- Will you consider this?

You're working in large metropolitan areas, and that's not only bringing, not much satisfaction, but giving you a great deal of stress.

Well, our guest found ways to tamp down the anxiety and teach and help others along the way.

Stay with me.

(cheery music) She most assuredly loved her first name up until about nine years ago, and perhaps that added a bit more stress to her life.

But Alexa Hoffman turned her life around while helping reshape the health and wellness of others in an all natural way.

Welcome, Alexa, founder of Alevan Botanica.

- Thanks for having me.

Glad to be here.

- How about it, and the name, you poor thing.

Everybody teases you about that.

- Yeah, it's always a joke, whether it's someone I'm meeting new anywhere at a coffee shop or in business, it's always a running joke.

- Okay, well, now you, oh, let's talk at home.

If you have any of those devices, you've had to rename them all.

- Yes, and you can't pick another name.

It's always just Echo or Amazon.

So you can't pick a fun.

- A fun name that you've made up.

Okay, got that straight.

Well, I'll still refer to you as Alexa and not expect any encyclopedia type information to come back.

- Thank you.

- But I wanna know about you.

You're from Ohio.

I am too, and we both graduated from the same university.

About 50 years apart, pretty close.

Kent State University.

- Yes.

- And what did you study there?

- I studied fashion design, and I minored in economics.

- All right, well, so where did fashion design take you right away after your four years?

- Yeah, so right away I relocated to Boston.

My first job was working at Reebok, and then from there, I moved on to Philadelphia.

I was designing at Free People, which is owned by the Urban brands.

So I was there for a couple years before landing in New York City, which was always really my goal after college to live in New York City.

So I was there.

I worked for several different brands from more higher fashion cashmere lines to a little bit more fast fashion.

So a good variety of companies there.

- Did you wanna do design?

Is that what you were doing, or what exactly was your role?

- Yes, so I was working as a cut and sew and sweater designer.

So I was all in the knitwear category.

- Okay, was it challenging?

- Yes, I would say, you know, it definitely was long hours.

I mean, the fashion industry kind of has that reputation of being very long hours, and, you know, I think, sometimes, you know, especially at the more fast fashion brands, that kind of creative element is taken out.

So that's kind of where I started to not really enjoy it as much.

I've always been naturally creative, always loving to draw and sketch, and, you know, create new things.

- What was your most favorite creation and did you see it come to fruition?

- Yeah, I would say some of my early pieces, working at Free People was definitely very exciting, kind of seeing them in magazines and kind of styled.

But the great thing about Free People, that company, it is super creative.

You get to kind of drape and sew the first prototypes.

So I really liked being that hands-on with the products.

- All right.

But living in big cities, it got old after a while.

- It did, you know, Midwest born and raised.

I kind of thought once I got to New York City, I would never leave, but I definitely wanted to, you know, I think start to slow down a little bit, have a little bit more time in nature, still be able to have goals and achieve them and work towards different things, but still have a little bit more of a slower pace of life.

- All right, well, then, and you met your true love.

- [Alexa] Yes.

- Where and which one of those cities did you meet him?

- Boston, so a couple months after moving to Boston.

Yeah, he was also working at Reebok, so.

- So he's in, do you consider that the fashion industry?

- Yeah, so my husband Evan worked as a footwear designer for all the time that we were in the East Coast, all on the East Coast.

- Okay, well, then how, after all of that, and you had a baby in the meantime, and it was, we need space, we need green, right?

- [Alexa] Yes.

- And what brought you here?

- Yes, so, you know, we were starting to look at different Midwest areas.

I'm from Ohio, my husband's from Michigan, so we kind of thought we maybe land in one of those two states, but we found out about Natural Fiber Welding, which is where my husband works now.

And I think, you know, it's great to see a company working to make a better, you know, needed change to the fashion industry in terms of materials.

- Well, yeah.

Because you've seen all of the different types of material.

- Yes, so it's great to see, you know, most of our clothing is made of plastic.

You know, the fashion industry in general is not great for the environment.

There's a lot of different, you know, problems that can definitely be fixed.

- And do you have anything to do with NFW?

I heard you say that one time, so I'm using the initials.

- Yeah, I was doing a little bit of work for NFW.

I'm now full-time working on Alevan Botanica.

- Okay, well, let's find out more about this.

