Known by many names (Appalachian Valley Natural Products aka Anatolian
Treasures, AVAT, AVNP, AV-AT) this company has been around for a while,
but I can't find exact dates. Started by Butch Owens, it was sold to
John Croskey (who also owns Ancient Healing Oils
and had been buying wholesale from Butch for a while) when he wanted to
retire. If you look at both of those websites, they're identical.
They're not copies, they just have the same owner.
They are a family-owned company in small town America (Friendsville, Maryland) which has a population of 600. They are a spiritual company and say on their About Us page that they believe that natural products are a gift from God.
In addition to essential oils, absolutes, dilutions, and CO2 extracts, they have blends, fragrance oils, waxes, resins, butters, carrier oils, scented oils, seed oils, supplies, hydrosols, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap, creams, lotions, beard oil, and more.
Disclaimer: Per FTC regulations, I am disclosing that I use affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the links. It is a way to support my blog at no additional cost to you. You can read more here.
They also provide lot number. However, they are not printed on their bottles. You would need to contact them.
However, be careful if you buy their ounce sized bottles. All their bottles that they sell in milliliters have Euro droppers. The ones sold in ounces do not. I ended up dumping a good portion of spearmint into a diffuser because I opened it and started to add it to the diffuser without looking. Good thing it wasn't an expensive oil. I'm not a fan of spearmint right now. I probably dumped about 5ml and my entire house smelled like spearmint for a good week.
Free Samples and Samples You Can Buy
You'll get 3 free 75¢ samples with each order
(unless they're running a special sale and samples aren't included since
you're already getting a discount). If you want more, then you simply pay for the samples. Most samples are 1ml and they come in screw off tops. More expensive oils like German Chamomile will cost more per sample and only have a few drops.
I love their sample packaging. Most companies use wand dip sticks for samples. I don't like these because I feel like it's very easy to spill the oil and they are clear. AVAT uses brown bottles and the opening is small so you don't have to worry about spilling. Most samples are 75¢, but the more expensive oils will be more. This is a great way to try add expensive oils, like Neroli, different types of Frankincense, German Chamomile, Helichrysum, Ledum, Magnoli, Melissa, Rose Otto, Blue Tansy, and Blue Yarrow to your collection without breaking the bank.
I highly, highly recommend getting samples. At first I was against them since they were 75¢ for 1ml. Since AVAT has such low prices, you could get 20ml of lemon essential oil for $5.00, making it 40¢ per ml, nearly half of what the sample cost. Plus, I thought that if you liked the oil, then you'd have to buy from them again and get another shipment, which meant more packaging and transport-related emissions.
However, I quickly changed my mind when I bought a bunch of full sized essential oils and hated them. I ended up trading and selling them. This meant that I used packaging and caused transport-related emissions. From now one I will buy sample sizes of new essential oils. At least then if I don't like, I won't have to try to sell or trade them. Here's a list of good Facebook groups for that if you're trying to get rid of oils you don't want. I figured even if I got 1ml of a sample I hated, I could diffuse it once or twice to make sure I really hated it.
I'm not so sure you could re-used the sample bottles though. The dropper hole is so small, I don't think you could properly sterilize it. Even if you could, it would be difficult to add oil to. I'm sure you could get a syringe and do it. It might be worth the shot with expensive oils, however, I don't think I would feel comfortable doing it because I'd be afraid that some water would be left behind and that could cause bacteria to grow. Either way, in the end, samples are better financially and environmentally.
They do have GCMS reports, but they are done in house. They also don't offer dates on distillation or GCMS testing, however, John the owner has been in business for a while and developed a good reputation. With that being said, there are some people who don't buy AVAT oils because of it. Some well-respected companies such as Original Swiss Aromatics, Apothecary's Garden, and Snow Lotus Aromatics don't even offer GCMS reports.
Hands down, these are probably the most affordable oils I've found. Their other products are a bit cheaper than what you'd normally find as well. Even if you decide that you don't want to buy from AVAT for whatever reason, I'd still recommend buying samples from them if you want to try a new oil from another company. They have sales and discount codes. You can read more at the end of this post.
They have a weekend sale for Lunar New Year that they advertised on their Facebook page, March Madness Sale, Memorial Day Sale, and a Year-End Sale that starts in November. Here's an example of the Lunar New Year Sale, March Madness Sale and the Year-End Sale.
Updated 1 October 2018
They are a family-owned company in small town America (Friendsville, Maryland) which has a population of 600. They are a spiritual company and say on their About Us page that they believe that natural products are a gift from God.
In addition to essential oils, absolutes, dilutions, and CO2 extracts, they have blends, fragrance oils, waxes, resins, butters, carrier oils, scented oils, seed oils, supplies, hydrosols, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap, creams, lotions, beard oil, and more.
Disclaimer: Per FTC regulations, I am disclosing that I use affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the links. It is a way to support my blog at no additional cost to you. You can read more here.
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Country of Origin and Sourcing
Butch owned a company in Turkey and while there was able to establish relationships with some distillers. Many of their oils still come from Turkey due to this. |
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GCMS Reports and Lot Numbers
They have GCMS and MSDS reports available on their site. The one problem
I have with their GCMS reports are that they are done in-house and not
third party. I know that some legit essential oil companies, such as White Lotus Aromatics and Original Swiss Aromatics
don't even provide GCMS reports since they trust their suppliers, but I
still think it's worth noting that their tests are done in-house.They also provide lot number. However, they are not printed on their bottles. You would need to contact them.
