New biz brings naturals to downtown Owatonna

When Jena Thompson’s son was born 25 years ago, she wanted to start him out right.

A chemist, Thomspon already had an interest in natural and holistic skin care. She had her own issues with sensitive skin.

“In college, I loved everything natural and holistic,” she said, but as she was studying to be a pharmacist, she discovered “there were not a lot of opportunities out there.”

Thompson started creating natural skin care products in her own kitchen–which family and friends quickly snapped up. Her decisions to go into business with the line didn’t come out of the blue; her mother has always worked for herself, and her father is a long-time entrepreneur.

Daisy Blue Naturals started with direct sales at home parties. Thompson realized early on how much the women who attended enjoyed learning about her products.

“I thought, we need to educate people,” she said.

At one of the parties, a woman in the group spent the whole-time taking notes. After the presentation, Tammy Busho told her, “I need to sell these products.”

Busho is now part of the company’s all woman team.

Eventually, Thompson found herself spending more time managing the business side of Daisy Naturals and less time doing what she really loved: being a chemist.

“We also saw a change in the market,” she said. “Nobody was having home parties. People were working a lot more, they were tired when they got home.”

Thompson opened her first storefront in Albert Lea, continuing her focus on products and educating her customers.

“We found that a lot of people came in with a reason. They had a skin condition, or they were diagnosed with a health issue,” she said. “They want to be educated about the chemicals (in some products), especially hormone disruptors.”

As her children grew up and moved to the Twin Cities, and with her business doing well, Thompson started looking north.

“I’d been looking at Owatonna for a few years,” she said. “It’s so progressive here. There’s so much activity. People are friendly… I’m just so grateful for how welcoming the city has been. So many people already know about us.”

Daisy Blue Naturals product lines have also expanded. Thompson partners with vendors to offer organic teas, mushroom coffee, holistic crystals and stones, cleaning products, and more. “It’s really trying to be a a one-stop shop” for all things holistic and natural, she said.  

The business has grown in other ways; products are available in some Hy-Vee stores, and Daisy Blue Naturals does some “private label” packaging for other companies. Thompson said her focus for the coming year is to place products in more retail locations.

Support will continue as well for Kids Inspiring Kids, a nonprofit that supports the education of children in Uganda. Bracelets sold at both Daisy Blue Naturals locations raise funds for KIK.

While she may not have foreseen every detail of her business while mixing up products in her kitchen, Thompson said she has always had big dreams. In the early days, she held annual retreats for her consultants, encouraging them to do vision boards as a springboard to success.

One of those consultants recently reminded her that she had wellness boutiques on her vision board 10 years ago.

“I’ve always envisioned a place where we could bring all the natural modalities together in the community,” she said.

Is a third store possible? Thompson said that’s not off the table. But for her, the future is all about one thing.

“I just want to continue to be the expert on ingredients in skin care and help people make better choices,” she said.