Hugo & Debra's Natural Blog

Changes at Hugo Naturals

Oh well, it's time again to come back and update this blog. There are many questions that need to be answered and a long time has passed since our last time together.  And not only time, but lots of new experiences that we need to share with all of you, our friends.

 

When companies don't have anything of value to say and their product or service is relatively ordinary, they often rely on marketing to create an image that they hope will add value to their brand.  That is not the case with us.  When you have a purpose and a vision at the heart of the company like we do at Hugo Naturals, and the leadership that my wife and I put together in order to help us change the industry, and when you understand our core values and our purpose, that all provides a road map to insure that we hold our course as a company along this journey. We are continuously transforming ourselves like our butterfly on our logo.

 

We have the most incredible team that is helping us to make our dream a reality, which is to enhance people's lives by making the safest, most natural, most pure and luxurious products for our customers, and in turn, helping to make a beautiful and happy world and forging an incredible destiny for our employees.

 

We made changes in our packaging. Now you can see us much better on the store shelves. With our new packaging, we believe we achieved our goal of giving our pure and luxurious products a presence of beauty and sophistication like nobody else in the market place. 

 

Also, with our new packaging, we made a big change in the way we list our ingredients on our labels. We changed to the INCI format (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients).  The INCI format is the strictest way, the highest standard.  It is also a global standard, like the EU and the Asian FDA’s.  The INCI format doesn’t allow the use of marketing words when listing ingredients, which avoids consumer confusion. For example, the word “organic” has been corrupted by companies who use words to sell their products.  We do not.  Our line is made with food-grade raw materials and is pure enough to eat. 

 

This is why we are now listing our ingredients on our labels with their scientific names.  This change can be confusing to our incredibly loyal customers.  To help explain, I will use the example of alcohol.  Alcohol like ethanol or isopropyl alcohol or methyl alcohol is not good for people’s skin.  Those alcohols corrupt the natural barriers of protection of our skin.  We do not use those alcohols at all, but we use cetyl alcohol, which is actually the scientific name for a fatty alcohol.  Cetyl Alcohol is derived from coconut and palm oils.  While it is a fatty alcohol, it is not an "alcohol" like ethyl or rubbing alcohol. Cetyl alcohol is widely used as a emollient, emulsifier moisturizer, foam booster and thickener in skin creams, lotions, shampoos and conditioners in the natural industry.

 

Making the decision to adopt the highest standard is always our promise.  To always take the lead and not merely follow is in our DNA.  To be vegan; to be cruelty-free, to be pure of synthetics: this is built into the culture of Hugo Naturals.  Like being the first national body care company to be certified Gluten-free by the Celiac Sprue Association!

 

For today this is all.  Sometime this week will be Debra’s turn to engage with all of you, till then …..

 

Hugo

 

Phthalates

I am just beginning my third day of demos for my Midwest launch and am thrilled because of the incredible amount of energy I feel when I am in front of my customers and the teams that work in these stores. I feel rejuvenated and it is a true blessing for me. I love it when people ask questions and I can be of help with their choice of which ingredients to use and which to avoid and to remind them how imperative it is to read labels and learn more about the ingredients they put on their bodies.

 

I was upset to read an article the other day about Phthalates and how this terrible chemical is found in many baby products. Many of us have known about this chemical for a long time and I never use them in my products because of the harm they can do to our bodies. The article talks about how Phthalates are found in baby urine very soon after their loving parents use baby powders and shampoos. Just so you know many times Phthalates are used to stabilize artificial fragrances – which I never use in my products. They can lead to asthma, depression, hyperactivity, headaches, seizers, skin rashes, and reproductive problems. It upsets me that these ingredients can still be used, especially in baby products. You can read the article by clicking here.

 

(There are many other ingredients to avoid and we will post a more comprehensive listing on the ingredients page on the hugonaturals.com website soon)

 

I am committed to bringing an honest, simple, and beautiful product to the marketplace, and to bring attention to the way big companies profit themselves without the knowledge of the consumer and with complete disregard to their health and wellbeing.

 

I don't claim to have all of the answers about ingredients and please use your own discretion when deciding which product is right for you. There are many questions surrounding these chemicals and I am happy to help you if I can. Email me, write a comment, or come join me at one of my demos and ask me in-person. You can find Hugo's February demo schedule here).

 

Thank you for reading my blog.

 

God Bless you,

HUGO

Midwest Promotional Tour

Hello friends, I am so happy to be launching Hugo Naturals in the Midwest region for Whole Foods. This is an exciting region with dedicated people and we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with their Whole Body department in this way. I am visiting all of the Whole Body teams and introducing my natural products to their customers and making new friends. I hope you can come and visit me at one of my demos in February. You can see my schedule here. If you can come and visit me at one of my demos and mention you read my blog, I will give you a nice gift for taking your time. Thank you and I hope to see you on my road show. God Bless.

 

Celebrate a New Year!

Many months have passed without any posting on my part, and here we are entering 2008. I plan to commit much more time communicating with you through my Natural Blog.

It has been two years since my wife Debra and I launched our new company, Hugo Naturals. Our goal was to create the cleanest, purest, most beautiful natural body care line available, to make that product available to everyone, and to raise the bar in the natural industry. After seeing and experiencing the incredible response to Hugo Naturals in 2007, I know we are on the way to achieving those goals. We owe this to the loyalty and support of our customers, and the talent and dedication of our team.

I want to sincerely thank all of you who contributed to our success in 2007, and welcome you to join us on our path in 2008. We will begin to share ideas and stories that may interest you. My wife Debra will begin to contribute, along with key member of our team. You will also see many more new and innovative products in 2008, along with even purer and more sustainable raw materials for the benefit of all.

