The wellness industry is flooded with marketing hype and empty promises. Consumers navigate a maze of products created by marketers rather than nutritionists, while healthcare providers receive an average of just eight hours of nutrition training throughout their entire careers. Against this backdrop of confusion and profit-driven messaging, some leaders are choosing a different path—one rooted in science, transparency, and genuine care for human wellbeing.
Audrey Sommerfeld is one such leader, and her story begins in a place far removed from corporate boardrooms and entrepreneurial success.
From Braces to Breakthroughs
“I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon. I grew up with food stamps, leg braces, and a face doctors said they’d need to break my jaw to fix,” Sommerfeld recalls. Born with a jaw deformity where her top jaw was smaller than her bottom, she spent eight years navigating dental work, braces, and speech therapy. Her legs were in braces too, just to help her walk. “And I learned quickly that when you’re different, people treat you differently.”
Rather than allowing these early challenges to define her limitations, Sommerfeld used them as fuel for her determination. She put herself through college and graduate school, driven by an unwavering belief that “there had to be more in life than getting by.”
Corporate Lessons and Global Perspectives
Her persistence paid off when she was accepted into a prestigious global training program at Johnson & Johnson, where she managed the Johnson’s Baby care line globally. This role became a defining turning point in her career, offering her insights that would later shape her entrepreneurial vision.
“It was a humbling experience as I saw that we are all the same around the world,” she reflects. “We all want what is best for our families—whether it was a mom using a single serve shampoo sachet in Thailand, to the large bottles in the USA—these parents were putting their trust into the brand for safety and mildness.”
The experience opened her eyes to universal human needs while teaching her invaluable lessons about building trust at scale. However, it also exposed her to aspects of corporate culture that didn’t align with her values. “In the corporate world I saw greed and ego, and I wanted to change that.”
Leading Through Collaboration
Sommerfeld’s leadership philosophy was tested when she found herself managing R&D and marketing teams that were constantly at odds with each other. Rather than choosing sides or imposing top-down solutions, she developed an innovative approach to bridge the divide.
“True innovation only comes when you can collaborate and understand each other’s differences, and move forward,” she explains. Her solution was elegantly simple: create teams of two—one R&D person and one marketing person—and send them out to explore the marketplace together. They had to return with joint recommendations for new products, ingredients, packaging, and marketing strategies, and present their findings as a unified team.
“That was such an inspiring thing to watch—to see them change and want to do great things for the company. It was one of the most rewarding moments for me as a leader.”
Building Something Different
The corporate world’s focus on profit over purpose eventually led Sommerfeld to make what she calls “the scariest decision” of her career: stepping away from a job because the leadership wasn’t aligned with her values. “Leaving a job, without another one lined up may not have been the wisest decision, but it freed me to understand that work can be rewarding, and that you can leave the world a better place if you make that leap of faith.”
This leap of faith led to the creation of her current company, built on a vision of helping people “feel better, earn better, and live better—naturally.” But this isn’t just another wellness company with bold claims and slick marketing.
“I built this company for people who feel like they’re meant for more… but haven’t had a place that felt like home yet,” Sommerfeld explains. “The woman who’s been told to stay small. The man who’s tired of choosing between his health and his paycheck. The parent who wants more time, more energy, more meaning. The dreamer who knows deep down… they were meant for more.”
Science Over Marketing Hype
What sets her company apart is its foundation in genuine expertise rather than marketing appeal. “With products and programs created by nutritionists, not marketers,” she emphasizes. Their offerings focus on gut health—”the key to better living”—with products that are natural, taste good, and cost less than other brands. Their latest innovation is a purple “SuperFood Power” drink described as “a ‘greens’ drink that doesn’t taste like greens” that benefits everyone from kids to grandparents.
The company’s mission extends beyond selling products to genuinely educating consumers. “Since our inception we have led with information to help people cut through the marketing hype they see online and on TV.”
Empowering the Next Generation
Sommerfeld’s commitment to lifting others extends well beyond her company. She volunteers on the Steering Committee for the Women’s Leadership Conference at the University of Minnesota, working to “create inspiring connections.” Her ultimate goal? “I will be thrilled when the day comes we can have it be just a ‘Leadership’ conference. Women sadly are still paid less than men, and have glass ceilings.”
Drawing inspiration from Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sommerfeld’s leadership style focuses on finding “common ground, and yet still pushing for radical change. That to me is empowering leadership.”
Her advice to young women aspiring to leadership roles is both practical and profound:
- Be true to yourself
- Never stop learning
- See both sides of every argument
- There is no single definition of success
- Having a good mentor and friend is important.
- Attitude and skill set both matter.
- Perseverance is key. Nothing gets handed to you—you have to make it happen, and success is typically not overnight.
- Be kind to yourself, always, and remember that being kind is a strength, not a weakness.
Redefining Strength
Perhaps most importantly, Sommerfeld is working to debunk persistent myths about women in leadership. “That we cannot make tough decisions, or lead diverse teams,” she states firmly. “Even though we have made great strides, right now I feel like we are going backward in time where our value is being defined as our gender. It is not. Our value is our unique skillsets that help uplift all people. You can be an iron fist in a velvet glove.”
A Legacy in Motion
When asked about the legacy she hopes to leave behind, Sommerfeld’s answer reflects the same authenticity that has driven her entire journey: “That we helped other people achieve their dreams, hopes and goals for better Health, better Wealth, better Living, better Giving. Those are the 4 pillars we built the company on. My hope is that when I leave this world, the company and the mission continue.”
From food stamps and leg braces to global corporate leadership and entrepreneurial success, Audrey Sommerfeld’s story proves that our greatest obstacles often become the foundation for our most meaningful contributions. She’s building more than a business—she’s creating a movement where values matter as much as profits, where science trumps marketing, and where everyone can find a place that feels like home.
