Taking a Closer Look at NOW (+ a $500 Giveaway!)

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.

Making the switch to more natural products can be overwhelming. I love when there are companies that do the hard work for you and make sure they are selling products that are safe. I had the chance to take a sneak peak into NOW Foods and I was amazed at, not only how many products they sell, but also the care the put into each and every product.

I first began making changes towards a more natural lifestyle years ago when my oldest son first began having health problems. I had no idea what my options were. I had to start from scratch, replacing all the products that we used on a daily basis.

It’s take almost ten years but we are finally getting the point where we have replaced most of our household products for more natural choices, but it was a bit of a challenge getting here.

I know so many moms who want to live a more natural lifestyle but they just don’t know which brands they can trust. Now that I’ve seen the behind the scenes at NOW, I know they are focused on creating products that my family (and theirs) can use with confidence.

Touring the NOW Foods Plant

When the chance came to tour the NOW plant in Chicago I jumped on it. I’ve used NOW products for several years and I was excited to see a bit more about what happens behind the scene.

I had no idea just how many natural products that NOW sells and I am so excited to try more of them. During our time visiting with NOW we had the chance to meet with CEO Jim Emme and I loved hearing his vision for the company.

One thing he said really stood out to me. He said that their primary goal was to make natural foods affordable and that he’d learned that “if you are respectful and try to do the right things for the right reasons, you’ll be happy — that’s what the company is founded on”

I love that philosophy and I saw it in action as we toured the NOW plant and met with employees during our visit.

Several employees stated that the company was like a family. I really believed that as I saw how kind everyone was to each other, but what really drove it home was during my ride to the airport. My driver told me he’d been driving for the company for years and that everyone he met always seemed genuinely excited about working there.

To me that means so much. I love seeing brands that not only take care of my family by creating amazing natural products, but also take care of their employees.

They have very strict quality control processes in place.

What Products does NOW Make?

Meeting all the wonderful people from NOW foods and seeing their facilities in person really helped me see just how much care they put into their products. I was familiar with the brand but I thought they only made supplements and essential oils so I loved seeing the HUGE variety of products that they make.

One of the lines I was most excited about during my visit was the NOW food line. I had no idea how many different things they made!

Their Coconut Infusions were absolutely amazing and they will definitely get a lot of use in my kitchen going forward. They have an amazing line of gluten free products that you wouldn’t know they were gluten free if no one told you.

Their Q cups are convenient quinoa based meals in a convenient cup that are perfect for lunches on the go. I’m really excited about their Sugarless sugar, a one-to-one sugar replacement that makes sugar-free cooking so much easier.

Personal care products are something that I’ve really focused on switching my family over to natural products. It started when my son began having issues with the chemicals in the products we were using and once we switched him over it was easy for the rest of us to make the switch too.

I love how many personal care products NOW has. I was familiar with their line of essential oils and I’ve used their shea butter lotion for years.

I’m kicking myself for not discovering their aloe soothing gel earlier. It is alcohol free aloe gel (why is that so hard to find!) and it would have come in handy over the summer.

I knew that NOW carried supplements but I had no idea how many they had. I know this is one area that’s a bit overwhelming and it can be tricky knowing what you should take. During my visit, I found out that NOW has some amazing resources online that help you find the exact supplements you need.

I’m a firm believer in supplements and I’ve seen what a difference they have made in my own life.

During our tour we learned about the strict screening process that all raw ingredients go through when the arrive at the NOW plant. They have some serious testing capabilities within their lab and have multiple checks built into the system to make sure you get exactly what you are buying.

Their sports nutrition line really intrigued me. I have never been much of an athlete but after having twins, I’ve been working hard at getting my body back where I want it to be and a solid exercise program has been a huge part of that. I’ve stayed away from most workout supplements simply because so many of them have high amounts of caffeine (and I struggle with caffeine) and other ingredients that I wasn’t sure about their safety.

After listening to the NOW sports nutrition brand manager I was so excited to hear that they really focus on safe, natural ingredients and even their pre-workout has lower levels of caffeine.

I always love finding brands that I can trust with my family’s well being. I’ve been working more NOW products into our daily routines and love the results that we are seeing.

Enter to win $500 worth of NOW products

We love all of the new NOW products that we have discovered so much that we are thrilled to be able to share some of that with you. Check out some of the great products NOW has by going here.

One very lucky reader will receive a NOW product pack worth $500.

Contest entrants are only eligible to win once per sweepstake, per household as part of a campaign sponsored by Influence Central.