We appreciate your loyalty and support, and we wish you a rewarding and healthy New Year.

Hugo

The Beginning of a Dream

I am constantly amazed how the universe works to make things happen in my life. I feel truly blessed. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about how lucky I have been to start a company and see success with it, and to start over again and reach even higher horizons. It is amazing to me. I have always known that we make our own luck in life, but we do that by following god’s will for us in life. I believe that. I am deeply appreciative for the incredible people that are drawn into my life. We have assembled a wonderful team at Hugo Naturals, and this is not something easily done. It has just fallen into place. This is what I mean by blessed.

 

My thoughts take me to a day long ago when I first came to this incredible country I now call home. I had $100 in my pocket when I landed in New York. The first thing I did was take a taxi from the airport to a hotel in Manhattan to book a room for the night. I had been in the United States for one hour and had already spent $63 of my original $100. The only thing left was $27 in my pocket and a hotel paid until noon the next day. Now here I am, 28 years later, and after many long roads in this awesome country I know that anything is possible if you have a dream and the courage to see it through. I think how incredible it is to be running a company like Hugo Naturals. My dreams and challenges are completely changed from where I began, but the same fundamental truth exists for me. I can see the most important part of my business is the human element, as it is in my life. As I face my challenges running my business, others have challenges with basic things like giving their families clean water, health care, food, and housing. Even here in this great country people have these challenges. The fundamentals of business around the world are about “Me”. Whole Foods and other great companies in our industry are trying to change the conversation and make it about “Us”. Hugo Naturals is such a company. As our line grows we will focus more and more on these issues. How can we prosper while others suffer far away and at home?

 

Never in my life has it seemed more possible to end hunger, disease, and reduce suffering as it does right now.  Now more than ever we need to begin to think about “Us”.

 

The planet’s warming climate, water deprived villages, and all of the challenges I mentioned are becoming the latest bonanza for public relations companies and marketing executives. Their goal is more about fixing the bottom-line, and less about addressing the problems. I imagine a business community where eco-friendly and socially responsible acts and practices actually help a company bottom-line. We must remain sustainable and prosperous in order to stay in business and have the ability to help people, so we need to be realistic how we do it.  However, companies that talk the most about sustainability aren't always the best at putting forward the rights efforts and those right efforts are to cut toxic emissions, create eco-friendly and safe products, help the poor of this world by meeting humanity's needs without harming future generations.

 

Concentrating on the bottom-line makes companies postpone inevitable changes that are badly needed by people and our planet.

 

The team at Hugo Naturals is completely aligned in our core values and vision. This gives us a much more focused company than we ever had before, and I couldn’t be more pleased to have you as a part of it.  A friend and a customer.

 

Hello Friends

Hello, this is Hugo.  I am the creator of Hugo Naturals.  Many of you I have already met in my travels around the country promoting my new line of all-natural personal care products.  Many of you I have not met.  Give me time and I will come see you too!

 

OK, this is a new venture that I'm going to embark upon and I only know one thing: it will be an incredible ride.  My reason for writing this blog is the same reason I created Hugo Naturals:  I want to make a big difference on this little world that we call home.  I will strive to put in this blog the philosophy that is the core values at Hugo Naturals.  Maybe when you read this you will understand my passion for clean products, and why the word "natural" should mean something.  Maybe you will want to get involved too and help make this world a better place to live.  I think we can all do this, and the place we need to start is by making our own body healthier and cleaner.  People say, "Think globally and act locally".  It does not get more local then your own body, correct?   

 

I am going to share with you my journey of making a natural body care company.   I'm going to share with you the right decisions, the setbacks, the dreams, and the frustrations.  In general, I'm going to share with you my life and passion.  The making of something wonderful.  The making of Hugo Naturals. 

 

I would love for you to express your opinion about the Natural industry.  I need your help if we are going to force change.  We need to stand together and show there is another way to conduct business.  Integrity is just a word for some.  Not for me.  Business has to take into account the mind, body and soul of the people in our society.  The most important part of a business plan is not the bottom line. Remaining in balance with people and the world as a whole is the most intrinsic connection we have, and this idea needs to be adopted by corporate culture in order to have a truly healthy balance sheet.

 

I will love it if you to challenge me too.  Honestly disagree with me, and make recommendations about raw materials, products, or even politics.  When we engage each other with intelligence and honesty we can produce great results together and improve our world and everything that we touch.

 

I believe I have a lot to say in the Natural Industry, I want to continue producing the purest and cleanest products available.   I will work with other companies to push the FDA to ban carcinogens widely used in so called "natural" body care products sold in the U.S and Canada.  This kind of natural is not nearly good enough.  Especially when people use personal care products with toxic ingredients that wash down the drains and into our environment.  It is a bigger problem than you think and made worse when big "natural" body care companies are using ingredients that are not good for the skin and are not good to our earth.

 

In today's business, the Enron type of business is run by greed and the belief that it is not only necessary, but desirable to sell-out as a fast way to make a buck.  This is the corrupted model where companies are motivated by false goals instead of the truest goal: The crucial expression of the human spirit, where knowledge, compassion and spiritual welfare are intertwined.  Where the major goals of the company are not material success as an end unto itself, but an outcome of striving on the path of improving people's lives and making the world a better place to be and live.

 

Things happen for a reason in life, and we are here on earth for only a very short time.  Our paths cross and we go on with our lives, but we are brought together for a reason.  When we meet I would love for us to make happiness with each other and not wars, and to be patient with each other politically, spiritually and culturally.     We also need to protect ourselves and our environment so that we can improve our quality of life and that of our friends and families.  This is my passion and to this I have given my life.  I like to say, "Be good to your skin and be good to the Earth."  Creating a way to help you do this is my mission in this life.   

 

• Hugo Saavedra