Nartural Lifestyle Founder

Debi Athos has spent more than four decades living the values she sells. A plant-based lifestyle advocate since 1975 and the founder of Natural Lifestyle Market, Debi launched NLM in 1989 after she and her partner Tom spent years teaching natural cooking classes in Asheville, NC. Students kept asking where to find the ingredients and cookware she recommended — and a business was born.

Now in its 37th year, Natural Lifestyle Market has grown into a trusted e-commerce destination for families who care deeply about what they put in their bodies, their kitchens, and their homes. Debi personally curates every product in the store. When you see "Debi's favorite!" on an NLM product page, it means exactly that — she has used it, loved it, and chosen to stand behind it.

Debi's product philosophy is simple: quality over quantity, transparency over marketing, and whole-living over quick fixes. That's why NLM carries brands like Trendglas JENA (German borosilicate glass crafted to last generations), 360 Cookware (USA-made surgical-grade stainless steel), and Mitoku (authentic Japanese pantry staples) — brands whose values align with her own.

A Fort Lauderdale native who has made the mountains of Asheville her home, Debi is also the co-founder of Organicfest, which brought organic living education to Western North Carolina for 20 years. She continues to be a voice for conscious, joyful, plant-forward living — and Natural Lifestyle Market is her most personal expression of that mission.

When she's not sourcing the next great product for NLM, you'll find her with her dog Kira, tending her family, and yes — most likely carry