Live from Dig Eat All

Hello world!

It's been a while hasn't it? Apart from shuttling to and fro from our newly opened Anything But Salads store to home, to Natural & Organic Products Asia (NOPA) Expo 2014 and then to the airport for a 24 hour flight to San Sebastian, Spain.... I haven't had much time to breathe!

So here we go. Deep breathe.

Insert picture of our NOPA booth. (Why not?) I will shamelessly (& proudly) announce it was designed by me and built entirely by Team ABS!

Alright. Now let's catch up shall we?

Where am I now? I'm at Dig Eat All (DEA) - the first food x tech accelerator program that's happening in Basque Culinary Center. ABS was one of 11 companies selected internationally to compete in this program. We're extremely blessed and happy and thrilled about this and we're TOTALLY loving this beautiful city and its glorious food.

Oh, in case you didn't know, Basque is kinda the food mecca of Europe. Yup.

Today is day 3 of DEA. There's finally some time to breathe and so some time to catch up with all of you.

Day 1 was all about matriculation. We got to know more about the Basque Culinary Center, DEA and our fellow foodpreneurs. We got to listen to speeches by each team, introducing their business, their vision and their goals. It was all very exciting and very very inspirational. I can't tell you how blessed I feel just to be given the opportunity to be here. It's definitely an experience I'll never forget.

Day 2 was all about getting our feet wet. Getting some work done. And then, the highlight was listening to a very exciting, enthusiastic and inspiring talk from the founder of Peer Transfer, Iker Marcaide. I've had some burning questions that needed answering, and some advice that was sorely needed. Iker was a treasure trove of wisdom and practical intelligence.

Thank you.

Today is Day 3. And the day is just starting! We're going to meet the founder of Sher.pa - Xabier Uribe-Etxebarria - and listen to him share his nuggets of wisdom and experiences. I can't wait.

Since a picture says a thousand words (& probably more).... Here're some highlights from our DEA adventures thus far:

DEA organisers giving us a briefing.

Juan Manuel, Founder of DEA, giving a briefing on the mission behind DEA.

Me, giving a introduction about Anything But Salads.

Friends from Ambronite - Simo and Mikko.

Taking a tour of the awesome Basque Culinary Center.

Snap shot of me and my co-founder, Noel!

Admiring architecture. Apparently, the Basque Culinary Center was humorously meant to look like a stack of dirty dishes! A+ for originality.

This is what we're surrounded by daily.

Noel at pinxchos. YUM.

Michele at our ABS table. Welcome to our foodpreneur work space.

Noel hard @ work even in our studio apartment.

What we've cooked for dinner. Basque has amazing produce!

We'll catch up soon! Promise!

Hasta luega! Ciao!

The Fight for Freedom: Liberty Asia

There is nothing that gives me and my team greater pleasure and joy than giving back to society.

Yesterday, ABS sold our products at The Pawn Rooftop Market. 20% of our sales went to Liberty Asia - an NGO that supports and fights for freedom from slavery.

Our contribution to Liberty Asia.

 Liberty Asia devises ways and solutions to combat issues like sex and child trafficking, amongst other slavery-related matters. Click HERE to learn more about them and their cause.

The day was perfect - sunny and bright. The setting was brill - a rooftop with plants and wooden planks and the musky but welcomed smell of raclette wafting throughout. The mission was simple:

Sell to raise monies and awareness for the slavery situation in Asia.

Having lived in Phuket, Thailand, for a little while and seeing firsthand the prevalence and soiety-wide acceptance of the sex trade, I have to say this charity event was something I was extremely passionate about. As much as I understand the seeming 'necessity' of sex trafficking within Thailand - higher wages than university graduates to provide for family - I never understood how we, as a whole, could continue accepting this as a mere social norm, or in the case of Pattaya and Patong, using it as a tourist 'attraction'. I find it appalling that we would allow this to happen simply because it's "the norm" or that "nothing can be done about it".

