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.
Happy Monday, sweet friends! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and that your Monday is off to a great start. If you have been following along with me over on Instagram, you probably caught a glimpse of my travels during the past few weeks. I am so grateful to be able to travel and explore places through blogging partnerships and friendships the digital media world has brought me.
Just two weeks ago, I hopped on a plane to Chicago to meet 24 other bloggers from across the US at the NOW Foods 2018 Immersion Event! I was secretly a little nervous to be with so many amazing bloggers that I had never met before with such a long brand. However, I am so grateful to say that I truly had nothing to worry about. Before I jump into the event, let me share some points on NOW Foods:
- NOW has over 1,400 high-quality products, natural and affordable products and is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year!
- NOW’s Quality Control and Quality Assurance programs are A1! No, really, amazing and tedious testing goes into each and every one of their products.
- NOW has more than 900 nutritional supplements that have clearly labeled ingredients that YOU can actually understand
- YOU can win $10,00 with their 50th anniversary “Celebrate NOW” Instant-Win Game
So, let’s get into the event. When we arrived on Thursday, I had the chance to grab lunch with a few girls at the hotel restaurant. After lunch and a quick nap, we got ready for the evening iron chef event and dinner. Many of y’all know this already but guys, I’m such an awful cook! I love eating and dinning out with friends but I get super nervous in the kitchen when it comes to creating new recipes. So if I can say one thing about this cooking challenge, it would be that I was terrified! However, I had a great team and we were able to quickly put together a apple chai mocktail and a 5 ingredient bruschetta, both perfect and comforting for the holidays. After the cook-off, we enjoyed dinner, drinks and chatting with the leadership team at NOW. One highlight of this night was getting to genuinely connect with the NOW team on a one-on-one basis and learning more about how they got their start in this industry.
The next day started at 6am. After dragging myself out of the far too comfy bed, it was time to get up and ready for boxing. Before starting class, we had granola bars and BCAA Big 6 Powder to get us pumped up. This was my first time taking a boxing class, like many others there, but it was so fun. Everyone was so motivating and helpful when each of us wanted to give up. After the class, we met for a DIY smoothie bar and to learn more about the fitness products NOW has to offer. I was blown away by the amount of products NOW offered and the extensive testing each of their items went through before making it to the consumer.
After a quick shower, packing up and breakfast together, we headed over to the NOW plant for a tour. Now y’all, when I say we got geared up from head-to-toe, I completely mean it. We had glasses, gloves, shoe protectors, hair nets and more to keep us safe and to keep the products safe. To me, this showed how much NOW took quality and safety seriously in their company. We toured almost every inch of the plant and got to see the start to end process of supplements being made, essential oils getting bottled, testing of materials and more. I was so excited that we were there on a weekday because we got to meet so many more members of the team and see how much they enjoyed working at NOW and their dedication to the products being created.
Rounding off our trip, we bused over to NOW HQ for some beauty and skincare fun. We got to create our own hydrating facial spray using NOW products and a bath soak for those post-run days and long weeks. We learned all the new and upcoming beauty products that will hit the market soon and how much planning and evaluation goes into each beauty product before it is sold to consumers. We also had the chance to chat about how the beauty & skincare industry is cleaning up their products and how NOW is setting the standard for clean products all around.
By the end of the trip, I was so excited to have met so many amazing bloggers and connect with a brand I love — NOW Foods. This Immersion Event was the perfect opportunity to learn more about the leadership team, quality testing, inside scoop and how NOW has managed to be a cutting edge brand in the food, beauty, pet and wellness industries.
To keep up with all things happening over at NOW, be sure to follow their social platforms here:
- NOW Twitter: https://twitter.com/nowfoods
- NOW Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nowfoodsofficial/
- NOW Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nowfoodsofficial/
Well friends, that’s all that I have for today! I am so glad that you stopped by the blog today and I hope you love the giveaway I’m hosting over on my Instagram this week! Have a lovely day -xo, Azanique <3
Nataly Schma says
This looks like such a fun event!
McKenna says
How fun is this?! Such a good post and looks like something I would love!!
Cathy says
This looks like such a fun event! Sounds like a great way to learn more about their products!
