you are adding more health and wellness in your life this year. Winner will chosen at random by 12pm EST 10/15/18. 

This trip made me feel even better about the NOW products. NOW’s industry-leading Quality Control and Quality Assurance programs guarantee that what’s on the label is in the bottle or package.

Visit www.NOWFoods.com for more information on NOW, to find products at local retailers, and to sign up for a free monthly e-newsletter offering wellness tips, recipes and chances to win NOW products.

Are you familiar with NOW and how do you add Wellness in Your Life?