You are also a holistic health coach.

So that brought you into coming up with your own individual product line.

- Yes, so I started to dive deeper into yoga, holistic wellness, Ayurveda, aromatherapy.

So I started doing some studies in all of those areas while I was in New York, and that's what kind of led me to found Alevan Botanica.

And really the company is about creating simple wellness rituals that you can add into your daily lifestyle that really help you feel better.

It's, you know, a cleaner, non-toxic way to scent your home or yourself.

And really it's in the hopes that, you know, by adding a simple ritual, you wanna kind of learn more about wellness and dive a bit deeper.

- Ritual is kind of a scary word to a lot of people though, because it, you know, routine, ritual, you have to do it every day and in that order and at special times, it doesn't work that way?

- No ritual can really be a simple moment of mindfulness throughout your day.

You know, whether you're sitting at your desk or if you, you know, are at home.

It's, you know, using a roller or putting a couple drops of a diffuser blend into your diffuser.

So really it's simplifying that, you know?

We don't need a three hour morning routine to feel our best.

It's really just taking a couple moments throughout your day to just find some mindfulness.

- And I think people can handle that.

You also teach yoga?

- [Alexa] I do.

- And pilates?

- [Alexa] Yes.

- All right, and that is, that's part, now how do you get away?

You have a little one at home.

So when do you find time for that?

- Yeah, so I'm not currently teaching as much as I used to be in New York City, you know, but I do teach a couple classes a week here locally in Central Illinois.

And, you know, I think I really enjoy, during the pandemic, I was teaching a lot of virtual workouts, but I really enjoy, you know, teaching in person, getting to know the students and members that are coming to class, kind of seeing their growth and progress with whatever their goals may be.

- But during the pandemic is when you had time to really work and develop these things.

So tell me about that.

- Yes, so around 2020, 2021 is when I'd been making custom products for clients for several years at that time.

- [Christine] And that's based on Ayurvedic?

- Yeah, so Ayurveda and aromatherapy.

So all of the products in the line are either essential oil and/or herbal based.

But during the pandemic, I had a lot of time in my tiny Brooklyn apartment with everything closed.

Also, studios were closed, so I wasn't teaching as much, to really get the branding, the storytelling together and kind of launch the collection.

- So what goes into, we have a couple of different teas here.

This is a postpartum mama tea.

This is Pitta soothe tea.

And that's Pitta Dosha, I believe.

- Yes.

- And soothing herbal bath.

So what goes into those and where do you get the dried herbs and flowers and all that?

- Yeah, so sourcing of the ingredients is super important to me.

I do have some different sources, but all of the herbs and essential oils are gonna be organic.

So that's really important to me, especially if you, you know, are having this tea.

After giving birth, you wanna really be having high-quality organic herbs.

I will say the Pitta soothe tea is definitely a best seller.

Everyone likes it.

There's hibiscus, rose and peppermint, and Pitta is fire, so it's the fire Dosha.

So all of these herbs are gonna be cooling to the body and mind.

So really a great, you know, know tea to enjoy, whether it's the summer or even just if you need to cool the mind down, if you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed.

- Did you come up with combinations or you knew that they were someplace else?

Or how did you pull together all of that information to find the best combinations?

- Yeah, so a lot of testing.

First, usually when I'm creating a blend, I will be the first one to try it and kind of test it out.

And from there, friends, family, now that I've, you know, had the company for a little bit of time, you know, some loyal customers, I'll let them try things and get feedback.

But I really think talking to others and then just using my knowledge and all of my trainings with herbs and essential oils.

- And how long have you been acquiring this knowledge and information that you're keeping in your head and getting on paper and then getting into product?

- Yes, so I love to learn, so I'm usually always doing some type of course or reading numerous books at one time.

But while I was in New York, it was great to be able to do so many trainings as there's usually an expert of anything in a city that big.

So I was able to study Ayurveda under Dr. Nina Marbley, who's an Ayurvedic doctor.

So that's how I obtained my holistic health coach certification.

And then I studied aromatherapy at the School of Aromatic Studies, which was based in New York.

I think they've moved to North Carolina and online now.

- What made you get interested in it in the first place into holistic healing?

Because, I mean, you were in the fashion industry and using a lot of synthetics, and you just needed to get away from that or was it a personal decision or what led you to it?

