Jagir and Nirali Mankodi were inspired to launch their vegan chocolate brand Superfoodio in 2016 after a backpacking adventure around South America. Speaking to Asian Voice, they talked about their business inspirations, their response as a small business to Covid impacts when high street sales dropped, and their most recent launch of a world-first in the snack world – peanut butter buttons for those who love peanut butter on the go.
The couple had quit their corporate jobs to go backpacking for six months. Being on a plant-based diet they thought they'd struggle to find suitable food to fuel their many adventures. However, by immersing themselves in the local culture, Jagir and Nirali discovered how the local people lived off the earth in a sustainable manner and thinks generations ahead. While in Bolivia, they lived with farmers and experienced first-hand how quinoa is grown and harvested.
Following that trip, they wanted to share their learnings and launch a business selling delicious and nutritious snacks – and so Superfoodio was born. The products were a hit, and at one of their first events were recognised by tennis superstar, Novak Djokovic who gave his seal of approval and took home a few bags full of Superfoodio treats!
Superfoodio launched their vegan peanut butter chocolates on Amazon not long after and saw huge growth.
Jagir Mankodi told us, “We took a career break from our corporate jobs in 2016 to go backpacking in South America and it changed our lives forever. Being on plant-based diets, we thought we’d face difficulties on our trip but instead discovered how the local people lived off the earth in a sustainable manner and thinks generations ahead. Coming back wanting to share the knowledge, we devoted ourselves to the kitchen to create delicious, nutritious, all-natural treats and from there Superfoodio was born.”
“The first Covid lockdown was challenging particularly for launching new food products in shops, but we quickly turned to Amazon to reinforce our online sales channel which helped us reach more customers and make up for the lack of high street sales during a challenging time. Our vegan peanut butter chocolate bars which we launched in November 2020 have proven to be extremely popular selling over 20,000 units on Amazon.”
Nirali Mankodi said, “Building a vegan snacks business has been a journey of passion and learning for us, while at times hard, we can’t call it hard work as we are doing something we love. We’ve had amazing support and achieved some great milestones with now a Great Taste award under our belt.”
“We also closed off 2021 with the launch of a world-first product. Our family loves peanut butter and we wanted a simpler way to enjoy peanut buttery goodness on the go but the problem with a jar or a squeezy pack is that you always end up with sticky fingers and an oily mess, particularly not fun when you have a toddler! That’s why we created our Peanut Butter Buttons that you can hold in your hand. They are the perfect snack to satisfy that peanut butter craving anywhere, anything with no mess and no fuss!”
Their products are available on Amazon UK.
