Mexican entrepreneur Mauricio Simbeck built Milagros de México around a simple idea: help Latino immigrants find familiar wellness products while connecting them with healthcare resources and respecting their cultural traditions.
Mauricio Simbeck is an observant Mexican entrepreneur who understands the responsibility that comes with being part of an immigrant community facing challenges and obstacles in a country where many are trying to build a new life.
“My challenge is deeply personal. First, it comes from responding to my family’s needs, and then to those of the community, where I try to create accessible pathways into the healthcare system,” says Simbeck, a Mexican entrepreneur and business executive best known as the cofounder and CEO of Milagros de México, a California-based retail company dedicated to improving access to health and wellness products for Latino communities in the United States.
“My family had cases of diabetes, and that’s when I began to see the problems they faced in a healthcare system that felt foreign to them. At the same time, immigrant communities carry the cultures and traditions of their home countries with them. We try to respect that. We believe in natural products and have established a very direct connection with immigrant communities.
“When people migrate, they bring with them the culture they grew up with and the products they know, the ones they remember seeing their grandmothers, mothers, aunts and other relatives use. We make those products accessible here. When people visit our pharmacies, they are often surprised to smell, see and use products that connect them to their homeland,” he says.
After 15 years in business, Milagros de México has grown to nine pharmacies across California and Texas, four of which also operate clinics. The entrepreneurial venture began in San Francisco’s Mission District, a neighborhood with a long history of Latino immigration and culture.
Simbeck is also aware of the challenges facing businesses that sell natural remedies, including the number of fraudulent products on the market and the vulnerability of Latino consumers.
“You can deceive an immigrant once, but never twice. I know this market is vulnerable to scams, which is why we are very careful about the products we carry and the suppliers we work with. We need to offer the community products they recognize, and that taste the way they remember them.
“When you walk into one of our locations, you can smell the fragrances that take people on a journey back to their homeland. You see the colors of the products and their familiar names. Something changes in people. That’s the key to our business: offering them that experience,” he explains.
Originally from Mexico City, Simbeck studied law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico before earning an MBA from Harvard Business School. His professional career spans retail, consumer goods, and healthcare, with experience in both Mexico and the United States.
Before establishing Milagros de México in 2011, Simbeck led Grupo Karatt, a Mexican retail and import company, and spent six years working for H-E-B, the Texas-based supermarket chain. He later became CEO of Farmacia Remedios, a bilingual pharmacy company serving Hispanic consumers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
His experience in retail and healthcare helped shape his vision for Milagros de México. The company was created in response to a specific concern: the health challenges facing Latino immigrants, particularly limited access to affordable healthcare, preventive health resources and healthier lifestyle options.
Through its stores, the company offers vitamins, nutritional supplements, herbal products and other wellness resources. It also developed Milagros Medical.
Simbeck’s business philosophy combines entrepreneurship with a commitment to addressing health disparities in Latino communities. His work has received recognition from business organizations, and Milagros de México was selected for Chase Bank’s 2014 Mission Main Street grant program, receiving $250,000.
For Simbeck, however, the business is about more than growth and recognition. It is also an opportunity to address a broader social challenge: making health and wellness more accessible to Latino families.
“I’ve had a journey full of challenges. I’m another immigrant story. Being an entrepreneur is difficult, but our community is resilient. That’s one of the things that defines us. You have to fall, get back up, and keep moving forward.
“You have to be prepared and discuss the challenges with your partner if you’re married, as well as with the people you work with. These are difficult times for immigrants, and we need to help one another in whatever way we can.
“I know natural medicine cannot cure everything. That’s clear. When someone comes to us and says they have diabetes or another condition we cannot treat, we tell them honestly. They need to seek care through conventional medicine. There is no deception involved.
“To me, natural and conventional medicine can coexist like a marriage. They should complement each other and bring out the best in both,” he says.
These days, Simbeck says, customers come to his stores seeking help with a range of health concerns. He groups the most common complaints into three main categories.
“I would put them into three categories. First, pain. Our people work very hard, and many jobs take a physical toll, especially in restaurants and construction, for example.
“Second, many people come in dealing with stress. Some have two or three jobs, bills to pay and immigration problems. They look for products that might help them cope with that, such as valerian tea, among many others.
“Third, many immigrants experience digestive problems. If you look at these three categories, they are closely connected.
“Another issue we regularly encounter, which we approach with great respect, is sexual health. We offer certain products for different concerns. People come looking for products they already know, while others discover new ones through us. At our company, we celebrate the mysticism of our cultures,” he adds.
His final advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is not to be afraid of entering the business world, but to do so with knowledge and preparation.
“People need to educate themselves about natural products, understand their benefits and know their limitations. We can coexist with conventional products and treatments. People understand that. People are not foolish.
“This is my commitment as an entrepreneur. It has always been part of my essence,” Simbeck
Milagros de México will open its pharmacy and Milagros Medical this Saturday at Plaza México in Lynwood.
