Celebrating 20 Years of Wellness: An Exclusive Interview with NHC Founder Theresa Groskopp, CN

Leslie Benson

As Natural Healthy Concepts (NHC) celebrates its 20th anniversary, it's incredible to reflect on how far the company has come since its humble beginnings in 2004. Founded by Certified Nutritionist Theresa Groskopp, NHC started as a small nutrition counseling practice in her home in Menasha, Wisconsin. Long-time employee Julie Weiss, NHC HR Administrator, fondly recalls working from Theresa’s dining room with products stored in a spare bedroom and Sophie the cat greeting her at the door 20 years ago. But by 2007, NHC had outgrown its home base and moved into its first commercial space, eventually settling into its current commercial location in 2012 in Appleton, Wisconsin. Three years later, in 2015, NHC was acquired by Magazines.com (which became Renew Co. and now Renew Wellness Brands), a company based in Franklin, Tennessee, which owns multiple businesses in the natural health market. Since its founding, NHC has rapidly evolved from a home-based nutrition counseling practice into a trusted retail and ecommerce platform, offering a wide range of vitamins and supplements, nutrition and functional foods, bath, beauty and personal care products, pet health products and more, all while maintaining a deep commitment to customer care and wellness. With a continued commitment to offering high-quality wellness products and expert consultations with our practitioners, NHC remains dedicated to providing access to the best natural health products and empowering customers to lead vibrant, healthy lives. Today, the company serves customers worldwide, delivering the same care and dedication that fueled its growth from the start. Join us in celebrating 20 years of wellness! Keep reading to learn more about us and the history of NHC.
Theresa Groskopp, CN, and the staff of NHC celebrate the grand opening of the retail store in Appleton, WI, in 2012.

Q&A with Founder Theresa Groskopp, CN

1. What was the inspiration behind starting NHC 20 years ago?

My husband and I had a personal interest in nutrition and I wanted a change in my career. After I obtained my Certified Nutritionist designation, I started NHC in 2004 with the goal of nutrition counseling to help others improve their health. My practice did not take off as I had hoped, so I started nutrition classes, a website and an email newsletter. I carried some professional supplements for the clients I did have and decided to offer them on my website to help grow my business. The catalog grew from there as clients and customers requested nutritional supplements that were of good quality and void of chemical additives. The business started in my home and proceeded to outgrow two locations before landing in the final location in Appleton, WI.

2. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when starting out, and how did you overcome them?

Any small business faces challenges, and I had my share! The biggest challenges were navigating building and maintaining the website, ensuring customer security whilst managing fraudulent transactions, managing inventory to meet customer needs while not incurring debt, managing short-dated products and navigating the constantly changing requirements of the nutritional supplement companies. As a first-time small business owner, it was also challenging managing customer and staff expectations simultaneously and recognizing when to get outside help. I didn’t excel at that and held onto too much myself. Eventually I did get more help internally and had hired a few consultants during the times I owned the business.

3. How has the natural health food industry changed since you first started, and how has NHC adapted to those changes over the last two decades?

Certainly the industry has grown at least tenfold and mostly has improved to offer more natural and cleaner ingredients. The nutraceutical industry is constantly changing, and it requires a dedicated nutritional expert to stay on top of trends. Toward that end, I hired a Registered Dietitian, Integrative Nutrition Counselor. Since the inception of NHC, we strived to only carry clean products, both nutrition and personal care, so we may have been a bit ahead of the curve there. As the health industry grew, I also made the decision to avoid multi-level marketing companies that were popping up constantly. Even though there may be some good ones out there, I didn’t want customers to feel there was an ulterior motive. (I can only speak to the first decade as that is what I had control over.)

4. What role did your personal philosophy on health and wellness play in the products you chose for your store?

As a rule when I started NHC, new products were selected to offer whole body wellness. NHC never set out to focus on just weight-loss or sports nutrition. Without whole body wellness, chasing weight management and physical strength/endurance cannot be completely achieved in my opinion. Toward that end, we excluded products with toxic additives as well as artificial colorings and sweeteners.

5. Can you share a key moment, milestone or fond memory in the store's history that stands out to you?

There are many! One of my fondest, funniest memories was when we were in our previous location and we were busting at the seams with product orders and associates. Many times, there were 6-8 of us, myself included, around our very first packing table, bumping elbows to get orders out. Our team was dedicated and we had many laughs. I believe NHC still uses that table somewhere in the building.

6. How have customer preferences and needs changed since launching NHC, and how did you keep up with those trends?

As in all things, people want things faster and they expect immediate results. Luckily most of our customers were knowledgeable about supplements and they did some of their own research, so they knew that that isn’t how it works. It can take years for our body to get to an ill-state and it can take a long time to climb out of it. I also know many of our customers were in-tune with their bodies; they knew when something was off. That would be one thing I would encourage customers to do is pay more attention to your intake and how you respond. Start a journal. As far as keeping up with trends, NHC shipped orders placed by 3 p.m. the same day to accommodate customer want for expediency. Our buyers closely monitored inventory to maintain an adequate supply to fulfill orders expediently. Of course to some degree it was always a guessing game as customers' needs/wants could change quickly.

7. What was the most rewarding part of running your store for 11 years, and what do you miss most about it now that you're retired?

Staff and customers were definitely the most rewarding. In fact they were the reason it took me so long to make the decision to sell. Most staff and customers were kind; I miss the regular interactions, stories of how their health has improved and what things made a difference for them. Thankfully several current and way-back employees get together monthly when possible to keep up with each other.

8. Looking ahead, what are your hopes and plans for the future of NHC?

I would hope NHC continues to offer nutritional supplements and personal care items that are clean for its customers. Also that NHC remains in Appleton, contributing to the community and that the number of associates there continues to grow. The team in Appleton is extremely knowledgeable about the products and the companies they work with. Nothing beats eyes, ears and feet on the ground to truly understand the small nuances that made NHC successful to begin with.

9. Lastly, what message would you like to share with the customers to NHC?

There were many loyal customers I used to correspond with periodically. I hope many are still customers. If so, I would like to say thank you for your loyalty and I do hope NHC partially contributed to your health, and I wish you continued health on your wellness journey. To new customers I would say to not give up on finding the right products and combinations that work for you. We are all metabolically and genetically different, and finding a wellness partner who is open to integrative health options is crucial. Nothing beats working with a local practitioner who has the benefit of seeing your in-person physical appearance, movements and reactions. Many people are surprised I started NHC in my home. One thing I would say to entrepreneurs starting their own business is to regularly review and assess all aspects of the business and not to get so caught up in the day-to-day that you don’t see the forest for the trees. Pay for help when you need it; in the long-run you’ll benefit. Other things I learned (perhaps the hard way): Be consistent in your services, products and hours; your customers want and expect that. Same is true with employees, most just want consistency, fairness and respect. They’re giving you one-third (or more) of their life while working, they want to feel valued and the freedom to do their job to the best of their ability. From all of us at NHC, we thank you, our customers, for your loyalty over the years as we continue celebrating 20 years of wellness and look toward a bright future!
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About the Author

Leslie Benson

A Midwest-raised journalist and content marketing specialist living in Nashville, Tennessee, Leslie has been a natural health advocate for over 10 years. She is the Senior Content Marketing Manager of Renew Wellness Brands, which is the parent company of NHC. When she’s not at the local farmers’ market, you can find her writing songs and snuggling with her pets.

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