Bringing People Together by Connecting Food and Cultures with Asim Khan

Good afternoon, and welcome to Essential Ingredients. I'm Justine Reichman, your host. Today, I have Asim Khan. Nice to meet you. Asim, thanks so much for joining me.

Very nice to meet you Justine. I'm looking forward to our conversation.

Me too. I appreciate you being so spontaneous and getting this on your calendar. I just got your product yesterday, and I was already doing some tasting on it. I'm excited to learn a little bit more about it and you. So for our listeners, could you maybe just intro yourself a little bit, and tell them a little bit more about you?

Sure. Thanks again for the opportunity. It's a pleasure to be on your wonderful show. My name is Asim Khan. I am one of the co-founders of ZYN, along with my older, more experienced brother Qasim, who happens to have the same name as myself with a Q in front of it. So from time to time we go by Q & A so it's easier for people with the odd sounding names like ours. We've been blessed to have the opportunity to work on this venture, which started about three years ago. But my background really isn't that exciting. Other than the fact that we're immigrants to the US, we've been blessed to be in this wonderful country since 1984. Educated here, all of our careers have been here and we've had the good fortune of traveling quite a bit. We've learned from different people. And that's what we're looking to bring to the consumers across the country. And hopefully the world one day is the experiences that we've lived, the lifestyles we've had, and share all the goodness from all of those experiences with consumers.

That sounds amazing. So tell me though, how did Q & A come up with ZYN?

Yeah. It sounds like an odd story. It goes against every Harvard Business textbook because you're told that when you start a business, do it in an area that you know something about, a little bit about and have relationships. But my brother and I--

Oh, sorry Asim, can you repeat that because we had a little bit of a hiccup in the connection there.

Sure. Sure. No worries.

Back to where Q & A got this idea, and where it launched from?

Sure. The idea came to us because it's been part of our lifestyles ever since we were tiny little kids, and our parents were shoving all sorts of different things down our throats. That kind of sounds gross, but tumeric was one of those items that kept going into our diet. And the reason is because that's been part of our cultural lifestyle for 5,000 plus years. We're originally from Pakistan. We immigrated to the US in 84. And our parents, our grandparents and our ancestors going back thousands of years have practiced a form of ancient lifestyle or a medical system that's called ayurvedic medicine which encapsulates the goodness of nature for healing food as medicine. It was a big concept. So for every type of ailment, there's some sort of remedy that involves anything from tree barks, to things such as turmeric, to minerals from mountains, and just living a natural, clean lifestyle. And we practice that all of our lives. So coming from 20 years of finance, which was our background into this business, it was a natural progression because we actually lived this lifestyle that we were promoting to consumers. Our initial product is a beverage, but we have, yes, there it is, that beautiful bottle. Thank you for modeling that.

We have to have a little show and tell this is the one, which I did a whole little tasting last night, and I quite like this one so I thought I'd bring it in and have a little taste.

Awesome. Thank you for doing that. So anyways, to get to the conclusion on that, we got into this business because we wanted to take something that's been core to our lifestyle, which has a significant amount of goodness, and help share it with consumers across the country, and eventually throughout the world, somewhere down the road.

That's beautiful. And it's really, so much of what is important to me on a personal level is integrating my passion into what I do on a daily basis. And I love to bring founders that really share that same value. Because I think it's really important to share with the other founders that are listening to the podcast, to hear that we can take our passions and really turn them into viable businesses that are impact driven.

Yes, correct. That's the most important part is, if you're going to go from job security, go to income, to doing something fun and crazy, like starting a business that you know nothing about, you want it to be impactful. Not just from a health and wellness standpoint, as maybe the case in many of the business owners you talk to, for us, it's really important to get back to the community where a certified B Corp. So we donate as much as we can to charity, and it's important for us to take care of humanity which is completely opposite of a financial background, which is all you're all worried about. Bring in money, money money. So anyways, we're blessed.

I do think it's equally important that when people do go from the security of working in finance, or whatever their day to day job is, and then taking that leap of faith, and taking their passion, and building a viable business that it is scalable and it can make money. One of the values of building a B Corp is that we are giving back. We're having a positive impact, but we're also making money. That's why it's so important. And that's what resonates most with me about being a B Corp is that I'm not just making money, but I'm doing good, that I'm having a positive impact in the world, and that's why I was so insistent on becoming a B Corp. Everybody can make, we can all make money, or we can all have a hobby, but why not do good in the world and make money. That's like the perfect dream.

Yeah. Love at first sight, love at First B Corp, right?

Exactly. I'm with you. I really fought hard to become a B Corp. When I was first investigating the options, and I don't know about you, I was looking at what it took to become a B Corp, depending on the state, there are some hurdles ,or there's some extra paperwork, or some extra costs. And as a small company, it can be prohibitively expensive. But for me, it was a hurdle I was willing to overcome. It was something that was so important to me, I didn't even blink. I was like, yeah, I'm gonna make it happen. This is just so important to me because that is like that stamp that says, it's as important to me to have an impact as it is to make money.

