I’m Natalie Barandes—Founder of The Joy Factory, award-winning film director, creative director, and growth strategist for wellness and DTC brands with heart.

I started in the world of film and television—writing, directing, and producing stories that move people. I’m proud to be an award-winning filmmaker, and I’m currently writing my first novel—continuing my lifelong obsession with storytelling that resonates on a human level.

That creative foundation led me to the wellness space, where I served as Head of Production at Beachbody, helping to shape some of the most influential health and fitness content of the past two decades. I later became the original creative force behind Real Appeal, the $100M+ corporate wellness platform backed by UnitedHealthcare, where I proved that story-driven content could create real behavior change—and drive serious business growth.

I took that further at Golden Hippo, where I sharpened my performance marketing and DTC skills, building high-converting campaigns across leading health and wellness brands.

Through The Joy Factory, I now partner with founders, startups, and mission-driven teams to launch and scale businesses and ventures. We bring together storytelling, brand strategy, and digital performance to create content and campaigns that don’t just look good—they work.

If your brand is about wellness, innovation, or making people feel better—you’re our kind of client.Let’s build something that moves people and metrics.