Maybe that's why I'm an entrepreneur. I've been having some talks with friends about how I manage being an entrepreneur - how do I deal/handle the rollercoaster ride of the entrepreneurial career path? My reply is simple:

Hope & Optimism.

Without these 2 values, I would not be fit to be an entrepreneur. As mentioned previously, the life of an entrepreneur is far from glamorous. It is exhilarating to fulfill one's hopes, dreams and desires and to see them come into fruition as a result of one's own blood, sweat and tears. Yet it is also filled with uncertainty, despair and worry some times. The good and the less-than-ideal in equal measure, I would say.

Perhaps it is my hope and optimism in humanity that pushed me to sign up for this charity event and to support such a cause. I believe in change and I believe in the power of the one. One might not be able to topple an entire societal framework; but One had already caused a change by taking the first step towards inducing change.

So here we are. The ABS Team and myself, selling our hearts out at the market.

Noel, Delon, myself and Richard (our new member!)

Our table display & Four Sigma Foods Instants.

Old CACAO bars.

Noel hustling

Delon hustling

The team representing Liberty Asia.

Today's post is short & simple. It's all about Liberty Asia and hope. It's all about freedom and equality for humanity. It's about change and social advancement.

Today, do your part to make the world a better place. 

Begin by believing.

Natural Products Expo West 2014 : Part 3 (Finale)

For the days of the trade show, I busied myself with sampling (lord was there a LOT of eating) and collecting samples and collecting brochures, and talking and networking and soaking up the buzz, vitality and excitement of an ever growing industry.


Don't believe me? See pictures below (disclaimer: image heavy!!! And... This is a miniscule representation of the show):

Big Tree Farms

Me and the Amazing Grass Team.

Delicious stoneground nut butters

Eden Farms.

Pick n Mix

So Delicious - one of the most beautiful booths there imo. It was a 2-storey cafe.

I wasn't kidding!

Some ginseng tea... They were collecting feedback as it was a new product soon-to-be-launched. I think it needs more tweaking.

A hipster-looking booth. I loved this! Seven Sundays - all natural gourmet muesli

There were also multiple packaging solutions. This was rice paper packets. I thought they were beautiful.... But CO2 concerns?

Needless to say, I got lost a couple of times.... And gave up on my conferences as I really didn't have enough time.

There were MANY MANY amazing booths and products. But one of the BEST booths, in my opinion, was the "What The Starbucks?"/"Monsanto Latte" petition - encouraging Starbucks to stop using GMO milk in their coffees. It was a really cool initiative by GMOInside and they were giving out free t-shirts and stickers.

I got M & myself a tee each. And thank god too! They ran out in 1 hour!

Awesome stickers.

Awesome tee.

The tee created havoc whereever I went. Everyone wanted to read it. Everyone wanted one. Everyone signed the petition. And why wouldn't they? After all... This is what is hanging in Starbucks in USA:

Maybe it's time to galvanise them (e.g. Starbucks and other food chains) into action.

A perusal at the NEXT Engredea products revealed some pretty innovative products:

1) Chapul - The original cricket (yes, the bug) energy bars

L hated it and had to wash out the crunchiness of the bugs from her mouth soon after sampling a small cube... I got away lucky. Mine wasn't crunchy. Anyway, the value of cricket bars is that it is high in iron, protein and is sustainable.... Regardless, I'm not too sold on the flavour although the concept is interesting and bug-eating isn't so foreign to Asian me. We do eat bugs in Asia. In fact, dried cockroaches are a traditional chinese medicine remedy!

2) Algae Powder/Milk by Solazyme

It's so new and so revolutionary, I strongly suggest reading about it yourself:

• http://www.algaeindustrymagazine.com/solazyme-introduces-algae-milk/
• http://seekingalpha.com/article/2081023-why-solazyme-believes-algae-milk-is-the-next-big-thing
• http://www.shape.com/blogs/weight-loss-coach/will-algae-milk-be-next-big-dairy-alternative

3) 100th Monkey Mushrooms - Gourmet and Medicinal Mushroom Growing Kit

A shroom-lover's fantasy. Growing your own maitake, shiitake, oyster mushooms and reishi all in the comfort of your home and in a lovely, compact box! Go figure. This was pretty cool in my opinion. 