Precisely. And for us, it's the exact same, the B Corp certification is literally our foundation. That was the first certification we aspired to get before any other certification where non GMO projects verified, were minority certified business, and we've got various other certifications in process. But the B Corp certification, because of its rigorous and its stamp of who you are at the core, that is fundamentally more important than any other certification we could get. So for us, doing good is embodied in who we are. We see business as a force for good, and we hope others can. If they take anything from this conversation to buy a product, they look into the B Corp certification, that would be success for us.

So let's talk about your product a little bit. I was excited to get the box of all the different flavors, I was looking at the ingredients, I was looking at the packaging, and it's really lovely. Can you talk to me a little bit about the ingredients? How do you put it together?

Sure.

What went into it?

Thank you for pointing that out. So initially, what's in that beverage started out in containers in our kitchens where we were experimenting with turmeric, curcumin, black pepper and various flavors. So my brother and I stain probably two dozen pots, and almost got kicked out of our houses, because the orange color of the turmeric is attractive, but it does leave stains. So we started crafting these in our kitchens till we got to a point where we thought we could test it with our kids. Kids are the most honest people. And if they don't like your flavor -- Yes, they are. And if they don't like it, they'll let you know. There's no mincing words, this stinks. So we we taste tested it with our kids and started testing it with other kids, family members, friends, etc, etc. And eventually, we got to a point where we felt good about the flavor profiles. And then we did get outside help from research and development labs to take it to commercial ready. But stepping back, going back to the beginning, we've grown up with all these ingredients, we've grown up with this holistic wellness, food is medicine, etc, etc. And tumeric has been a big part of our diet since we were little kids, and in our part of the world, eastern hemisphere. Typically, an average individual consumes anywhere from 10 to 15 turmeric roots on a daily basis. So that's a lot of turmeric. And Turmeric is a very earthy ingredient. And we knew that the western consumer, their palates aren't necessarily attuned to the tumeric. And if we put 10 or 15 tumeric in a juice, it wouldn't go anywhere. So we went to the straight source of its healing power, and we did extensive research. So the main ingredient in our beverage is called curcumin. Curcumin is the bioactive ingredient in the turmeric root. The turmeric root has over 300 different compounds, potassium, iron, zinc, etc, etc. But the anti inflammatory benefits that are attributed to tumeric in the immunity boosting properties come from this little compound called curcumin, which is only 1 to 5% of the turmeric group. And if your audience goes to the National Institutes of Health, which is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, there are over 40,000 scientific and medical research papers they can find on various databases, there's 240 clinical trials. And as we looked out, we saw there was nobody, turmeric was becoming popular in the US three, four years ago, and it's even more popular today. But we saw no one was actually focused on providing the right amount of curcumin, and they were just marketing a fad, which was tumeric. And so we are the first ones to get into a white space, which is curcumin, and views consumer packaged goods products, and curcumin is the hero ingredient. But in addition to that from our own background in Eastern culture, when you cook with tumeric and various other types of roots or herbs, you always mix it with some sort of a fatty substance. Because the absorption of those critical ingredients like curcumin only happens through a fat soluble type of molecule. While we're not going to put fats into our beverage, which is trying to be a healthy tasty beverage. Or olive oil, for example. So we use a black pepper extract called piperine. Piperine increases the absorption of the curcumin by 2,000 plus %. So it's an adaptogen like other adaptogens. When you blend it with something else, it increases the absorption. So the critical ingredient in our beverages, 200 milligrams of curcumin, which is equivalent to 10 to 15 turmeric roots on a daily basis. The piperine increases the absorption by 2,000%. And as you saw in the background, there is sun today in Milwaukee, but normally, there isn't a lot of sun. So early on, we knew we wanted vitamin D in our beverages, which in today's COVID environment has taken on a heightened significance for its immunity boosting properties. And Dr. Fauci, that's the only supplement that he takes is vitamin D. So we were lucky smart, I don't know how you want to describe it. It but we put vitamin D in our beverages right off the get go and Vitamin C. So our beverages provide 50% of the daily value of the vitamin D, and 120% of the daily value of vitamin C. And we also knew that sugar is a big no, no, even though our drinks do have--

That was my question I was gonna ask you because I saw that there is sugar cane. And I also saw that there was stevia.

