Ashley Ward, MBA ’09, and Rosy Atwal, MBA ’07, are empowering families to live healthier lives through clean, organic, plant-based products.
Rosy Atwal (pictured right) and Ashley Ward (pictured left) aren’t just interested in profit. The Co-Founders of Vancouver’s Maple Organics want to change people’s lives for the better.
“This venture gives consumers high-quality products and gives families flexible income opportunities,” says Atwal. “I think businesses can make a difference, and I believe that you can use business to create good.”
Maple Organics manufactures and sells plant-based, Health Canada-approved products, including organic pharmaceuticals like their Cold + Flu Therapy, and personal care products like body wash, and organic baby lotion and shampoo.
In 2008, inspired by the time-tested home remedies that her mother had brought with her from her home country of India, Atwal developed chemical-free, topical ointments to provide relief for her son’s eczema and flu symptoms. These homemade remedies would form the basis of Maple Organics’ product line.
“The thread that goes through all of our products is, how can you maintain wellness so that you don’t fall ill?” says Atwal. “And if you should fall ill, what are quick-and-easy, plant-based options to treat illness?”
The two founders were inspired to form the company after a serendipitous walk in the park trying to get Ward’s two-month-old daughter to sleep. Good friends for over a decade, the women were both feeling burned out from corporate jobs that left little time for family, and shared a passion for living a more toxin-free life.
“We felt that if we were feeling this way in our lives, other women were likely feeling the same way,” says Ward. Maple Organics has a direct sales business model, allowing people to start their own businesses. Their consultants (90 per cent women) market the products through at-home parties, farmers’ markets, and trade shows, taking a commission on items sold. The company also sells through integrative wellness clinics, paramedical practitioners, and naturopaths.
“We find that referral-based, word-of- mouth marketing is a very effective way to move our product, allowing people to be educated, as well as to test and sample the products,” says Ward.
“I think consumers feel a lot more empowered in how they can impact their health,” says Atwal. “As a result, more consumers are taking charge of how they treat their bodies.”
Learn more at mapleorganics.com
Photo: Lindsay Siu
Art Direction: Greg Salmela, Aegis