4) Conscious Food UK's Palmyra Jaggery

I suggest to click the link above to check out this wonderful sugar alternative. Conscious Food explains it best. But we're proud to say that we, at Anything But Salads, are using this all-natural Ayurvedic medicinal sweetener in the production of our CACAO 'raw' chocolate bars. I love what Conscious Food stands for and think this is a brilliant product. Finally, calcium + magnesium in a raw chocolate bar. Say "BYE" to magnesium depletion.

5) REVITIN - Oral therapeutic toothpaste. 

Revitin Oral Therapy Toothpaste with NuBath Bioactives is the gentle way to deeply clean, enhance and brighten your smile. Revitin contains a natural blend of key antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that stimulates your teeth and gums. This formula promotes fresh breath, helps heal tired and damaged gums, removes stains and reduces harmful plaque in minutes. Available as a 3.5 ounce dispenser.

(Small shout-out: Gerry, if you're reading this, L and I miss you! Definitely swinging by to NYC in Summer!)

There were tonnes of other cool products, but these were my top 5. Please feel free to share if you were there and think I've missed out a few others!

Anyway, if you're wondering about how my sample collection went... It went like so:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Yep, I went home with 20kg worth of samples & brochures.

My ABS team, M and Gaia (the dog) had a ball of a time going through the samples. I thought we were going to be set for at least a month. How wrong I was. This barely lasted 2 weeks!

At the end of my time at Natural Products Expo West 2014, these are my few take away points:-

1. It is a GREAT trade show to visit. You will experience lots, learn lots, taste lots (take my word on that. My belly if happy) and experience lots. If you want to meet the founders of your favourite brands, this is the place to do it.
2. The natural products and health foods industry is an exciting place to be in as a health foodpreneur myself. The energy and stories are so inspiring! 
3. I'll only exhibit there if I have enough money to spare - my experience is that booths that are small and not well decorated get the least traffic. If you're going to pay that much for a booth, you might as well attempt to monetize it by collecting contacts. And visibility amid the thousands of booths is CRUCIAL.
4. Have a plan before day 1 of the expo. You'll thank yourself for doing it in advance. Do NOT attend unprepared. You will be overwhelmed.
5. Be prepared with an empty suitcase. You will leave with a luggage-worth's samples and brochures.
6. Be open. Do not expect anything. Just enjoy.

Will I visit it again next year? 

HELL YEAH!

I'd want to see what's new, what's trending, catch up with friends and to EAT. Haha! I'm never one to turn down free food. #shameless!

And so ends my picto-diary of my time at Natural Products Expo West 2014 and also, my first international trade show.

It was amazing. I learnt so much, met so many inspiring and beautiful people. I'm so glad I got to experience it.

I highly recommend it.

P.S. If you're wanting to sign up to exhibit at Expo West 2015, applications are open: click HERE.

Were you at Expo West 2014 too? Or did you attend previous years'? What was your experience like? I'd love to hear from you. =)

Natural Products Expo West 2014 : Part 2

The arrival of my soul sister, L.

It's hard to describe how amazing the universe can be or how beautiful the world of connections really is. What started as a cheeky Facebook conversation led to us agreeing to meet during Expo West and after some hotel cancellations and rebookings, L and I ended up rooming together for half of my trip.

For those of you who know me, you'll know that I lead a pretty solitary life and that I tend to keep company with males (not intentionally) by virtue of the fact that I am quite masculine in thinking and am the atypical girl.

After a quick meet and greet along the corridor with her luggage, we ended up pouring into the motel room and seconds later, feasting on raw snacks and raw chocolates.

I wasn't kidding!

Coffee and some sunshine later, we both knew we're gonna get along superbly.

Click.