- Yeah, I think I was starting to just feel quite imbalanced, not feeling super aligned with what I was doing every day, was just kind of taking a toll on my stress, anxiety, happiness levels.

So I kind of started on a personal journey of self-discovery through yoga, meditation, and through yoga is how I found out about Ayurveda and what Ayurveda is.

So Ayurveda is known as the sister science of yoga, so there's a lot of links there.

But through my first yoga teacher training is kind of when I started to dive deeper.

- All right, so you have these teas.

So this is pretty easy to figure out.

You need to steep it.

- Yes.

- What about your oils?

Do you have roll-ons and you have spritzes.

- Yeah, so the spritz collection, you can mist it right onto your skin.

Also really nice as a linen pillow spray, especially the sleep spritz is a popular one.

You can also spray, you know, the bottom of your kids' feet or crib.

So parents love this product.

The rollers you can put right onto your skin.

So there is a carrier oil in there, so safe to apply.

And I have a wide variety.

Some people buy the rollers 'cause they like the smell and wanna wear them as a perfume.

Most of them also have a therapeutic benefit.

So the Aura Blend, for example, is gonna be good for headaches or shoulder tension, gonna be very cooling.

And then last but not least, diffuser blends.

So these, you can put a couple drops into a diffuser to kind of scent your home and scent your space.

So it's really a clean, non-toxic way to scent your space.

You know, a lot of candles and artificial fragrance oil products often are quite toxic and can sometimes lead to allergies or different gut issues.

So these are just the pure organic essential oil blends.

- So even, you know, candles and things too are very toxic?

- Yeah, so it depends on the candle, and some candles are made with essential oils, that's gonna be the best candle to use.

But really in the US, the word fragrance is considered a trade secret.

So companies don't have to disclose what they're making the fragrance.

So it can often be thousands of chemicals.

And you know, we see fragrance on just about every ingredient list.

You know, it's not just perfumes, it's also dish detergent or soaps.

So it's really important to kind of be mindful of that.

- Even if it's says natural fragrance 'cause we don't know what natural means.

- Yeah, if it's made with essential oils, it will have, usually, the Latin name of the essential oil will be listed in the ingredient list.

And that's kind of a good way to know that it's not a manmade or synthetic fragrance.

- Well, you also got a little bit of help from gener8tor and gBETA.

You were in one of the graduating classes, and we've had a couple of people on in different classes.

How did they help you get this launched?

- Yes, so being a part of gBETA was really great.

I was new to the Peoria area.

So I really found the mentorship and networking to really kind of help me get to know people in the area and learn a lot about ways to kind of, you know, not just be at pop-up markets, but to start to get my product into different locations in the area.

So through different connections and mentors, it's kind of why my product is in, you know, some different locations.

I've partnered with Sonara Spa.

So that's really exciting to kind of have some custom massage oils that customers can pick based on my blends, what kind of massage they would like to get.

- Will they explain to them the benefits of that, those particular oils that they're picking?

- Yes, so I have definitely a lot of information on little cards that people can kind of learn.

You know, right now there's two different blends.

One's gonna be better for inflammation, tension.

One's gonna be more relaxing.

So you can kind of pick and know the benefits, as well as know all the ingredients.

- Where is your laboratory?

Where do you cook up all this stuff?

- Yes, so I have a workshop kind of warehouse in the lower level of my house, which has been really great coming from Brooklyn, New York, The Alevan products were in closets and kitchens and really taking over our tiny space.

So it's nice to have a spacious area that's very big.

Lots of product development can happen, as well as a lot of inventory can be stored there.

- Right, and you also source some of the oils from other countries, I believe.

- Yes, so most of, nearly all of the essential oils I source from a small distillery in France.

- All right, and how did you find them?

Just all of your research.

You said you like to find, you like to research things.

- Yeah, and I will say my training at the School of Aromatic Studies also had great recommendations and starting points to kind of start to, I definitely, you know, got a lot of product from different types of distilleries to really kind of try them out and make sure I felt they were up to standard.

- Are you your only employee so far?

- [Alexa] I am.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- But you'd like to grow your business?

- Yes, I'm really excited about, you know, growing in this area.

So the long-term goal is to open a wellness concept space that would have all of the Alevan Botanica retail, as well as a yoga studio, a classroom and workshop space, and maybe eventually a cafe.

