Dosha Pops

Dosha Pops

Batches Made With Love

Interview with Peggy Andrews

www.doshapops.com

By Kathryn Gordon 

Kathryn:  Peggy, how did you get the idea for your business?  I know a bit about Ayurveda because I've traveled to India and know it involves balancing food intake for body types, but can you explain a bit more?

Peggy:  Dosha Pops are the love child of my passion for food and my latest lifestyle change to achieve physical and spiritual balance through Ayurveda.  Ayurveda is the 5,000 year old science of life.  The inspiration came from years of striving to balance a legal career with social justice volunteering and still maintain a rewarding personal life.

I embarked upon the practice of yoga and meditation, a pathway that eventually led to exploring holistic natural healthcare, and an Ayurveda lifestyle. One of the primary components of my Ayurvedic lifestyle is daily consumption of herbal teas.

Still wanting to indulge, I started crafting these artisanal lollipops with Ayurvedic herbs, spices and teas. Realizing that others want a healthier candy indulgence too, I created Dosha Pops.

Kathryn:  Is there a specific significance in the name?

Peggy:  The name Dosha Pops came to me as soon as I thought of creating Ayurvedic herbal tea lollipops.

Ayurveda asserts that each individual contains a unique combination of doshas or energies. According to Ayurveda, the 5 elements of nature  (space, air, fire, water and earth) combine in the body as these 3 doshas known as Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Ayurveda focuses on balancing these doshas for optimal physical, mental and spiritual health.  Ayurveda focuses on balancing these doshas for optimal physical, mental and spiritual health. 

My lollipops are made of herbal teas, spices and herbs that are meant to balance your dosha. Hence the name Dosha Pops was born.

Kathryn:  It’s pretty unusual, to mix in tea, spice and herbs when you cook sugar syrups (which tend to crystallize with “add ins.”)  What else makes your lollipops different from others?

Peggy: What makes Dosha Pops unique is that they are designed with ingredients you need to balance your unique dosha.  Figuring out which of the Dosha Pops are best for you boils down to your unique doshic energy type.

You can take the “Dosha Pops test” at www.doshapops.com

Kathryn:  What kind of spices do you use, and how many flavors do you offer?

Peggy:  Our herbal tea recipes blend the flavors of these different botanicals with the most highly regarded Ayurveda spices- such as turmeric, ginger and cardamom to name a few - resulting in a variety of herbal infusions that are great for your health and taste great too!

We have 6 flavors including:

1.                  Chai Me Up which is made of organic sugar, holy basil tea with chai spices and toasted coconut flakes

2.                  Velvet Rope which is made of organic sugar and chicory root tea

3.                  Inner Glow which is made with organic sugar, turmeric root tea, ginger and lemon

4.                  Mytea Pomegranate is made with organic sugar, rooibos tea and pomegranate 

5.                  Head Over Hibiscus is made with organic sugar and hibiscus flower tea 

6.                  Wishful Pinking is made with organic sugar, pink rose tea and a dusting of rose petal powder

Kathryn:  After prototyping at home, you found a unique commercial kitchen space.  I visited you there soon after you had set up.  How is the production going now that you have a regular production schedule?

Peggy:  I found the perfect commercial kitchen space for a small startup business. My kitchen is at an Ayurvedic Institute and Yoga studio. It’s an open kitchen space. There is a storage room that I share with a small Bed & Breakfast hotel that is upstairs. During the mornings the hotel uses the kitchen space to serve continental breakfast. I use the kitchen after breakfast on weekends.

Production is still very small batch.  The kitchen space has given me the opportunity to learn how to increase production in a legal space, devote my evenings to marketing efforts for the company, and be able to grow with the demand for Dosha Pops. 

Kathryn:  You ordered custom silicon lollipop molds from the Chicago Mold Making School.  I know you were a bit hesitant about the prototype because of the expense – but you couldn't find anything on the ready-made-market that worked for your product.  Do you like the molds?

Peggy:   The silicone molds are wonderful!  They are much more durable than my old plastic molds. Additionally, I don’t have to oil the silicon molds. My custom molds have given me the opportunity to add the Dosha Pops logo, which is the tea leaf. I chose the tea leaf because my lollipops are made from herbal teas. Plus the tea leaf keeps my branding consistent.

Kathryn:   How did you go about finding the kitchen space?   And is it working, to share the space with a hotel in terms of storage, ingredients, production space? 

Peggy:  I let everyone know that I was looking for a commercial kitchen space. My Ayurveda doctor, Michael Ferranti, suggested my current kitchen space. 

It’s a tight fit but so far its been working for me. My inventory is kept on dedicated storage and refrigerator shelves versus the hotel. I’m a pretty small business so I don’t need much space.  For the lollipops, I store infusions in the refrigerator and sugar bins hold my dry storage

The kitchen is an open space to the public. The advantage of the open kitchen space is that people can see me making Dosha Pops, which is great advertising. The disadvantage is that people try to talk to me while I’m making Dosha Pops, which can be distracting.

