Alicja Zukowska-Wojewnik is a Canadian businesswoman, investor, speaker, consultant, farmer, and natural health trail blazer.
Born in beautiful and historic Poland, Alicja graduated with a Masters in Microbiology. With perseverance, keen insights, and a true passion for life she quickly accelerated in her career to positions of senior management for leading health and wellness brands. She became an expert in the regulatory and quality field and was appointed by Canada’s Health Minister, Allan Rock, to develop the Natural Health Product Regulations (NHPR) of Canada.
In 2002, Alicja established dicentra, a contract research organization and professional consulting firm that specializes in addressing all matters related to safety, quality and compliance for all product categories in the life sciences and food industries. Through Alicja’s leadership, her team of highly specialized experts and scientists provides services to over 1,200 companies worldwide. dicentra helps these companies bring their products to market which assist the world’s population in sustaining their health and wellbeing.
"There was something missing, and my heart knew it."
"It was an opportunity to change the planet - to create a better place that inspires strength and wellbeing. It is an opportunity I took very seriously. Founded upon this passion, I started Vitarock with the mission to help others achieve personal wellness, and joy, without harming the planet, or contributing to unfair employment and trade practices."
In 2013, Alicja founded Vitarock: an award-winning, B-Corp certified online marketplace featuring tens of thousands of health products. Every single product is screened for its ingredients to make sure they’re natural, safe for people and the environment, cruelty-free, and fairly traded. Alicja’s mission has been clear from the start: There are so many people out there who want to adopt a clean, healthy and socially-conscious lifestyle, but can’t do so because of how much time, effort and research it takes. Vitarock’s dream is to make it convenient and practical for people to live according to their values and standards, without all of the barriers. There’s no need for guessing work either—if Vitarock sells the product, you can trust that it has gone through rigorous screening and is guaranteed to be Pure, Green, Safe and Fair.
"With strength comes a healthier life."
The Meaning of ‘Vita’ + ‘rock’
"Vitarock is the combination of two words: ‘vita’ which means life, and ‘rock’ which represents strength. Together they become Vitarock, meaning to live strong. With strength comes a healthier life. It is inspiring, the tremendous inner strength a human being can poses. Yet, one needs to recognize how having strength is needed to be able to achieve wellness. Vitarock works to inspire and promote lifestyles, and community action, that help everyone live strong. Champions of the cause, the Vitarock team promotes more conscious purchasing among their friends and family, and frequently volunteers in the community to help others find strength."
"What we do matters. How a product is made matters. How healthy and strong you are matters."
"As a tiny spark can ignite a flame, from my passion to make a difference in the world and my unique expertise in natural health, Vitarock emerged; a reliable place to go, that is free of junk and harmful chemicals, where families like mine, could find all of the conventional everyday products needed to live strong."
"I am proud to be the owner of a B Corporation …it’s important to think about how our actions impact the environment and people."
"Proud to be a B Corporation, it’s not enough to be ethical and sustainable – we must inspire our community! Achieving this certification is more than being part of this global movement of using business as a force for good; it’s fuel for my passion to do more to promote social responsibility, environmental sustainability, accountability and transparency. I hope that by setting an example, it encourages more companies to join the B Corp movement and challenge the status quo."
"Vitarock is proud to be connecting socially conscious and environmentally responsible people to like-minded brands, to help everyone achieve wellness, joy and a better planet. We value our Vitarock community of ethically-minded, socially-conscious shoppers. Join us, and be a changemaker!"
"Together, we can make a difference."
Staying connected with nature, Alicja enjoys spending most of her free time on her organic apple orchard with her sons, daughter-in-law, granddaughters, and dogs. Not showing any signs of slowing down, Alicja is still very active in her communities. She has a special passion for restoring old historic homes to their original beauty. Cooking up big feasts and entertaining her friends and family is a part of Alicja’s Polish roots that lives strong to this day.
Founder of Vitarock