Made In Michiana: Natur Avila

ELKHART, Ind. -

An Elkhart businessman is striving to keep Hoosiers healthy.

But his company isn’t about food or fitness.

It’s called Natur Avila—a line of natural skin care products, sold all over the country, made right here in Michiana.

It is just another day at the office.

But for Doctor Francisco Avila, it doesn’t feel like work.

He absolutely loves his job.

“I’ve always been very interested in skin care products because I know there is a lot of junk in the market,” said Owner of Natur Avila Dr. Francisco Avila.

By junk, he means full of chemicals and potentially dangerous.

That is what motivated Avila to create his own products, natural products, he named Natur Avila.

“The main ingredients in my products are oatmeal and flax seeds,” Avila explained.

His research began 20 years ago.

But production didn’t start until in 2011.

That’s when his position at a local bio-tech company was cut.

So Avila started small, selling at local farmers markets.

“They started using the products and they like it,” Avila said.

Then by chance—one of the biggest names in natural products came to Michiana, Whole Foods.

Whole foods wanted local vendors.

And Avila jumped at the opportunity.

Today business is booming.

You can find Natur Avila at the Whole Foods in Mishawaka, 14 of its Chicago locations, and another in Detroit.

“Expansion is always the plan. You either stand still or you fall back. And our plan is to move forward,” Natur Avila Business Partner Scottie Stob said.

These products are also on the shelves of South Bend’s Purple Porch Co-op, Goshen’s Maple City Market, and Berrien Springs' Apple Valley,  to name a few.

Avila and Stob said consumers are changing.

The desire for organic, healthy products now stretches beyond the dinner table.

“There’s no synthetic perfumes. No synthetic chemicals in the products. So people like this. And this is exciting when you can see the result,” Stob added.

These ointments and oils are family treatments passed down generation over generation.

“We used to combine different components to keep our skin healthy,” Avila explained.

But today, Doctor Avila is proud to share his products with the world.