Fast forward 2 days and now we're standing in the throng of happy, excited health foodies.

Couldn't miss it even if you tried. Couldn't forget where you're at either.

Everyone's grabbing a free ThinkThin bar from their bright pink tents as well as the 1st of many extra-large shopping bags.

Eye-catching. This ended being L and my meeting point. Hahah!

Oh and yes, that is my Instagram. Feel free to follow me (@anythingbutsalads) for the latest updates on Anything But Salads and the adventures in our kitchen.

Salted Caramel & Peanut Butter Lean Protein Bar from ThinkThin - a.k.a my breakfast for the days of the Expo

Me & the ThinkThin Bar - it was delicious and filling (high protein bar!) but not altogether THAT healthy.... Unfortunately

Technically, it isn't quite 'shopping' since nothing is paid for except that one entry ticket (approx. US$60 for me, as a retailer - cheaper if you were an early bird). No one is allowed to sell products. Give-aways though, are the norm.

A health and natural product freebie market? I remember thinking the universe is kind and the world is f*ing perfect.

Ok, maybe I exaggerate. But I was truly astounded by the magnitude of this trade show (FYI, my very first international trade show too). There were more brands that I could count - and a perusal of the expo brochure revealed tiny ant-like letters listing the numerous brand names.

If there was one thing I learnt, getting the best out of this expo involved strategic planning. Ideally, it'll be good to have some companions or partners - we can split up: one attends talks, some visit different sections etc etc. You want

Breadth and Depth.

Example of a conference. NOTE: Special entry fee is required to attend these.

Seeing as this was my virgin experience, I was unprepared upon arriving at Anaheim. I knew there was nothing I could do to change that, but there was something I could do to change the future. I scanned the online exhibitors' list and opted for depth. I noted brands I was interested in, checked out their website and wrote down their booth number. I went on the Expo West website, looked at the available activities, downloaded the mobile app and opted to attend the Organic Farming Research Foundation Luncheon. It was advertised as a luncheon of industry pioneers and newcomers. Since I didn't know the industry or the market in USA, I figured it'd be as good a place to start as any.

Food, glorious food. Credits to Dennis Weaver.

I wasn't wrong. I met a lovely couple - Mr & Mrs V - who were extremely gracious in their welcome and their warmth made me feel like family almost instantly. Such warmth is rarely present in Asia.

In my opinion, Mr and Mrs V are the best people I've had the pleasure of meeting on this trip.

As we got to the buffet spread (all organic of course), I had the great pleasure of meeting Dennis Weaver - an online blogger. He took a picture of me and got chatting about where I was from, what I did and why I do what I do. He was such a lovely man. For the blogpost, click here. =)

After lunch, Mr V took me around the trade show grounds - introducing me to some really cool entrepreneurs - people I never thought I'd have the honour of meeting. In a short 30mins, I met Brad and his team from Brad's Kale Chips, the exciting and enthusiastic team of Essential Living Foods, Teatulia and so on and so forth. I even met a man who called himself the Medicine Man! Fancy that! I loved it. Such colourful personalities all under one tent.

Said tent. The tip of a HUGE iceberg. This was NOTHING.

The night took an even more interesting turn - cocktail parties and meeting the leaders of USA's natural product industry. I learnt LOTS. I remember standing in the room, suddenly aware of the legacy of greatness I had the privilege of experiencing (albeit from a 3rd party's perspective), speaking to and learning from my seniors and successful businesses. Post-cocktail party, I remember arriving at my motel at 2am, knees shaking, hands shaking, the adrenaline pouring out of my system, catching my breath. I couldn't believe who I had met and how much I learnt - all in ONE day! I remember giving thanks - to Mr & Mrs V, to Spirit, to my history (for making me the person I am today) and to all who have touched my life in one way or another. I remember calling M (who was stuck in China at the time) and telling him all about it. I remember shaking. I remember stuttering. But somehow, through my chattering teeth, he got what happened and all he said was,


"Go for it babe. Be yourself and rock it!"


And so I did.