- So that's your bucket list.

What's your timeline on that?

Do you have any idea?

- Yeah, I feel like still being newer to the Peoria area, I go back and forth with location, location, but I will say probably within the next one to two years a location is in the plans.

- All right, and you also, I know, I believe you've been at the Riverfront Market.

Will you continue that, and where else would you like to be in a more public setting?

- Yes, so the Peoria Riverfront Market is the main market for me.

I was able to get a spot last year, only having lived in Peoria for a couple months, and really enjoyed that market and everyone that I've gotten to meet.

You know, it's a great way to just, you know, shop local for produce, for food, and I love being at that market.

I think even once I open physical locations, I hope to always have a presence at the Riverfront Market.

I'm also looking, you know, I'm growing wholesale accounts.

So I am starting to look in some different Midwest cities to kind of get an Alevan Botanica presence in Chicago, where Grand Rapids, Cleveland, that sort of thing.

- You're being, having been involved with major companies and things, it kind of has helped you lead you to the possibility of getting into those markets just because you worked in some major markets, and you know how to make connections and network?

- Yeah, I think definitely just understanding wholesale, kind of from my fashion background has been very helpful.

You know, I think, I do all the graphic design and photography for the most part, and so it's been great to have that creative background in the fashion industry to really be able to do all of that and, you know, really packaging and presentation, that sort of thing, those things help get into stores.

- Right, well, and you have a website.

I looked it up.

It's very nice.

And you did all that too in your spare time.

- Yeah, little bit of help from my husband on all of the coding and customizing, but, yeah, I definitely, you know, being able to do all that creative stuff is also really great as a startup too, to kind of save the money on having to outsource all of that, you know, creative aspect.

- Right, well it's very interesting.

How did you arrive with, it sounds like the number 11, but it is really A-L-E-V-A-N. How did you arrive at that name, part of your name?

- Yes, so part of my name and part of my husband's name.

- And your husband's.

- Yeah, so this was, you know, really, you know, a company that I started, but it's been, you know, something definitely, especially during the pandemic, we worked on a lot together.

So it's really, you know, been great.

And I think too, it's nice to be able to test products on him.

You know, usually most of my customers are female, but there's definitely a lot of blends that men are drawn to.

So seeing that customer segment growing for Alevan Botanica.

- Well, and you just never know where it's gonna lead.

- [Alexa] Yes.

- Where do you think you wanna go next?

So how many products do you have right now?

- Yeah, so I have a lot that are launching this summer, so I'm spreading out, you know, as they launch.

I am launching massage oils, you know, really as a way to kind of have, you know, a higher rate of essential oils to relax.

So these massage oils can be used, you know, on the feet or the shoulders, the neck.

So some massage oils will be launching.

Also, a lot more teas will be popping up throughout the market season.

That was a brand new category last year, but it's been doing really well.

But there's definitely, I have a lot of, usually wintertime is when I do most of the product development.

And then the launches are kind of spread out throughout the year.

- When you're stuck inside.

- Yes, when there's not too much to do outside.

So I can just stay down in the workshop.

- Are you having fun doing this?

- I am, you know, it's really, I love, you know, talking and working with people, so it's been great to have that, you know, weekly presence at markets.

I also recently wrapped up the first Alevan Botanica workshop series, so that was really great.

There was 10 to 15 people at each one.

- [Christine] And what did you do in those?

- Yeah, so it was really an intro to what Ayurveda is.

You know, I think a lot of people don't fully know what Ayurveda is.

So really simplifying it, you know, making it applicable to a modern lifestyle.

So each workshop had a different topic.

So one was sleep, one was nutrition.

We would start each session with a small shorter yoga practice, and then we would have an Ayurvedic meal together, which is really the best part of the workshop.

Kind of having community and just sharing a healthy meal, learning about spices, ways to cook healthier.

And then we'd go into the lecture topic.

- Oh, gimme an example of an Ayurvedic meal.

- Yes, so one of the meals we had was a cauliflower carrot curry.

So it was a stew, and then there's lots of spices in there.

So it was winter when we were doing this, so there was lots of turmeric and cumin, coriander, curry leaves, and then kind of that stew and then over bosmati rice.

- All right, and you learned to do that when you were studying with your Ayurvedic doctor?

- Yes, so she had a full kitchen.

