Delicious, Nourishing & Social

Being a curious and conscious health freak, I recently came across several kind-hearted brands that I would love to share with you. Brands that produce all-natural, gluten-free and healthy foods WITH a social mission. Whether they are co-creating and sourcing in rural communities; empowering women in developing countries; creating economic opportunities; tackling global malnutrition; or improving public health – these brands are breaking with business conventions and try to achieve a real societal change with tasty, wholesome, and beautifying products.

KULI KULI

After a few months serving in the Peace Corps in Niger, Lisa Curtis experienced early signs of maltnutrition. Someone told her to take some Moringa leaves. This superplant requires little water and flourishes in harsh climates. It made her feel better.

Upon return, Lisa wanted to continue to support women in West Africa to grow more moringa and utilize it to improve the health of their families and communities. Together with a few friends she started to experiment and research to make an impact on global nutrition through Moringa. The idea for the Kuli Kuli bar was born.

“We source sustainably harvested Moringa from women’s cooperatives in West Africa”, Lisa explains in Kuli Kuli’s Indiegogo Campaign film. Kuli Kuli supports West African women to grow more Moringa and creates economic opportunity.

Besides Moringa, Kuli Kuli bars contain simple all natural ingredients, such as dates, black cherry, almond, honey, and chocolate. This promising healthy gluten-free and raw snack is filled with fiber, protein, vitamins and antioxidants. The ambition and commitment of the founders is great. At the moment they only have the capacity to sell at local farmers’ markets in the US. “The thing is, we can’t keep up with the demand. It takes three of us six hours to make 200 bars — the same amount of bars that a factory could make in less than 2 minutes. So we need your help to produce our first manufacturing run of these bars and bring them to the world.”

Hereunder you can find how the first 50,000$ is invested to scale the social and economic impact of the young start-up.

KIND

We often experience that moment – on-the-go or during working hours – in which one cannot find a single unprocessed or healthy snack around. And sometimes in the rush of tasks and deadlines, time doesn’t allow you to prepare a responsible-and-good-for-the-body meal to take with wherever you’re heading. A problem that for Daniel Lubetzky became a light bulb moment.

Lubetzky is founder of Peaceworks Inc., Peaceworks Foundation’s OneVoice Movement and co-founder at Maiyet.  A social entrepreneur whom TIME Magazine recognized in 2009 among “25 Responsibility Pioneers” and BusinessWeek named among “America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs.” Unhappy with unhealthy snacking options, and concerned with the rising obesity and diabetes epidemic in America, he decided to launch KIND Snacks. “KIND to your body, your taste buds and the world.”

Do the KIND Thing from KIND Healthy Snacks on Vimeo.

The products are very tasty in my opinion, and leave you with a no guilt. In the natural food industry (NPEE), KIND got awarded “Best Product of the Year” and is the fastest-growing healthy snack in the nutrition bar category. Since 2003, the product range has developed from fruit and nut bars, to nuts and spices, granolas and to KIND Plus bars with nutritional boosters. All consisting of wholesome gluten-free ingredients and superfoods. Ten years ago a fresh and now a still very welcome breeze in a food category often associated with high amounts of wheat, chemical additives and an overdose of sugar.

Besides your body and taste buds, KIND is good to the world too. With marketing campaigns such as KINDAHOLICS, Do The KIND Thing and #KindAwesome, unexpected acts of kindness are encouraged resulting thousands of stories of selfless efforts.

ADUNA

And let’s not forget the “empowering & beautifying wonder brand” Aduna. Just as Kuli Kuli, also Aduna product range is based on African flora – The Baobab Tree. Baobab is a nutrient-dense, raw wholefood with one of the
highest antioxidant capacities of any fruit in the world. Sourcing from community-owned trees in 32 countries all over Africa, Andrew Hunt and Nick Salter bring this Feel Good Fruit to the international market.

The Baobab – or The Tree of Life – grows an extraordinary fruit with outstanding qualities. “Baobab fruit contains fourteen essential vitamins and minerals. It is almost fifty percent fibre and has one of the highest antioxidant capacities of any fruit in the world. Baobab is an excellent source of vitamin C, calcium, potassium, thiamin and a good source of vitamin B6. These nutrients gives it an amazing range of benefits, supporting with energy metabolism, the immune system and promote good skin health.” For centuries the women of Africa have turned to the baobab tree as a source of natural wellbeing, benefiting skin, hair and general health.

Aduna has a positive impact in rural communities; creating demand for under-utilised but remarkable natural products from small-scale producers in Africa. On top of that Aduna invests part of the profit in the Aduna Foundation, investing in strategically relevant social projects, helping small-scale producers increase their quality of the production and processing and supporting them to overcome exclusion by EU strict laws for health and beauty products.

Unlike other fruits, baobab dries naturally on the branch; it is simply harvested, then the
seeds removed and sieved into a powder. It is a 100% natural product. Aduna has made this
pure, nutritious fruit pulp available as a loose powder or as convenient single-serve stick
packs; ideal for adding to smoothies or juices, or using as an alternative to sugar for
sweetening yogurt, muesli or cereal. Capsules are also available for on-the-go ease.

What healthy and conscious foods do you indulge in?
 
Photo Courtesy: Aduna & Kuli Kuli