XOXO
Cathy
Nicole Booz says
How cool that you got to create your own facial spray! I have used NOW products in the past and have always been so impressed by the quality. I look forward to seeing what they come out with in the future – I love the commitment to clean products!
danielle says
Looks like it was a super informative event. Haven’t ever heard of this brand, thanks for introducing it!
xx, Danielle | http://www.pineappleandprosecco.com
Annaliese says
This weekend sounds like a dream come true- lots of yummy food and cooking classes? So fun!
xoxo A
http://www.southernbelleintraining.com
Rachel Ritlop (@TCMillennial) says
ohh this sounds like such a fun event! Cooking classes and making your own facial spray?! sounds amazing!!
Sofi says
Never heard of NOW but this sounds like such a great opportunity! Great job!
Shira Rosenbluth says
This event sounds so fun! So cool!
legalleeblondeblog says
Sounds like you had such a great time, and I love that you got to go check out the NOW headquarters!
Lee | LegalLee Blonde
Renee || Getting Fit Fab says
I saw so many people at this event, this looks like such a fun opportunity. I’ve never heard of this brand, I need to check them out!
Delia Atenea says
This sounds like such a fun and delicious event! I’ve never actually tried any of their products but you just peaked my interest so I’m gonna have to check out their website!
kimballandkedzie says
That’s in my hometown! Looks like a fun event.
Julia Comil says
It sounds so fun!!! Thanks for sharing!
kileen says
This sounds like such a fun trip and looks like a great event babe!! Definitely need to check them out now!
Kileen
cute & little
Jenny Suneson says
Looks like you had such a great time!
No Compass Necessary says
What a fun trip! We use quite a few of Now products 🙂
Deborah says
Looks like such a great time! I’ve never heard of NOW products but I’ll check it out
Rachel Kennedy says
This looks like such an amazing event! So glad to hear you learned a lot and had a great time!
Kimberly Burke says
That looks like soo much fun! Awesome gf!
Alix Maza says
Such a great event to go to! All that food is making me hungry.
Caroline Brandt says
This sounds like such an amazing experience! I will definitely be checking out some NOW products after reading this! -Tonya Morris
Kenzi || Life of a Sister says
This looks like such an amazing event to have attended! Definitely have to check them out!
Stephanie says
I had never heard of NOW products, but they seem like a great company with lots of options! Even though you don’t like to cook, it sounds like you had a fun time “cooking-up” your own products 😉
Bryanna says
NOW Foods is doing it right! This sounds like such an unbelievable opportunity, and I’m glad you had so much fun exploring their brand and meeting new bloggers! That’s so cool that they showed you the start to end process of how supplements are made, because quality is everything these days. I need to try their products out asap!
xoxo Bryanna
Candace says
It seems like you guys enjoyed the event! I love all the healthy snacks<3
XO
Candace
http://www.thebeautybeau.com
Denise Kokinis says
This looks like such a fun event! I bet it would have been amazing to see an Iron Chef cook right in front of you! Looks like you did so many awesome things!
Denise | Fashion Love Letters
adriana says
What an awesome event! I would love to try these products out. They sound great!
Kelsey says
Wow! Sounds like such an amazing event!
Katie says
What a fun opportunity! I love when brands invite bloggers to get behind the scenes access like this and learn more about the company/products in an in-person setting. I saw that you met Kendall! She’s from my neck of the woods.
Ash says
Looks like you’re having lots of fun!
blogthirtyminusone says
This seems like a great event to attend. I’ll have to look more into some of the products.
Xx, Nailil
thirtyminusone.com
Suzanne Spiegoski (@SSpiegoski) says
Looks like you learned a lot from this event babe! Glad to see you had a fun time 🙂
Nicole Flint says
I’m glad you enjoyed my hometown!!! Followed your stories throughout this entire event and it looked amazing!!
Lindsay says
What an amazing experience! I actually use a few NOW products! Glad you had fun
annaefox01 says
WOW this looks like such a cool event! It sounds like you had fun.
Taylor Mobley says
What a fun event!! It looks like you had so much fun.
Kelly Torrez (@Birdieshoots) says
What a great and informative event, I personally love protein smoothies!
Cheers x
Kelly
Where You Should Be Staying in Denver