Today we’d like to introduce you to Manette McDermott.
Hi Manette, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started creating foods without refined sugar when I discovered that refined sugar was creating the inflammation that caused me sciatic pain that persisted for an extended period of time. When I eliminated it from my diet, the pain went away. At the same time, I began to experiment with foods that would help my mother who was struggling with constipation from a cocktail of meds prescribed for her Parkinson’s disease. That led me to a deeper understanding of the gut microbiome and its importance to nearly every aspect of human health.
I made products initially for friends and family members. The feedback that I received, especially from my mother before she passed away, encouraged me to start a company so that I could help a wider circle of people. I formed the company in March 2019. We entered our first farmers market (Redondo Beach) in July 2020, the second (Hermosa Beach) later that year, and the third (Marina del Rey) and fourth (Manhattan Beach) in 2021.
We opened our first retail store in Redondo Beach just after Thanksgiving last year. After producing in a shared commercial kitchen facility, it’s exciting to have my own kitchen and a permanent place to welcome our customers six days a week.
muun chi produces and sells a collection of organic, real-food probiotics and prebiotics. Our focus is the health of the gut microbiome. All of our foods are free of dairy, gluten, and refined sugars. We also avoid processed and artificial ingredients.
We practice a closed-loop production process in order to generate as little waste as possible. Any “waste” from one process becomes an ingredient in another. As a further demonstration of our environmental values, we also package exclusively in returnable, reusable glass jars and bottles. We will never use plastic, and we avoid single-use disposable packaging as much as possible. At our store, customers are encouraged to use their own containers when they shop.
We have a growing community of regular customers. The feedback that we receive from them is invaluable in continuing to refine and expand our product mix.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Considering everything that could have gone differently, it’s been a pretty smooth road. I had the time and space to develop the company’s initial products and evolve them to the point where I was comfortable sharing them with a broader audience than just family members and close friends. It was a bit of a challenge to break into the farmer’s markets, especially as COVID-19 caused many to shut down for a period of time, but gaining acceptance to the first market gave us the credibility to enter others. Fortunately, the company has been cash flow positive from the early months, so securing financing has not been an issue.
I learned that selecting the right partner to build the company with is really important. For me, the right partner is someone who complements my skills and experience — someone who excels in everything I’m either not good at or really don’t want to do. My co-owner and business partner handle everything that allows me to focus on what I enjoy most, which is creating delicious, functional foods and interacting with our customers.
After producing in a shared commercial kitchen facility for a couple of years, I knew that finding a retail space with a kitchen was the right next step for the company. It took a while to find the right space, but I’m glad we were patient. We have a perfect location, the build-out was relatively painless, and the reaction from customers has been overwhelmingly positive.
We’ve been impressed with muun chi, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
muun chi focuses on the health of the gut microbiome, which we are learning is critical to many aspects of personal health. We use only organic, real food ingredients in all of our products and avoid substances that can create inflammation in the body, including dairy, gluten, refined sugars, and artificial substances. Our probiotics provide live bacteria strains for the microbiome, while our prebiotics (think fiber, resistant starches, and polyphenols) deliver the food those good bacteria need to thrive and support a great variety of body functions.
Brand-wise, we are most proud of our commitment to education. Yes, we are striving to build a growing, financially sustainable company. But helping people understand the importance of a diet of real foods with functional benefits is our passion. Our customers appreciate the information that we provide about how food can be medicine for the body.
Personally, I am most fulfilled by feedback we receive from customers about how our products are helping with a great variety of health conditions. We didn’t set out to have these specific effects, but we have customers tell us that the products we offer are alleviating or eliminating symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux, acne, constipation, even Crohn’s disease. This is rocket fuel for me!
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The main lesson that we learned was that a crisis can be an opportunity. As a result of COVID-19, more people were open to talking about the relationship between food and personal health. There was greater interest in how foods can support (or compromise) the immune system and a variety of health conditions. We welcomed the opportunity to talk with a greater number of people about how they can take control of their health with plant-based, real foods that have functional benefits.
Although COVID-19 didn’t impact our business in any significant way given that we were still at a very young stage, it did impress upon us the importance of building as much resilience as possible into our operations. Hopefully, we won’t have another pandemic, but we must assume that disruptions will occur from time to time and we need to be prepared to manage through them, particularly now that we have a retail store.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.muunchi.com
- Instagram: muunchifood
