Channeling more than 200 years of European wisdom into creating the purest health products, Petronely Grindea launched the LifeBotanica brand in Romania, promoting wellness and advocating holistic healing through clinically studied ingredients. Read on to find out how Petronely brought her European success to the United States and caught the eye of CVS.
Starting a new life
After a devastating car accident in the U.S. left her unable to work, Petronely went back to her home country of Romania to recover. She frequented a spa and wellness clinic on the Black Sea, run by the well-known scientist, Ana Aslan, who is known for healing and anti-aging technology, which included taking anti-inflammatory herbal supplements. Petronely was soon able to start moving her legs and neck without pain and was shocked that within a few weeks of starting these supplements, she was 100 percent pain-free. Her own recovery inspired her to learn mo
re, so she toured the factory where the supplements were made and learned that the laboratory had 200-year-old traditions in herbal research and clinical studies that they used to serve the emperor of Austro-Hungary. She was sold and decided to purchase the formula so she could help other people live healthier, pain-free lives just as she was able to.
The magic of natural ingredients
LifeBotanica is built on ingredients that are safe and gentle for the body, Petronely, a former executive at Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder, explains. “Our formulas rely on the rejuvenating power of herbs and other natural ingredients to promote wellness. I wanted people in the U.S. to see the product and how it works wonders for the body and how it can help heal people from the inside out.”
From the original formula, Petronely wanted to expand the product line. She started watching trends, and at the time, detoxes were one popular trend sweeping the country. She knew that the detoxification and repair capabilities of her products went beyond just the surface level, and were able to achieve “beauty from within,” she says. She also knew that her products would tap into what consumers wanted—products that could help them enhance their overall health and wellness, whether by elevating energy levels, lowering sugar and cholesterol, helping them sleep better, or just a general feeling of repairing and restoring their bodies to better health.
From Romania to the United States to RangeMe to retail
While the product is listed as a pharmaceutical-grade product in Romania, to enter the U.S market Petronely had to shift some of her formulations/marketing, as they did not meet the FDA’s requirements to be labeled as a pharmaceutical. For her U.S. products, she partners with FDA-approved manufacturers and supervisors that visit them monthly to ensure all regulations are being followed.
It wasn’t a small undertaking getting her product into U.S. markets, and the last thing Petronely wanted was to be overlooked by retail buyers. After attending an ECRM event, where she learned about RangeMe and was intrigued by the exposure she would have to thousands of retailers. She signed up, and within a year of being on the platform, she got RangeMe Verified™. While she works with Select Nutrition as well as other private retailers, Petronely was thrilled to get a message from a CVS retail buyer asking for samples. In order to be sold in CVS stores, someone’s products must be tested by an outside lab and have the stamp of quality and standards. LifeBotanica was approved. The retailer tested her product in half of their stores, and since then LifeBotanica has expanded into all of CVS stores as one of their primary detox products.
“On RangeMe you become visible to so many buyers,” Petronely says, and that has helped her company be able to make the brand known to buyers and for buyers to see the products’ ability to heal whether through detox, kidney, liver, and pancreas repair, or the additional vitamins and antioxidants packed in all her products.
Over the coming year Petronely is looking forward to LifeBotanica’s continued partnership with CVS, and also hopes to expand its list of retailers and distributors. She knows the quality of her products is what sets them apart, and that’s what has gotten her this far and will take her even farther.