The founders of Your Superfoods, Michael and Kristel, inspired by previous events in their lives, seek to improve the well-being of their customers through the power of nutrition, whilst also keeping a close eye on sustainable business practices. Their 7 superfood blends are designed in collaboration with orthomolecular nutritionists to meet specific functional and health purposes. They place a high value on creating a lasting relationship with organic farmers by directly sourcing ingredients and supporting local communities wherever possible. We caught up with Michael and Kristel, to discuss the background of Your Superfoods, in greater detail.
Q: The reasons behind the creation of Your Superfoods are extremely inspiring, can you tell us a little bit about this?
K: We are both incredibly passionate about health and nutrition, and it really is the driving force behind the company. I am a total health geek and nothing makes me more excited than showing people that healthy eating doesn’t need to be complicated. There are 3 main things that made me who I am today: 1) I have struggled with eczema and allergies since I was a baby; 2) I played tennis at a professional level; 3) both my mum and my boyfriend got cancer.
These things made me increasingly curious about the power of healthy food. I started researching how and why people get cancer and how it could be prevented. I learned firsthand that eating healthy food before and after tennis practice increased my energy levels and sped up my recovery; and after changing my diet, cutting out the bad stuff, and, adding lots of micronutrients my eczema has disappeared.
M: We met playing pro-tennis at university, so keeping an active lifestyle is incredibly important for both of us. However, for me, everything changed when I was diagnosed with cancer 4 years ago. My recovery process was all about fuelling my body with a healthy, whole food diet to rebuild my immune system. Further research uncovered a healthy diet can even prevent major diseases like cancer and diabetes. From then on I made it my personal mission to educate and inspire people to fuel their body with the best natural whole foods.
So we decided to start Your Superfoods, because we believe good nutrition should be available for everybody and we want to inspire people to eat well in order to live their life to its fullest potential.
In the Photo: Michael, powered up with Superfoods Photo Credit: Your Superfoods
Q: Why is the source and quality of your ingredients so important to you?
K: We only want to use ingredients with optimum nutritional content, no pesticides or nasty chemicals, and we work hard to find the best sourcing partners, providing the best quality, organic ingredients. The farmers we work with understand what we are trying to achieve, and therefore we can be confident of the quality. Nonetheless, all the ingredients and products are third-party lab tested several times before, during and after production, we can never be too sure!
With regards to sourcing, we try to work with independent farmers who are an engaged part of, or who work to support, their local community. For example, our Moringa is sourced from a local partner in Tanzania who has a long and strong relationship with the communities there. They educate the farmers in performing quality control and, more importantly, how to run a business, to create a stronger local economy there.
Q: Briefly describe your ‘100% transparent process’ and also how you combine your superfoods to produce the most efficient outcome.
M: We are working towards a 100% transparent supply chain from farm to consumer to ensure fairness for our producers and clarity for our consumers. We view ourselves as a social business, so our sourcing behaviours and the social enterprises we are involved with are open to everyone.
With regards to combining the superfoods, we worked closely with orthomolecular nutritionists to come up with combinations that work effectively together. Each ingredient in each mix serves a function and supports the other ingredients. For example, the green superfood ingredients in the Skinny Protein mix support metabolism, allowing for the better absorption of the proteins, plus nobody can eat too many greens. We have a mix for immunity, one for antioxidants, another for energy and focus; all are designed with the best combination of powerful superfoods.
In the Photo: Your Superfoods products Photo Credit: Your Superfoods
Q: How are you helping Action Against Hunger?
K: With every can we sell, we donate a life-saving bar of food to malnourished children through our collaboration with Action Against Hunger. Plumpy’Nut® is a powerful package of extremely nutrient-rich peanut paste enhanced with a mixture of vitamins and minerals. Consuming three packs a day for seven weeks can bring a child from near death to near certain survival.
Q: In terms of your target audience, who are you trying to reach out to and help?
M: Our target audiences range from healthy foodies who are already in-the-know about superfoods and nutrition, to busy professionals who don’t have a lot of time and need something easy and nutritious, to those who are just starting out on their health journey. Since our mission is to make healthy eating accessible to everyone, we have something for everyone. We have a recipe blog on our website, E-Books and tracking journals, detox and fitness bundles and an active online community who share ideas and recipes. We are really looking to spark the motivation in people who want to be healthier but haven’t quite found their way in yet. Healthy eating can be easy and delicious and fulfilling all at once.
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Q: Time to get creative, what are your 3 favourite breakfast recipes to make using your blends?
K: Well, a green smoothie has to feature in the list, since I have one every day! My favourite changes pretty regularly, but at the moment it’s this:
- 1 banana
- ¼ cucumber
- 200ml water
- 5g Super Green Mix (contains: wheatgrass, barley grass, moringa, baobab, spirulina and chlorella)
- 10g Skinny Protein (contains: hemp and pea protein, alfalfa, spirulina and moringa)
- a pinch of cinnamon
Blend it all up until smooth and you’re good to go! I love the Super Green mix – I can’t get enough greens – while the Skinny Protein keeps me satisfied until lunch time.
M: I start nearly every day with protein oatmeal to power me up for the day ahead. Cook up the oats on the hob with a generous spoonful of the Muscle Power mix, dried coconut, raisins and a splash of plant-based milk to make it creamy. Serve in a bowl and top it off with banana slices and lots of peanut butter.
Top tip: keep a jar on your desk to make sure you never run low. On days when I need an extra feel-good boost I mix in the Chocolate Lover Mix as well because, well, who doesn’t want chocolate for breakfast?
K: Another of our top breakfasts in the office is an Acai-bowl, which might sound a bit exotic to people who haven’t had it before but it’s so simple and delicious. Acai berries and blueberries are full of powerful antioxidants that help repair cell-damage. Simply blend:
- 2 bananas
- 200g frozen strawberries
- 2 tbsp. coconut milk
- 10g Forever Beautiful Mix
Lastly, pile up all your favourite toppings! I love almonds, some fresh fruit and nut butter.
In the Photo: Your Superfoods shake Photo Credit: Your Superfoods
Q: How do you see Your Superfoods developing? Are there plans to design new products?
M: It is a very exciting time for us as a brand as we look to scale the company next year. We have recently launched in the US and we are pushing to grow both there and in the UK. Our goal for the year is to reach as many people as possible, both through our social justice projects and through the marketing of our products. We have lots of great ideas for future products but for now we have to keep that under wraps, watch this space!
EDITORS NOTE: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com
