8Greens founder Dawn Russell on establishing what a wellness brand should mean

8Greens founder Dawn Russell got the idea for her wellness business a painful way: by surviving a terrible diagnosis.

"I hate to start the conversation with cancer, but it really was what brought me into what I'm doing today," Russell said on this week's episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast. "I got a bone infection and couldn't do chemo or radiation. I traveled the world for many years trying to find treatments to compensate for that, just to end up back in my little apartment in the West Village going back to the basics of food. That's when greens really started to come into my life."

8Greens' first product, a round tablet of dehydrated greens is meant to be dissolved in a glass of water and debuted in 2016; the company recently rolled out its gummy format in October. Both products are not only meant for those facing health challenges, which is why 8Greens is available at retailers like Nordstrom, Anthropologie, Sephora and Amazon. However, its DTC subscription model brings in more than 60% of 8Greens' revenue, Russell said.

"I want it to be easy. Health should not be so difficult and intimidating and trendy," she said.

Russell joined the Glossy Beauty Podcast to talk about the product's numerous prototypes, her company's surprisingly smooth relationship with Amazon and plans to enter the U.K. in 2020.