Women In Wellness: Annabell Catania Of SIMPURE On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Being an entrepreneur means you are working 24/7, it never stops if you are truly passionate about making your company successful. No one will ever work as hard as you for your company. Never accept less than exactly what you wanted for your brand or you’ll regret it. Trust your gut, if it’s warning you, it’s probably right. Make something you are PROUD of and share it with the world. Giving product away is the best marketing money you will ever spend.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Annabell Catania.
Annabell was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer at 26 and was in shock when she realized it was connected to her antiperspirant deodorant. After 5 surgeries and 6 rounds of chemo, Annabell was determined to Limit Her Toxic Load and make her own body products, starting with an effective Natural Deodorant. Over 10 years of perfecting SPORT MAX deodorant it is now loved by thousands around the world. She started SIMPURE (formally Auntie & Me) and now they have over 50 Clean, Cruelty-Free, Fair Trade and Sustainable products that are not only effective but SMELL Amazing too.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
Well, my story started when I was 26 years old, and I was stopped in my tracks by stage 3 breast cancer. Living what I believed was a “clean” lifestyle and exercising regularly, I would have never imagined that using my antiperspirant would lead to sickness and almost my death. I spent 3 years fighting to live and thinking that if I made it through this Cancer that I would start using my own creations, so I didn’t have to worry about I put on my body anymore. Right away I started formulating my natural deodorant, it’s been over 10 years now. I started at the local Farmer’s Markets in San Diego and was shocked by the amount of people that LOVED it too. Next, I created my Natural Bug Repellent (which works amazing, plus it smells good!) Now we have over 50 clean, cruelty free, fair trade and sustainable products!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
When I first started my company and was only selling at a few farmer’s markets I didn’t have the capital just yet to commit to a large professional label purchase, so I printed my own labels and was using a recycled kraft paper type label that was NOT waterproof. I was in North Park, in San Diego for the Wednesday market and a HUGE storm came in and took my 10’ x 10’ canopy away with the wind and it started to downpour. I had over 80 products nicely displayed, and all of my labels were destroyed, my canopy was ruined and I was standing there in shock and realized I needed to improve my packaging or this just couldn’t work. I quickly researched that night another company that sells blank, waterproof labels by the sheet and until we could afford professionally printed labels, we didn’t have to worry about losing anymore labels while selling outside and the possibility of another rainstorm. Time is money and so going forward I weighed out all possibilities when I needed to make a decision that involved spending money to improve my packaging, brand, equipment, etc. Lesson learned.
Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I think getting excited about every event we were invited too without researching the person/company that was hosting it and their marketing efforts and spending lots of time and money to attend and it was a total flop. I quickly learned that not everyone is as passionate and dedicated to doing the BEST job they can and so I needed to really test out markets and events before committing. Especially when I hired staff to help at the events because they needed the sales as well.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
We here at SIMPURE care about the fair-trade ingredients we use, the eco-friendly packaging we source and the customer experience more than anything. After producing over 30, 000 deodorants in a tiny lab we have made a dent in the Natural Deodorant market, sharing a chemical-free alternative that actually works. We also have a full, clean skincare line and Aromatherapy Sprays to replace fragrances you use on your body and in your home. We wanted to show people that they can throw away their toxic deodorant and feel confident that they will stay smelling fresh and be able to have a bathroom spray that won’t inflame allergies or cause Endocrine disruption in the body, which can affect your hormones. We source genuine Zechstein Magnesium flakes from the Netherland Seabeds for our Joint Care Spray that Naturally relieves inflammation and pain instead of cheap synthetic Magnesium that most companies use. SIMPURE is exactly as it sounds, Simple and Pure.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
1.) Switch your deodorant! No need to use chemicals to stay fresh and 1 jar of Sport Max deodorant will last you up to 3 months. 2.) Ditch the fragrances; perfumes, body washes, body creams, and some skincare products containing synthetic fragrance, that is not only bad for you, but not necessary. Make the switch to essential oil-fragranced products. Our Aromatherapy sprays double as a body spray, room and linen spray! *Tranquility being our TOP Seller as well as the Vitality for the Shower! We also have Body washes/Creams/Rollers and of course a full skincare line that smell AMAZING without the chemicals. 3.) Unplug those air fresheners- switch to using Aromatherapy sprays and Diffusers that you use essential oils instead. 4.) Detox the body with Bath Salts, it will relax you and reduce inflammation. Next, try our Underarm Cleansing Kit to help pull toxins from your sweat glands that have been building up for years. 5.) Switch your skincare to clean products, your skin is your BIGGEST ORGAN, stop abusing it with chemicals and then wonder why your skin is sensitive, or your allergies keep acting up. Apply clean products, derived from natural ingredients, and see in the difference! Do this for your kids too. Start gifting people products you can believe in and help the businesses that care about you and your family. SIMPURE is definitely one of those companies. Just read our reviews 😊 ShopSImpure.com
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Banning antiperspirants around the world. Switzerland banned them in 2016, why hasn’t the world noticed, why haven’t we stood up and said we care more about our health than pleasing large corporations that create these products. Natural deodorant works and there are different varieties for everyone. Try our SPORT MAX deodorant and see why thousands of people love it. It’s gender neutral and loved from teenagers to grandparents.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
Being an entrepreneur means you are working 24/7, it never stops if you are truly passionate about making your company successful. No one will ever work as hard as you for your company. Never accept less than exactly what you wanted for your brand or you’ll regret it. Trust your gut, if it’s warning you, it’s probably right. Make something you are PROUD of and share it with the world. Giving product away is the best marketing money you will ever spend.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
That’s hard as they are all important to me, but Sustainability is something I can control and choose for my life as well as my company and make the choices that are best for the environment over price. Sometimes being conscience of these things costs more, but it will be rewarded later. For example, we decided to switch our packaging to recycled glass and plastic and source sustainably grown and manufactured real Bamboo wood caps for our rebrand and since we have invested in this eco-friendly packaging we are reducing our carbon footprint and aligning with more platforms with the same ethics.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and our website! @simpureskincare
Thank you for these fantastic insights!
Women In Wellness: Annabell Catania Of SIMPURE On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.