Aurélie is a FÉNA certified French naturopath based in Milan who became aware of this world after having her first daughter - "when nothing made sense anymore. It might sound cliche' but when you have a child you contemplate your priorities again". After we meet in her's and my parents' favourite "bar de quartier", we sip on some infusions while she lovingly speaks about her work and her family. She transmits a positive and serene energy that contagiously makes me feel at home.
Aurélie began studying independently this form of alternative medicine, described as a non invasive technique to self-heal the body, spurred by the need and desire to give her daughter the best of best. Her passion arose from the research she conducted herself for herself. After living a busy life in media and real estate, between London, Paris and Milan, she abandoned this tiring world to fully dedicate herself to her family and her second entrepreneurial project. She had already built this short term rental agency by herself, so was well equipped for startup life. I asked her what did it take to transition from such hectic jobs, was it courage? "No. I was simply bored of them. I was not having fun and decided I wanted to pivot my life. My husband encouraged me so much to take my own way".
After studying naturopathy in school for two years in Paris, Covid-19 came along and this was the triggering point that defined her success: her posts gained traction. I immediately ask, how? "It was very natural, from one day to the other I gained more visibility and people besides my friends and family started following me - then the first brands came along. Oh my Cream asked me to go live on their channel and the rest is history!". I am very impressed by her journey and am always keen to learn how digital platforms can be marketed for growth. The most interesting and valid point she makes is "it's all about a feeling: I don't have an editorial plan or schedule - if I feel like posting, I post it, if I don't, I don't". Her strategy is in fact, to stay spontaneous and be natural - of course. "I post what I like eating, or what I like seeing and doing. It's not like I try to please my followers. Most of the times I'm doing it for myself, not for my audience. For example, my son was craving a chocolate cake and then developed a recipe I could share . There's not a real strategy in my personal content creation - everything is authentic."
At this point I ask her what's her favourite recipe: "Oh, there are so many, I don't have a favourite one, it's impossible to decide." I follow by admitting that I tried her apple mille foglie and failed miserably and by showing her some pictures she gently and motherly gives me some advice on the need to use a proper mandolin to cut thinly the apples! It's a never ending learning journey!
What I love about her is her super easy and natural recipes, that prioritise non refined sugars or flours and are made with pantry staples and just a handful of ingredients. You can check them out here, but my favourite is the banana chocolate tart that is so gooey and fudgy.
Aurélie is also the author of the cookbook << Une Naturopathe dans ma cuisine>> available to buy here.
We also talk collagen and tells me a couple of her favourites: Apnee and Terravita, reminding me to select hydrolysed peptides with daltons, a measure of molecular weight, between 2000 and 5000, where anything closer to 2000 is better.
Aurelie always has in her bag a "chouchou" (a scrunchie) and a lip balm.
When asked what are her tips to start being healthier she replies: "It’s more about getting aware of what you eat, what you drink, the gym you practice everyday . The first thing is all about awareness and be aware of why eating better will make you feel better actually! And then understand why, the reasons why you need to eat this or this, the reasons why you need to drink a lot of water, to exercise and to meditate."