How To Take Care Of Your Cosmix Jars

#CosmixNutritionForAll: Not Just Another CSR Activity

A little less than 2 years ago Cosmix came into existence. Right since the outset, Cosmix has been driven by one important mission: to make the power of superfoods accessible to all - not just the average Indian, but also the children from impoverished regions fighting malnutrition. That’s how the #CosmixNutritionForAll impact program began!  What is this program about? We have partnered with Anganwadis and The Spirulina Foundation to create spirulina-peanut bars, which are approved by CFTRI. These superfood bars are distributed among the children aged between years two and 12. Currently, the program is active in Kolala - a village in Karnataka. But, our vision is to facilitate this pan-India.  Why Malnutrition? Nutrition is key for physical growth. Not just that, HUGE cognitive development is lost without good nutrition at a young age. Something as simple as good nutrition is all a child really needs to grow, move out of the poverty cycle and make a living for themselves one day.  How do we tackle it? Rather than treating this as a CSR, our impact program is integrated into our supply chain. The same superfoods used in our mixes go into these bars. This means, we get to buy higher quantities of the highest quality of superfoods, in the most efficient ways possible. Our impact program grows as our business grows, in real time.  CFTRI-approved research shows that spirulina have the capability to tackle malnourishment when administered regularly and at the right age to a child. So, we decided to do just that via spirulina-peanut bars, which we produce and distribute via local anganwadis. The bars are administered according to each child’s specific nutrition needs as per their age and other factors. We also closely monitor their progress and adjust their superfood intake accordingly! How do superfood bars make a difference?  The bars contain a high concentration of micronutrients. When the body doesn’t have enough micronutrients, the physical and cognitive development are affected. This is ESPECIALLY important to note for kids between 2 to 6 years – as this is when the body’s ability to absorb nutrients/change is HIGHEST. Why Spirulina? Of all the herbs and superfoods we had access to, why did we choose spirulina as the star ingredient of the superfood bar we give to the children to fight malnourishment? Spirulina, a wild-grown, edible blue-green algae, is known as an all-in-one source of nutrients and is the most sought-after superfood in the world. It is one of the only herbs CERTIFIED to boost immunity! It has 3900% more of the immune boosting antioxidant beta carotene than carrots. It is THE richest source of complete protein! A cup of Spirulina has 64 grams of protein. By comparison, a cup of Whey has 2.1 grams  It is enriched with vitamins, proteins, essential fatty acids, minerals, and carotenes. It also exerts strong anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and antioxidant effects too! Our journey so far Till date we have distributed over 2,50,000 superfood bars to children, who have been diagnosed as mildly/highly malnourished. So far, we are monitoring and caring for around 1400 kids – a number that we steadily increase week by week. The children will continue receiving these bars, until they are no longer in the danger zone. Our aim is to continue this effort until malnourishment is a thing of the past for the children in our country. It may be a small endeavor today, but we’re not turning back or backing down! This program is holistic in a way that goes beyond just health. When malnourishment among kids is kept at bay consistently, they not only have the kind of happy, active childhoods every child deserves, but also get a fighting chance at growing up to be equally capable – physically and mentally – to seize life opportunities, decades later. All of this has been made possible in most part due to the profusely loyal support of our Cosmix Fam - our users who love Cosmix as much as Cosmix loves them.  

Cosmix On the Road: Our First Harvest Spree of the Year!

January heralds with it the harvest season in India. This is something we all learnt during our school days. But with Cosmix, we (Vibha and Soorya, the co-founders) have actually now gotten to become a part of this! In fact, harvest season holds such a special significance for us, that we look forward to it more than any other festival! After missing out on last year’s harvest, and spending a whole year staying indoors and distant from the farms and our farm partners whom we love so much, when January 2021 rolled in with the opportunity to hit the road for a harvest spree, we jumped at it! And now, we’re about to walk you through the three days we spent on the road, lost in farms, basking under the warm Karnataka sun. Day 1: We arrived in Hubli and made our way to our Shatavari farms, located in a village called Haveri. Shatavari is one of our favourite adaptogens and a key ingredient in Cosmix What Women Want. It’s also known to have immense benefits for women’s health! The process of harvesting and extracting Shatavari in a way that can be used in our powders is covered in three steps spanned over 2 months. First, uproot the plant. Second, boil and peel. Third, dry it at a high temperature and finally, bring it to powder form. This herb is so powerful that even a little goes a LONG way. The process of drying takes 2 months – two long months for us! Day 2: On the second day, we made our way to lush marigold farms vibrant with that typical orange colour as far as the eyes can see! We are exploring the opportunities of where we can fit this beautiful ingredient into our future products. We spent the day soaking in the beauty around us – the soul-searing colours, the mellow evening weather, hot chai sweetened by wholesome conversations with our farm partner Dinesh Bhaiyya. We instantly knew we’d be back for the mid-year harvest too! Day 3: On our third and final day of jaunting through farms, we moved from Hubli to Gadaa to visit 35 sprawling acres of another herb we love entirely too much: ASHWAGANDHA! We use it in All Day Energy, Bring Me Bliss and Sleep Like a Baby. And we’re sure to use it in our future products too. That’s just how good of an adaptogen this is! We’ll be harvesting all this bounty over the next 3 months. Setting up a smooth and robust supply chain, one that benefits and empowers every person in it, has been not only crucial for us as a business but also our greatest challenge. However, we’re so glad to have found farm partners who are as much a part of #TeamCosmix as everyone else who works on it day in and day out! Having direct relationships with our farmers helps us ensure that we maintain the high-quality standard of the herbs we source for both our retail business as well as our impact program, #CosmixNutritionForAll.