Healthy Snack Ideas
If you are searching for healthy snack ideas for your family, look no further that Kopali Organics. If you want to know more about this company's background before you support them, you'll enjoy the following interview with the founder and CEO of Kopali Organics, Zak Zaidman.
Healthy Snack Ideas: Interview with Zak Zaidman
About Kopali Organics
LoveToKnow: What does Kopali organics do?Zak Zaidman: Kopali Organics is a mission-driven company that makes delicious, pure and healthy snacks that are also produced in the most fair, compassionate and sustainable ways possible. I founded the company with Stephen Brooks when we were living on a permaculture farm and educational sustainability center in the rainforest of Costa Rica. During this time, we witnessed firsthand the destructive agricultural processes that were harming the local environment and the people inhabiting them.
In the face of unrelenting pressure to farm cheaply, organic local farmers, our teachers, neighbors and friends, were being driven out of business and off of their lands. As a result, we teamed up to form a company that provides natural, organic health snacks to consumers, produced in the most fair and sustainable ways possible - and Kopali Organics was born.
LTK: What do you most want your company to accomplish?
ZZ: We believe that as we all become more conscious about the power we have to affect the world we live, we find that we start to care more and more - not just about how good something tastes, and not even just about how healthy it is for us, but also about how it affects the lives of those who grow it, the ecosystems where it comes from, and the planet we all share. Our goal with Kopali Organics SUPERGOOD SUPERFOOD organic and fair trade snacks is to offer the most delicious and nutritious snacks that raise the bar in how good they are for you, for the farmers, and for the earth.
We are going to stay committed to our original deep purpose for starting Kopali as we grow, scale, and have ever increasing positive impact, and become a global snack brand known everywhere for snacks that are "Good for you. Good for farmers. Good for earth."
The Products
Supergood Superfood
LTK: Tell me about your products.
ZZ: Kopali Organics SUPERGOOD SUPERFOOD includes ten delicious organic and fair trade snacks of the most exceptional, premium quality, presented in appealing, stylish, impulse packaging.
A snack line combining both fruits and chocolates, and popular favorites as well as exotic introductions, captures shoppers' interest and makes for a compelling impulse buy. Flavors include five fruits: Mango, Pineapple, Goldenberry, Mulberry, Superfood Mix, and five chocolates: Chocolate Covered Banana, Goji Berries, Mulberries, Espresso Beans and Cacao Nibs.
Some of the snacks are popular favorites and some are more exotic newcomers that we are excited to introduce. Each one has their fans and they work great together. SUPERGOOD SUPERFOOD snacks are always free of preservatives, trans fats, genetically modified organisms, and harmful chemicals. They are also always 100 percent certified organic and, wherever applicable, they are fair trade certified.
LTK: Why is it important for you to use organic ingredients?
ZZ: Organically grown food is grown without the use of harmful chemicals. Organic ingredients are not only healthier for us because we are avoiding those harmful chemicals, they are also healthier for us because the food is grown on living soil, and is therefore naturally rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants in a way that chemically grown food isn't. Growing food organically, without the use of harmful chemicals, protects the local and global environment, and it protects the health of those who grow our food, who become tremendously exposed when harmful chemicals are used in agriculture, along with their families and communities.
Social Responsibility
LTK: What does it mean to you to be socially responsible?ZZ: Every choice we make affects our well being, the lives of countless others, and the future of our world. Being socially responsible to me means acting, as a person and as a company, in accordance with our highest values to do no harm, and in fact to help create a more sustainable and compassionate world.
LTK: How does your company reflect that?
ZZ: We like to think of Kopali as a triple-bottom-line business. This means that we are as driven by, focused on, and committed to our social and ecological bottom lines as we are to our financial bottom line. The very success of Kopali Organics is completely connected to how many lives are improved, and how much better off our planet is, because of our existence and because of our actions.
We believe this is the future of commerce. We believe it is possible for all businesses to adopt these practices, and to actually compete with one another for how beneficial their products, services and business practices are. We believe, in fact, that this is necessary because our own well-being and our planet's future depends on it.
Bringing it Home
LTK: What tips can you offer those who want to buy organic, socially responsible products but who have a tight budget?
ZZ: I understand organic, socially responsible products could be a little bit more expensive. But it is really worth not saving a few pennies to buy products that might be dangerous to your health, the health of your loved ones, the health of farmers, their families and communities, and the ability of the planet's ecosystems to support life.
It is better to save on other things, even to do without certain products. But how could we really enjoy a product if we knew it was produced with dangerous chemicals by farmers who cannot even afford to feed their own families?
LTK: What should people know about organic foods?
ZZ: As more and more people have and continue to learn about the importance of organic agriculture, more and more of the foods we eat, from the basic staples to snacks, are becoming organic. We chose to focus on impulse snacks as they represent an interesting category because they are so emotional for the shopper…..so a brand such as ours, based on our motto of "Good for you. Good for farmers. Good for earth" is generating tremendous appeal at the grab-and-go moment.
For us at Kopali, starting this brand as we did to have positive impact, we are aware that every snack we sell is having that impact - so it is critical that we grow our reach as much as possible.
It is our hope that more and more shoppers will choose organic, for the health of everyone as well as for the survival of sustainable farmers and agricultural communities whose local environments alongside our global environment are either harmed or protected depending on what food choices we make.
Certain channels carrying organic goods can offer transition steps for consumers. There will always be a place, a need, and demand for organic retailers. Those of us, who have learned the importance of supporting organic agriculture and learning where our food comes from, seek out dedicated environments that organic retailers provide, where items are carefully selected. As more and more consumers reach that level of awareness, it should only benefit our organic retailer friends and allies.
LTK: What else would you like to share?
ZZ: Please learn about the choices you make and strive to make them more intentional. If you knew how everything you do is the reason things are the way they are, what would you do? This is the truth that inspired us to start Kopali as a partnership to restore the connection between the food we eat, the farmers who grow it and the planet we all share.
LoveToKnow would like to thank Zak Zaidman for taking the time to teach us about the importance of choosing healthy snack ideas that protect, no only the health of our families, but also the health of this earth and all of those who live on it. To learn more about Kopali Organics, visit their website, KopaliOrganics.com.
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