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Meet Asha & Jai Farswani of AshaPops

Today we’d like to introduce you to Asha & Jai Farswani.

Asha, Jai – we’d love to hear more about each of you about the journey that brought you to where you are today.
Asha: I grew up in the hills of western India. Our family followed a strict vegetarian diet consisting of farm-fresh nutritious ingredients recommended by Ayurveda, the ancient Indian holistic science.

Last summer, I started having trouble sleeping and my doctor prescribed Magnesium pills. Always preferring natural sources of treatment vs meds, I elected to eat Popped Water Lily Seeds which are a good source of Magnesium. We grew up snacking on these while fasting or when I was pregnant with each my four children. At 100 calories per bag, I could enjoy them guilt-free and sleep better. I had Jai try them too and he got hooked!  Jai felt that these pearls of nature should be enjoyed by all and encouraged me to help him introduce these to our local community here in Los Angeles. That was the birth of AshaPops.

Jai: Born in the urban metropolis of Dubai, I moved to New England for school where I also got my pilot’s license. Upon graduation, I decided to pursue my passion for aviation by working at AIG’s aviation finance firm here in LA. Last summer, I was hooked onto these Popped Water Lily Seeds when mom made me try them out. Friends of mine loved Asha’s pops and encouraged me to explore getting a business started with mom. In Fall 2017, we pitched our tent in the Marina Del Rey farmer’s market and thanks to the support of our AshaPops familia, feel blessed to now be in 70+ retail outlets across California including stores like Erewhon, Lassens,  etc.

Can you tell us about how it’s been working together? It’s not too often that we come across a Mother-Son duo. Jai, maybe you can go first?
Working together as a Mother-Son duo has been fantastic! Trust is an important foundational block of any partnership and there is no one I would trust more in this world that my mom. We have complimentary skillsets which round our team out. I’m a numbers oriented logical thinker while mom’s extremely creative with high emotional intelligence. To this end, I take care of all commercial operations of AshaPops while she handles all aspects of our product including R&D, recipe development & formulation and packaging.

While her tenacity & grit is legendary, AshaPops has made me appreciate her entrepreneurial abilities & creativity. Her ability to stay centered and positive during challenging times helps us stay grounded, as we push forward in bringing new AshaPops superfoods like Popped Water Lily Seeds to America.

Asha?
I couldn’t be happier! As a mother, it’s a dream come true working with one of my children. I’m so grateful to God for the opportunity to share foods that I grew up eating with the community here. It’s so heart-warming to see the tremendous encouragement from  our community. I’m thankful to my lovely son Jai for encouraging me to follow my passions and finding my purpose through AshaPops.

Water Lily Seeds sounds cool. We’d love to learn more about AshaPops and what sounds like the newest superfood to hit America – Popped Water Lily Seeds.
AshaPops Popped Water Lily Seeds are a delicious plant-based snacking alternative to Corn, Grain or Gluten-based snacks like Popcorn, Chips or Puffs. They taste like crunchy puffs and are seeds from an Indian variety of the Water Lily Flavor, Euryale Ferox.

Our AshaPops Popped Water Lily Seeds are Vegan, Paleo and free of allergens like Gluten, Corn, Nuts & Soy. They’re a superfood containing Plant Protein, Magnesium & Vitamin B6. We’ve got 4 delicious flavors – Turmeric, Bombay Pepper Masala, Vegan Cheese & Dark Chocolate.

Our savory flavors contain no sugar and we use only Organic Coconut Sugar for our subtly sweet Dark Chocolate. Given ~80% of the American population seems to be deficient in Magnesium, our customers love the fact that they’re able to consume natural source of Magnesium through AshaPops.

Having now launched in stores across California, where do see AshaPops a few years from now? 
Our vision with AshaPops is to bring diverse superfoods to Americans These nutritional bounties of nature solve a real need for a population that’s increasingly time-constrained, allergen sensitive and nutritionally deficient. Given the versatility of these Water Lily seeds, we see them eaten not just as the perfect on-the-go snack but as an ingredients or toppings in salads, main course, soups, trailmixes, ice creams, etc.

Where can our readers go to try out your products and support your brand?
The best way is to order online  www.ashapops.com and  get your AshaPops delivered straight to your doorstep (free shipping nationwide). We’re also available in 70+ retail outlets across California & New York City like Erewhon, Lassens, etc

Contact info:

Website: www.ashapops.com
Email: jai@ashapops.com
Instagram: @AshaSuperfoods
Facebook:@AshaSuperfoods
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ashasuperfoods/
Pinterest: @AshaSuperfoods

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