So we were able to really cook with her before each day of lecture started.

And that was really great.

You know, as a health coach, a lot of people often just want a powder or something quick to just put in their smoothie to like feel better just from that.

And I think really the root just comes back to eating healthy local whole foods and cooking more at home.

- So you're pretty much 90% organic?

- Yeah, I would say, I mean, I definitely follow the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15 every year it's released, you know, what fruits and vegetables have the most pesticides, which ones do not.

So I think that's a good list to reference.

Not everything needs to be organic, but it's nice to find.

- Mm-hmm, you have a website, what is your website?

- So it's alevanbotanica.com.

- All right, A-L-E-V-A-N?

- Yes.

- Botanica not Botanical.

- Yes.

- Like I thought at first.

- Okay.

All right.

Well, when you are being a health coach, you've done the workshops, do you do individual also?

Have you found a market for that or have you found a need for that yet?

- Yes, so I do do individual one-on-one coaching.

Usually what that consists of is, you know, filling out an intake form, meeting with me, and then I put together an 8 to 10 page personalized health plan going over foods that are gonna be best for you, how to eat seasonally.

Also an exercise morning and evening routine.

So really diving into all the aspects of an Ayurveda lifestyle.

- And then where do you meet with people?

Because you are in your home, but do you go to their home or are you down at gBETA or gener8tor?

- Yeah, sometimes I meet with people in their home.

I think it depends.

Sometimes people wanna meet at a coffee shop.

I think it really depends if they're coming to me, you know, for autoimmune or something that's a little bit, you know, longer of a health coaching, sometimes we meet at their home, but oftentimes we meet at Zion or CXT in the area.

- And you're finding that there's definitely a need, and people are finding you?

- Yes, I have not done a lot of, usually the health coaching is kind of word of mouth.

I've really been putting a big focus on the products over the last year.

But there's definitely a need.

I think after the workshop series, you know, there's definitely an interest in learning more.

- Right, so I know that you have a new product launch then this summer, then what?

What are your plans then for fall and winter?

- Yeah, so I think, you know, it's starting to get closer and closer to opening a physical location.

So I think just figuring out location and kind of the space and size to start with.

I have big ideas that need a very big space.

It may starting smaller and growing into different spaces.

- What's your favorite of all these different products?

- So my favorite is the Evening Spritz.

I really love a little bit more woodsy, deeper blends.

So there's patchouli, clary sage, and a little bit of a Lang Lang.

That's always been kind of my favorite combo, and it's a nice grounding after work, winding down blend.

- And you put it on your feet, or where do you spritz it?

- So you can mist it right onto yourself.

Usually I wear it just as a daily perfume, but you can also mist your couch or your living room, your space.

- And what's your husband's favorite?

So that for our male audience out there, they can get some ideas.

- Yeah, so he likes, I think we have it here, the Aura Blend.

So the Aura Blend is very cooling.

It's nice, any type of headaches or tension during the day.

If you look at a computer a lot, putting some on the temples or the back of the neck.

It's very cooling.

Rosemary, eucalyptus, a little bit of peppermint.

- And the combinations, again, were from your Ayurvedic information?

- Yes, so I've created all the blends myself.

So really blending is definitely something I'm very passionate about.

You know, all the blends have kind of that therapeutic benefit, but I also, you know, make some that are gonna be, you know, a little more citrus or slightly more floral based on preference.

- And this is all small batch?

- [Alexa] Yes.

- So no two are really the same.

Or you could get something in January, and maybe just a little bit different in June or?

- No, everything is gonna be the same.

So I do have all the formulations.

So every product is gonna be consistently the same, but by small batch, I'm not making, you know, a thousand at once, and then they're sitting on the shelf.

So all the product, you know, is gonna be made fairly, not too long before you purchase.

- [Christine] So you were pretty good in chemistry then too, back in the day?

- I was not into science.

I was into English, reading.

I think that comes with my love of learning now.

I was always reading everything I could get my hands on as a kid.

- Well, good for you.

Well, I wish you luck.

And, again, give us the website.

- Yes, so it's alevanbotanica.com.

- All right, sounds great.

Thanks for sharing your story and your products, and here's to good health all throughout Central Illinois.

- Thank you.

- All right.

And good health to you, as well.

Stay safe and healthy, as I say, and hold happiness.

(cheery music)