Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Steaz

Exactly one week ago, I was at the Whole Foods in Lincoln Park (Chicago). Now this was no ordinary visit to the store. Nope. I was treated to a tour of the store - it was amazing! How much thought and care they put into every aspect of that place - it really made wish that I lived much much closer so I could be there all the time (and also, there is a great little cafe/sitting area to just chill out in!). How much more fun would grocery shopping be if you could take the kids for lunch, treat them to something and then get the groceries? Well, that might be just my dream - but it sounds so nice!

If that wasn't enough, I was there with some pretty amazing women - ecochic, Duong Sheahan, Mary Beth, Miss Lori, Serena Beltz, and Kim Moldofsky! In addition to these great women - who I am in awe of - we got to meet with Eric Schnell, the co-founder of Steaz.


We had such a wonderful time. We were able to try out a few Steaz drinks (and bring a few more home to try out - which my kids are SO excited about! LOL!). It was such a nice time! And I have to tell you that the Steaz drinks are pretty good - I am in love with the berry energy drink. Like, I would be happy drinking it all the time. And for a girl who is seriously addicted to drinking too much soda - it's nice to find an alternative that tastes good, is good for the earth, is made responsibly and has no high fructose corn syrup. Because every time I open a can of pop, these things are on my mind and I know it's not only bad for me to drink, but it's not all that great for the environment. But Steaz is all that and more!

And I could go on and on about how awesome their products are - fair trade, organic, sustainable - this is a company that cares about so much more than just making a product. This is a company that cares about me, you, the planet, those who produce the ingredients ... well they care about a lot of things! And it's amazing. And for me, that makes them an awesome company. And oh yeah, I actually like most of their drinks. I even liked the tea - and I'm not generally a tea drinker. I will admit the diet drinks weren't a hit with me. Although, I've never met a diet drink of any kind that was a hit with me. My kids are over the moon about the sparkling green tea though! Which is nice - because they are asking to drink soda more and more and so far I've mostly been able to steer them back towards other alternatives, because frankly, I don't want them drinking pop. So it's great to find something they like and I like!

Anyway, I could keep raving about how great all their products are - but I'm thinking by now you get the picture! And I love that the drinks taste good and are good - but that's not the biggest thing I walked away with last Wednesday.

While we were eating lunch, Eric (one of the co-founders) was talking to us. He said he didn't really want to talk about himself, but we encouraged him - and that for me was the best part. He talked about the company, how it came to be, and he talked a little bit about growing up and the path his life led him to get to this point. I was fascinated - I wish we had more time to talk with him about all of that. You could tell the passion he has, you could see how this company was just a natural extension of who he was, how he was raised and what he believed in. He talked about his family - and his mom. And let me just say, I hope in 20-30 years, my son talks about me like that. I was so touched and moved (and also, I want to meet his mother!). Steaz now has a blog, and I am crossing my fingers that Eric shares more about himself on there because I have a feeling he has amazing things to share with us! And in a way, learning about him and how he came to be a founder in this company really helped me fall in love with Steaz even more!


Notes: I did take pictures that day and I lost the little thing I need to pull them off the memory card. :( But some other bloggers put together some whrrl stories so you can see the here and here!

If you want to try Steaz - it is available at Whole Foods and most Targets. On their website you can also put in your zip code and see where it's sold by you! And here is a coupon to buy one, get one free!!

Disclosure: I did receive free product samples from Steaz but no monetary compensation. The
opinions expressed here are my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other
representation about the product should be verified with Steaz.

1 comment:

  1. How fun for you!

    I wish there was a Whole Foods in my area too.

    ReplyDelete

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