Business Idea: Boosted Food should produce delicious superfood based on potent african raw materials that interests a Michelin Chef in his culinary journey and for consumers who love eating sublime energy giving food of high quality from a manufacturer that has a social responsibility, good values and food curiosity.
how it happend
Our Story
Boosted Food Background
In the wake of the food industry's cost increases, which ultimately affect the individual, I felt that something had to be done to provide nutritious and affordable food for everyone, which is so easy to prepare that it fits into an active life where the individual sometimes does not have time to stand by the stove. I thought what if we could use naturally wild growing ingredients to "boost" the food that is already on the store shelves. The consumer should be able to buy the same product, as not to break the relationship that already exists between the consumer and his present food, but so much more nutritious, tasty and healthy.
History
One morning I stood with the coffee cup and looked out towards Mtwapa Creek. In front of me I saw various trees and fruits. I said to myself – Imagine if you could make food from the leaves and fruits of these wild trees. I took the coffee to the computer and browsed trying to find various research documents. I discussed with my partner Lilian, her grandmother and other Kenyans about the raw materials that are edible in Kenya. I realized that several of the leaves I examined are edible but no one eats them because they taste so bitter. I also realized that some people ate the leaf when they didn't have money to buy other food. These people looked very healthy and strong which is quite contradictory to the western society where families with less income are the one with overweight and health problems. I concluded that there was a common thread between various leaves and well being and decided to try to make some kind of dish based on these leaves. Lilian and I started by boiling the leaves.
When we thought it was ready, we tasted it. It tasted very bitter and I understood why people didn't eat it. Some fruits were so bitter like it was biting straight into a tree branch. However, we did not give up and repeated the cooking process based on how young or old the leaves and fruit were and when they should be harvested. After a while we had cooked the first edible leaf dish, I then understood that there is a future in these raw materials in food production.
Now, a couple of years after our first tests, we have made various soups, sauces, pesto and pies. For example we have used it to enhance marinations, as a sauce to grilled meat and to pasta. Nowadays I say that everything you can do with spinach, you can do with Boosted Foods leaves. They can also be used to improve the nutritional content of existing foodstuffs. We have made a spice mix that can be used to boost sausages and meatballs with several vitamins such as Vitamin B,C and E but also other minerals, proteins, fibers and antioxidants. If you eat 100 grams of Boosted Foods meatballs, you get the entire day's need for antioxidants.
Boosted Food wants to share the success we have created and will therefore donate money to various villages that help us harvest the raw materials. We hope thereby that we can take social responsibility and create a better life for people in areas where basic needs are needed. We think primarily of the need for fresh water but also of children's future and education, but also of women's vulnerability and need for work to avoid being exploited. When you buy our food, a contribution goes to a fund that invests in our social responsibility program.
We hope that you will appreciate Boosted Foods products to the extent that they will find a place in your pantry.
Boosted Regards,
Mats Karlsson & Lilian Okeyo
how it happend
The Roots to our Evolution
It was just after the short rains in Kenya. Everything was green, fresh and lush around the village. Many had planted crops before the rain and were now eagerly waiting to harvest. Everything felt so pure. But firstly the sun has to come and bring life and energy into the crops. Life, nutrients and energy that later should bring the same into people that eat it. Even the trees with their leaves and roots needed water and sun to bloom.
I was outside of a village in western Kenya after I got my idea of using wild grown plants for food production. Lilian had taken me to her native village. Music drew my attention and we followed the acapella song. My boots took me through a small pathway in the village to an area where many women were gathered. While singing they were separating different leaves from its fragile stem. They were grinding spices, cereals and different roots in the traditional mortar. At a distance I could see how the younger generation were collecting firewood that later should be placed in the stone fireplace that are used for traditional cooking. Everyone looked so happy, strong and healthy and energetic in helping out. There was plenty of raw material to make food on and after some happy conversation that contained more laughter than words we agreed to come back in the evening when the ladies were cooking.
Lilian and I were back in the early evening. The song and laughter was still there but now under the accompaniment from the crickets. Thankfully the night was bright so I could see where I was stepping and on what I was stepping. Big pots were standing on sparkling fire where small glowing wood particles were rising up in the sky. The open field where the young ones collected firewoods were now filled with silhouettes of acacia and african cypress. I wondered if any wild animals were looking at us. I comfort myself that I have learned that wild animals fear fire. The same fire that humans tamed and where used to cook our totally plant based meal tonight.
The leafy slightly fruity smell from the african clay pots contained a palette from thyme, citrus, cinnamon, mustard and ginger. The smell teased my mouth and I was happy to be served the cooked raw materials Boosted Food are using in their dishes. I told Lilian that we could not have had a better inspiration to cook tasty, nutritious superfood than her native village. Big thanks to the Grandmother of Lilian for welcoming us there. The village drives the evolution of Boosted Food.