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Key Takeaways
- Snyder found early success listening to her intuition.
- Writing bestsellers about wellness and inventing a popular green smoothie led to celebrity clients
- She walked away from the A-list world to help regular people not just famous people.
Kimberly Snyder never expected to run a wellness empire.
When she graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University, she backpacked across over 50 countries around the world for three years, including India, where she discovered and studied yoga and meditation.
Afterwards, she moved to a rent-controlled apartment in NYC, went back to nutrition school and became a yoga teacher. When she was getting started, there were days when lunch would be three oranges she could buy for a dollar.
But Snyder had a secret weapon. “The one thing that I’ve really tried to listen to is that intuitive voice inside,” she says.
An accidental blogger
That inner voice told her to listen when a neighbor suggested she start a blog. Although she barely even knew what a blog was, she began writing about her travels and perspectives on holistic beauty, nutrition and wellness on a free WordPress site.
“It was just really coming from my heart, and I wasn’t editing it much. It was just sharing all the things I had learned from my around the world trip,” she says.
A few months later, Good Morning America found it. So did Uma Thurman. Soon Snyder was regularly appearing on national television and working with celebrity clients.
HarperCollins reached out about a book deal. The result was “The Beauty Detox Solution,” which went on to sell nearly a million copies. It featured the Glowing Green Smoothie—a recipe Snyder had created years earlier while dealing with digestive issues. This helped launch the green drinks craze and people couldn’t get enough. More books followed.
Snyder’s philosophy and books sold like gangbusters. Snyder appeared on Dr. Oz and Ellen. Drew Barrymore, Chris Hemsworth, Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon became clients. Her book launches included celebrity clients and supporters like Channing Tatum, who hosted one, along with Hilary Duff and Fergie. The press line was three rows deep. Drew Barrymore still talks about her philosophy on her show.
Related: This Founder Is Taking a Bite Out of the $50 Billion GLP-1 Market By Going Natural
An unexpected pivot
Success happened quickly. Most people would have doubled down on celebrity clients and more diet books. Snyder had the opposite reaction.
“I didn’t plan to be in the A-list world. I felt so comfortable in the ashrams in India and everyday people, I wondered why my life had gone that way,” she says.
After years on film sets and private jets, she realized she wanted to help more people, not just famous people. “It pushed me deeper into what I really wanted to share,” she says. Her later books shifted away from dietary advice towards ancient wisdom on finding inner peace, intuition and the intersection of spirituality and science in modern life.
She also launched Solluna in 2018. The premier wellness brand focuses on digestion supplements and courses, and is built around her philosophy of combining physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
Some customers have stayed with the brand for five years—an anomaly in the supplement space, where most brands struggle to retain customers for more than a few months.
That loyalty was intentional. Snyder focused on creating products that actually worked rather than chasing rapid expansion. “It’s never been about how fast we can grow,” she says. Solluna customers stick around because the products deliver on their promises. Snyder’s guiding question has always been: “How can I serve this moment?”
Related: The Future of Wellness Is Happening IRL — Not on Your Feed
A common thread
For Snyder, what ties it all together is grounding her work in classic traditions—Ayurveda, Vedic teachings, principles she learned on her journey through India and that have held up for thousands of years.
“There’s so much ungrounded noise and self-proclaimed experts, and I think people are getting sick of it,” she says. “Nothing is more grounded than ancient wisdom.”
Now, with more than a million followers across social media and a thriving business, Snyder is working on her ninth book while still producing new podcast content for her Feel Good Podcast and being a full time mom to her sons before and after school. Her books have hit the New York Times bestseller list three times, and some of her other biggest bestsellers to date include some of her spiritual books.
In typical fashion, she’s not overthinking her future. “In a world today where everybody’s so rigidly focused on goals and having to manifest things a certain way, I think there’s value in showing up and being open to even more unfolding than we can see.”
Listen to my entire interview with Kimberly Snyder on the One Day with Jon Bier Podcast
Key Takeaways
- Snyder found early success listening to her intuition.
- Writing bestsellers about wellness and inventing a popular green smoothie led to celebrity clients
- She walked away from the A-list world to help regular people not just famous people.
Kimberly Snyder never expected to run a wellness empire.
When she graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University, she backpacked across over 50 countries around the world for three years, including India, where she discovered and studied yoga and meditation.
Afterwards, she moved to a rent-controlled apartment in NYC, went back to nutrition school and became a yoga teacher. When she was getting started, there were days when lunch would be three oranges she could buy for a dollar.
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#Broke #Backpacker #Wellness #Empire #Founder
