Why I want you to be part of Natura Esencials, not just to buy from us

There are two ways to understand a brand. One is to make a product, sell it and move on to the next customer. The other is to build something alongside the people who use it, and to take seriously what those people have to say. Natura Esencials was born of the second, and today I want to take a further step in that direction.

I am writing to you as the founder of the brand, not on behalf of a department. What I want to tell you is simple. We have opened an advocate programme so that the people who believe in what we do can genuinely be part of it. Not as onlookers, but as part of the house.

Why I am doing this

Natura Esencials is made by hand, in small batches, with botanical oils from the south of Spain. That way of working has an uncomfortable consequence: you cannot grow at any price or at any speed. It takes longer, it costs more and it demands care in every detail. I accept that gladly, because it is the only way I know to make a product you can stand behind.

Set against that is another way of working, the one followed by much of the large industry. I do not judge it, it is simply a different model. When a company manufactures at enormous scale, the internal conversation turns almost always on margin and volume. The product ends up as a formula to be made cheaper, and the customer as a figure on a page. It is not ill will, it is the logic of that size. But it leaves a gap, the gap for brands that still want to look the customer in the eye.

That gap is where we are, and it is where I need you.

I do not want to do it alone

I want Natura Esencials to reach far, to compete beyond our borders and to grow. But not at the cost of ceasing to be what it is. And I have learnt that this line, growing without betraying yourself, cannot hold from the inside alone. It holds with the people who use the products, who know the brand and who want it to improve without losing its character.

Involving those people is not a marketing tactic. It is, honestly, the only way I have to build a brand that is strong and true to itself at the same time. I need outside eyes. I need someone to tell me when something is right and when it is not, without hedging.

The people who keep us honest

That is the idea behind the Natura Esencials advocate. More than someone who recommends us, I see an advocate as a kind of external auditor, someone who keeps us committed to our principles and our quality, as a company, as a brand and as a product.

That is why the programme is built for honest opinion, not for praise. A critical review counts exactly as much as a positive one. We do not want bought applause, we want the truth, because it is the only thing that holds us to the standard we set. Our advocates' opinions come from their experience with the brand, from how they live it and perceive it, and that broad view is precisely what gives us something valuable.

Put another way, I am not looking for people who will say everything is wonderful. I am looking for people who care enough to tell me when it is not.

What it means to be an advocate

Being a Natura Esencials advocate means, above all, taking part. Giving your opinion honestly, commenting on what we publish and sharing your view on what we do and where we are going. If at some point you want to talk about the brand on your own channels, you are free to do so, always with transparency: when a recommendation is part of the programme, it is marked as such, so that other customers know where it comes from. That honesty is part of the deal, and it is why our advocates' opinions carry the Verified Advocate mark.

In return, the first thing I offer is closeness. That you are heard, that your voice counts in a brand that is just beginning to take shape beyond its home market. And yes, there are also some advantages, as thanks for your time, but they are not the reason and I do not want them to be. If you would like the detail, it is all set out on the programme page.

How to join

If you have read this far, you may already be one of us. Joining is free and commits you to nothing. You can apply at advocate.naturaesencials.com, and find everything explained on the advocate programme page.

I am not asking you to buy more from us. I am asking for something more valuable: that you help us do it better.

Carlos Saiz Founder of Natura Esencials