The Ezentials Story
The Grit Behind the Glow!
The dream of Ezentials started taking root in a small diner in Toronto where our founder (Tracy Gilbert) and her husband (Rob Whiteford) were contemplating how life would be once they graduated from university. On a simple table napkin, they sketched their vision for a comprehensive wellness centre that would help to promote health, reduce stress, and foster happiness.
Meet Tracy (founder), Rob (her husband), & Lyla (their daughter)
First week of opening (2003)
Ezentials first opened its doors in April of 2003 (under the name of Nature’s Apothecary) as a Naturopathic Clinic within the small community of Hanmer Ontario. Tracy had now graduated as a Naturopathic Doctor and her husband as a Mechanical Engineer. On opening day, the shelves were pretty sparce – they spaced the supplement and tincture bottles far apart to try to fill in all the empty space! During those early days, Rob worked around his full-time engineering job as Tracy’s part-time receptionist – and the two of them worked tirelessly to grow the business and dream of what the business would one day become.
Within three years, the business was bursting at the seams and had completely outgrown its space! At that time, Tracy and Rob decided to purchase a residential house that was across the street and create a new home for the business. The process of converting that home into a commercial property was a much greater undertaking than they had bargained for! The quoted renovation price of $30,000 ended up costing $130,000 and far exceeded what the banks would loan for a such a young business! In addition to that, the contractor they hired abandoned the job mid-way through (after having been paid in-full) – leaving them in shambles with nothing but a life-long lesson in business (i.e., never pre-pay)!
New location before renovations (2006)
New location after renovations (2007)
With all their grit and determination (along with literal sweat, blood, and many tears) – they completed the renovations themselves around their full-time work schedules, maxed out their credit cards, applied for in-store credit to pay for building materials, and recruited help from friends and family. One year later, in September of 2007, the new location was opened and Ezentials was born! The larger location allowed for the expansion of services and now represented a Naturopathic Clinic and Spa under the new name of Ezentials. Fun Fact: the name “Ezentials” was suggested by a regular customer who had entered it in a contest to come up with a new name for the business!
During the next decade, Tracy and Rob continued to have big goals and big dreams for the future of Ezentials – but what started on a napkin, soon became countless notebooks filled with ideas! The two of them would spend hours brainstorming, sketching up plans, and researching possibilities. The dream, once rooted, seemed to develop a life of its own and the vision continued to grow.
At the same time, the couple had been trying to start a family but struggled with infertility and the devastating heartbreak of multiple miscarriages. But, as the saying goes, “the best things in life are worth waiting for” – and that was certainly true for their journey to parenthood. They welcomed the birth of their daughter, Lyla Mae Amelia, into the world on August 1st 2016. She was the miracle that they had waited twelve years for – twelve years with the hope that she would some day come into their lives, and there she was! Their ultimate gift.
Tracy, Rob & Lyla (2016)
Expansion location before renovations (2018)
Expansion location during renovations (2018)
In 2018, Tracy and Rob decided to take the terrifying leap and officially make their twenty-year dream a reality! They found a commercial space in Sudbury that was perfect for this big endeavour – it was four times the size of the Hanmer location (a full 7,000 square feet) and an open canvas to design the space from scratch! To save money, Tracy did all the design work and Rob did the engineering drawings, as well as much of the finishing renovations. Lyla, at the age of 2, also had the very crucial role of keeping mommy and daddy sane during the process!
To say that this undertaking was terrifying is a massive understatement! The risk was tremendous. The cost of the renovations alone was enough to make them physically ill. The scale of the project, the cost of the lease combined with monthly expenses, the countless decisions that had to be made, and on and on it went – all of this instilled fear that threatened to stop them in their tracks. There were countless sleepless nights and moments of pure terror when they questioned, “What are we doing – are we crazy? What makes us think we can do something this big?” But between the moments of fear, they kept coming back to the original dream of an ultimate wellness centre – a place that they would love to go to! A place that offered an escape from the hustle and bustle of stressful daily life, where you would leave feeling relaxed, rejuvenated, and better equipped to tackle the world!
“Go big or go bankrupt!” This was a tongue-and-cheek comment that Rob had made when he and Tracy were considering the expansion. But little did they know what was just around the corner and how close they would actually come to losing everything.
Expansion location after renovation (2019)
Expansion location after renovations (2019)
Closure during the pandemic (2020)
Nordic Lounge launch (2023)
Just five months after the grand opening, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the entire world came to a halt! Ezentials barely had the chance to get up and running before being forced to closed the doors for months on end. Despite extended periods with absolutely no business revenue coming in, all the bills continued to roll in and pile up – loan payments, lease expenses, utility bills, the list went on and on. Suddenly Rob’s expression of, “Go big or go bankrupt” took on a whole new meaning. The sleepless nights returned with a vengeance!
The only way out was to wade through it. They were simply too far in to give up without a fight. So, what did they do? They buckled down and with nose to the grindstone, they kept moving forward.
They cashed in personal RRSPs, sold anything of value from personal assets, remortgaged their home, and remortgaged a single home rental property. EVERYTHING was now on the line – failure was no longer an option. And sure enough, little by little, inch by inch, they pulled themselves and the business out from the depths of despair and made it through to the other side. The journey was anything but easy – but as the quote in Tracy’s office reads, “nothing worth having comes easy.”
What does the future have in store for Ezentials? Tracy and Rob continue to dream big and are always looking for ways to improve or expand! Perhaps there will be an Ezentials franchise with multiple locations or an Ezentials resort (yes please!)… only time will tell! But, for now, they are incredibly grateful for the people who have helped make this dream a reality – their friends, family, staff, and guests. In Tracy’s words:
“Without all of your support, Ezentials would not be what it is today. We thank each and every one of you who has played a crucial role in building this dream. We are eternally grateful to all of you.”
Ezentials (2026)