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Open an Account: More Options, Save Money
If you open an account, you will get access to more sizes. For example, I was looking at spearmint. If I wasn't signed in, then all I could see was the sample and 20 ml. Once I signed in, I could also see options for 1oz, 2oz, 4oz, 8oz, and 16oz. In addition, the price for the 1oz (which is 30ml) was a few cents less than the 20ml option. Because I was able to get 10ml and pay less, I bought that.However, be careful if you buy their ounce sized bottles. All their bottles that they sell in milliliters have Euro droppers. The ones sold in ounces do not. I ended up dumping a good portion of spearmint into a diffuser because I opened it and started to add it to the diffuser without looking. Good thing it wasn't an expensive oil. I'm not a fan of spearmint right now. I probably dumped about 5ml and my entire house smelled like spearmint for a good week.
Free Samples and Samples You Can Buy
I love their sample packaging. Most companies use wand dip sticks for samples. I don't like these because I feel like it's very easy to spill the oil and they are clear. AVAT uses brown bottles and the opening is small so you don't have to worry about spilling. Most samples are 75¢, but the more expensive oils will be more. This is a great way to try add expensive oils, like Neroli, different types of Frankincense, German Chamomile, Helichrysum, Ledum, Magnoli, Melissa, Rose Otto, Blue Tansy, and Blue Yarrow to your collection without breaking the bank.
I highly, highly recommend getting samples. At first I was against them since they were 75¢ for 1ml. Since AVAT has such low prices, you could get 20ml of lemon essential oil for $5.00, making it 40¢ per ml, nearly half of what the sample cost. Plus, I thought that if you liked the oil, then you'd have to buy from them again and get another shipment, which meant more packaging and transport-related emissions.
However, I quickly changed my mind when I bought a bunch of full sized essential oils and hated them. I ended up trading and selling them. This meant that I used packaging and caused transport-related emissions. From now one I will buy sample sizes of new essential oils. At least then if I don't like, I won't have to try to sell or trade them. Here's a list of good Facebook groups for that if you're trying to get rid of oils you don't want. I figured even if I got 1ml of a sample I hated, I could diffuse it once or twice to make sure I really hated it.
I'm not so sure you could re-used the sample bottles though. The dropper hole is so small, I don't think you could properly sterilize it. Even if you could, it would be difficult to add oil to. I'm sure you could get a syringe and do it. It might be worth the shot with expensive oils, however, I don't think I would feel comfortable doing it because I'd be afraid that some water would be left behind and that could cause bacteria to grow. Either way, in the end, samples are better financially and environmentally.
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Customer Service
I've
been told they have good customer service. I wrote to them via Facebook
and never received a reply. Maybe I should have tried calling or
emailing them. However, everyone else I've spoken to said that they will
fix any problems you have. In my case, some pink grapefruit leaked. It
wasn't that much and since the oils are so affordable, I wasn't that
upset.
Prices You Can Afford
They offer free shipping on orders of $35 and up and shared international shipping. Had I not found out about AVAT through Real Aromatherapy Reviews 2.0
on Facebook, I would have thought this company was too good to be true.
The prices are low, very low. The reason for this is that it used to be
a wholesale company but they opened it to the public.They do have GCMS reports, but they are done in house. They also don't offer dates on distillation or GCMS testing, however, John the owner has been in business for a while and developed a good reputation. With that being said, there are some people who don't buy AVAT oils because of it. Some well-respected companies such as Original Swiss Aromatics, Apothecary's Garden, and Snow Lotus Aromatics don't even offer GCMS reports.
Hands down, these are probably the most affordable oils I've found. Their other products are a bit cheaper than what you'd normally find as well. Even if you decide that you don't want to buy from AVAT for whatever reason, I'd still recommend buying samples from them if you want to try a new oil from another company. They have sales and discount codes. You can read more at the end of this post.
Quality Products
As mentioned, their oils and hydrosols are from distillers that they have built quality relationships with. They also run in-house GCMS testing on all their oils. They make their own creams and most of their lotions, insect repellents and beard balms. They have singles, synergies, hydrosols, carrier oils, absolutes, fragrance oils, waxes, resins, butters, soap, shampoo, conditioners, lotion, and more.
Ethical Company
They are not an organic certified facility but many of the oils and products they offer come from organic sources. I believe in re-using what you can and keeping things out of the garbage. Here's their stance on packaging.  |
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My Reviews
Below
are AVAT products that I have reviewed. I have reviewed other
companies and their products as well and you can find those on my complete list.- Sugar and Spice Blend: read my review.
Carrier oils
- Fractionated Coconut Oil: read my review.
- Walnut Oil: read my review.
Singles
- Carrot Seed Essential Oil : read my review.
- Clove Bud Essential Oil: read my review.
- Ginger, Fresh Indonesia Essential Oil: read my review.
- Grapefruit, Pink Essential Oil: read my review.
- Grapefruit, White Essential Oil: read my review.
- Helichrysum Essential Oil: read my review.
- Lemon Essential Oil: read my review.
- Lemongrass Essential Oil: read my review.
- Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil: read my review.
- Orange, Sweet US Essential Oil: read my review.
- Oregano Vulgare Essential Oil: read my review.
- Plai Essential Oil: read my review.
- Spearmint Essential Oil: read my review.
- Ylang Ylang Extra Essential Oil: read my review.
Supplies
Sales and Discount Codes
They
occasionally offer sales and deals throughout the year for about 15%
off. The best thing to do would be to sign up for their newsletter to
get notified. I write about all the sales and deals that I know of. Here is the label for all the past sales and deals. You can also find a list at the bottom of this post.They have a weekend sale for Lunar New Year that they advertised on their Facebook page, March Madness Sale, Memorial Day Sale, and a Year-End Sale that starts in November. Here's an example of the Lunar New Year Sale, March Madness Sale and the Year-End Sale.
Updated 1 October 2018
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