Echinacea: My Family Heirloom

If you walk the halls here at Natural Factors and ask any staff member about their favorite product, you are guaranteed to get an interesting story. From our protein powder helping someone from the shipping department train for their half marathon, to our PCOS formula helping someone from marketing change their life and start a family, each of our team members has a story to tell. Of all our stories, here is one of our favorites. 

Heirlooms, many families have them. A sacred object passed lovingly from generation to generation, its important history carefully told to those lucky enough to receive them. My family heirloom is echinacea, specifically Natural Factors Echinacea Tincture. It may not be jewelry, but this liquid gold passed down in my family for generations is just as valuable. In my family, echinacea is so much more than an herb; it is a show of love, care, and hope for healthier days ahead. 

For as long as I can remember, in my house, runny noses, sore throats, and colds were greeted with Echinacea Tincture. My mother and her mother believed in the power of the beautiful purple plant to help us feel better faster. When I was young, it was added to orange juice, and my face would scrunch up when I tasted the potent tincture hidden in my otherwise delicious juice. 

When I was a teenager, it was thrust upon me by my mother, who ignored my complaints and watched until I washed it down with lemon tea. 

When I was in university, it was sent home with me from family dinners along with leftovers. My mother would call me in the following days to make sure I had taken it. Whenever my mom pulled out that bottle with the Natural Factors logo so proudly stamped on the front, I knew I was going to feel better. Little did I know just how big a role Natural Factors would play in my future.  

As an adult, echinacea is pulled out of my own medicine cabinet and offered to friends when they tell me about a runny nose. I ignore the complaints and watch them wash it down with lemon tea. I now willingly add it to my orange juice at the first sign of a cold, its potent taste reminding me of so many winter mornings in my childhood home, and my face still scrunching up lightly.  

When I finished university, I was lucky enough to get a job with the company that created the echinacea that my family had so lovingly passed down for generations. The same logo I saw for years in my medicine cabinet is now proudly stamped on my email signature. I learned that just like my family, Natural Factors believes echinacea is so much more than an herb; it is a hope for healthier days ahead. It is studied, grown, harvested, and bottled with the utmost care for those who will give it to their own families. 

I look forward to one day pulling that reliable liquid gold out of my own medicine cabinet, sneaking it into my children’s orange juice, watching their faces scrunch up, and passing down the family heirloom once again.