Kathryn:  You’re selling now in some yoga studios and boutiques; if people want to order your lollipops, how do they contact you?

Peggy:  The Dosha Pops web-site should be live by next month. In the meantime, you can purchase Dosha Pops by emailing me at Peggy@doshapops.com or through www.facebook.com/doshapops.

Kathryn:  Thank you Peggy, and good luck with your unique product.

Interview with Kate McAleer Owner and Founder of Bixby Chocolate

Interview with Kate McAleer

Owner and Founder of Bixby Chocolate

By Kathryn Gordon and Jeff Yoskowitz

Kathryn:  Hi Kate!  You've been busy since you finished your program at ICE (Institute of Culinary Education). Jeff and I both had you as a student.  At what point did you decide to work with chocolate?

Kate:  I came to ICE already very interested in candy and chocolate.

I am a golfer, and as such, I had experienced a complete lack of healthy candy options available and I came to ICE eager to learn how candy is made and how to improve upon it.

That’s why I wanted to create a healthier candy bar line with pure chocolate, with no GMO ingredients, preservatives or added sugars.  The Bixby bars are all natural or organic, and incorporate exotic spices, healthy nuts and fruits. 

Kathryn:   After school, you completed a chocolate externship at Chocolat Moderne with Chef Joan Coukos.  What would you think Joan makes of you now?

Kate: I think Joan is proud of me.  She was a great mentor and she makes the most amazing chocolate.

Editor’s Note:  Food Start Up Help has previously interviewed Chef Joan at Chocolat Moderne: FoodStartUpHelp Chocolat Moderne

Jeff:   What have been your biggest challenges, hurdles and unexpected pleasures founding the business, to date?

Kate:  The biggest challenge has been just learning the trade and coming up to steam quickly on areas in the field that were foreign to me and not something you learn in school.

The largest hurdle is being a small company, yet having to compete among the more seasoned players.

All of the professionals in the field have been the unexpected pleasures.  Many have taken the time to help and lead me in the correct direction.  It has been amazing as a young entrepreneur to have mentors to look up to. 

Kathryn:  You have said that you left an early career path in academia to found your company and you returned to live at home while you built your business.  Is it ok, living again at home?  Do you ever miss the more academic life, or are you just keeping too busy?

Kate:   It's always a big adjustment, moving out of academia and out into the real world.  In order to start my business, I needed to move home--thank goodness my parents welcomed me and have been supportive.

I am always learning in this industry and make it a point to take seminars or classes to further my knowledge.  Busy has a new definition when it comes to running a start-up business--I have worked more hours than ever before and will continue to do so.

Many had warned me that a start-up is an all consuming endeavor....

Kathryn:   What's it like, to work (and live) with your mother?  Who names the bars -- both of you?  I think the names are great!!

Kate:   I feel privileged to being living and working with my mother.  I see more of her now than all of my years growing up as she fulfilled her own professional career.  I have two built in mentors--my parents are two seasoned professionals and I am so fortunate to have them available to me.

Naming is a process and lots of research goes underway when we are creating a new flavor.

Jeff:  Do you do all of your own press kits, website and other marketing?

Kate:   As a start-up we do a lot on our own.  We outsource areas where we feel we need professional guidance.  We write our own press kits.  I handle all of the social media.  We did engage assistance for our website.

Jeff: Was it difficult to source your organic ingredient sources?  Have you found minimum orders to be an issue?

Kate:   Sourcing is an integral part of this business and requires a great deal of research at all times.

We have found that the larger you are the better the pricing.  Therefore, as a small business you pay a higher price until you can grow your business.   This is one of the biggest challenges we face as a small business competing against larger companies with more purchasing power.

Kathryn:  You've only been in business for a short while, but I know you are in several regions of Whole Foods already, and recently got into more.  

Would you recommend the Whole Foods route to another entrepreneur, even if there's such a mark-up by the time it goes through a distributor to them?  

Kate:   I am privileged to be a YouthTrade certified entrepreneur--this means my company is owned and operated by a young entrepreneur under the age of 35 with a sustainable and conscious business.  

Whole Foods was the first retailer of YouthTrade products and it has been an amazing relationship.  Growing your business with distribution is a model any entrepreneur should research and understand before they delve into it--it may not be ideal for every business.

Kathryn:  You have developed one of the most clear visions I've seen for a website and packaging.  I know you talked about labeling, and a proof reading issue you had for one of the new chocolate barsﾅ

Kate:  Lesson learned:  always ask multiple people to proof your packaging before you say it’s ok to print.  It’s a costly and avoidable error.

Jeff: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Kate:   I suggest lots of research, planning and a good business plan is essential. Conviction is also another element that is key.

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