Yes,. So let me get into that. Sugar is an inflammatory agent. It causes a lot of inflammation in our body which could lead to diabetes and other types of ailments. And so we knew we wanted the sugar content to be low so we use natural organic cane sugar as the sweetener. And in that bottle with the new label requirements, it's five grams of added sugar per bottle. We do have stevia in there, but we're not using stevia as a sweetener, we're actually using stevia to counterbalance the really strong taste of the black pepper. So some of those drinks, depending upon your palate, you may feel a little bit of a kick, and that's coming from the black pepper. The stevia isn't used as our primary sweetener, it's just there to balance out the black pepper, otherwise, it would be too spicy. Then we looked at the flavors, we wanted to come up with fun flavors that connotes other cultures. So mango is a tropical fruit. Pomegranate is typically found in Eastern cultures. And one of the underlying missions of our business in addition to being a B Corp is to try to bring people together. The easiest way to somebody's heart is through what they consume. So if you provide people with different foods that allows them to connect to cultures that are outside of the norm, french fries, or whatever the case maybe. Anyway, that's how we came about with the drink. We launched into the market January 1st of 2018. So we just completed our first poll three years, we've been very blessed, we've been growing extremely, rapidly. We're one of the best contributors to cooler sales growth for our retail partners. And then consumers are looking more and more into natural foods that have immunity boosting properties or anti inflammatory properties. So they're discovering us across the country. And right now, we're over 4,000 retail locations, we're in majority of the professional and collegiate sports programs, we just launched with the US military globally, we're going into 180 commissaries across the globe. And hopefully soon, we'll be launching in universities, corporate campuses, etc, etc. We're in a lot of hospitals already.

That's great.

Yeah. Along the way, the bigger faster we grow, the more profitable we are, the more we give back to society.

Yeah, that's super exciting. So if our listeners wanted to go get ZYN, where would they be able to find it?

So depending on where they are across the country, they can find it in their retail stores. If they're able to go to our website, www.drinkzyn.com, there's a store locator. Otherwise, they can order online, it's 39.99 for a 12 pack case, that includes delivery charges. So it's fairly affordable compared to various other health and wellness drinks and products. And it's a heavy Product to Ship so there's a lot of cost involved in UPS shipping. Can you hear me?

Yes, I can totally hear you. I just have a question for you, though.

Yep.

So is there something special we can offer our listeners today if they wanted to order ZYN?

Yes, absolutely. If they order from our website and sign up for our newsletter, they get a 25% discount right off the bat on their first purchase. And from time to time, every month or so, we'll offer discounts for that month and will provide. And that's the beauty of being on our email newsletter is you get all the discount codes so you could stock up.

Wonderful, wonderful. I just wanted to sort of talk about a few other healthy ideas behind food as medicine and ZYN, and sort of how the interplay between them because there's so many things that go into it. I think you're right, and the interplay between healing and hydration is so important. We've done a variety of talks on hydration. I'm just wondering, how do you think ZYN plays into that?

Sure. I think what's the percentage now? 97% of the human body is made up of water. So hydration is obviously very critical. You could go without food for days. But if you go without water, that's going to cause serious problems. So the reason we decided to launch our first product, and hopefully a long series of product extensions in the beverage category was because people need to be hydrated. And when they typically buy a drink in a cooler, they'll start drinking it at the grocery store, or wherever they may be. If they're athletes, they'll consume it while they're working out or training, etc, etc. So there's food as a medicine concept, which is the lifestyle that we grew up with, many people, and possibly including yourself and your listeners grew up with. A hydration form is a very attractive opportunity for the first product because it fulfills a daily need for drinking something to keep hydrated, and it provides the functional benefits that have been researched on turmeric in a convenient, tasty, low sugar, non GMO project verified format.

Out of curiosity, what would it taste like without sugar?

I think it would still have the flavor notes. I think one of the interesting things that we learned, and now, when you think about it sounds intuitive, 90% of your taste is derived from your nose, the smell. So our beverages have more aromatic, more higher quality fruit concentrates. And particularly for example, the mango, lychee, or the lemon, ginger, if you pick it up and smell it, that activates your taste buds. So when people are sick, they have a cold and they're eating soup, they can't really taste it because they can't smell it. So taste wise, our products we feel have a very broad appealing taste profile that goes from kids from two year olds all the way up to senior citizens. Not so narrowly focused on a specific niche that can only tolerate certain types of tastes. I don't know if that answered your question.

I was just curious. I tend to like tart things.

Sure.

In general. I was just curious what it would taste like without the sugar, ate it without the sugar. I don't know that that's not a broad appeal kind of thing. I don't think you could do it, but I was just curious what it would taste like without it.

I think it would taste, you would still be able to get the notes of the different flavor profiles, it would just be a little bit more less sweet, low less sweet.

I don't think that the majority of the population would like it.

Yeah. That was our conclusion as well.

I could imagine. I'm the one that drinks lemonade without sugar so that's probably not a consensus. So I was just curious. Because a lot of times, I think it's really great. I love this one.

Thank you.

I'm drinking it already. I'm curious, given the last year has been different, I would say for everyone. CPG products seem to be flying off the shelves in many ways. There's been some supply chain issues, though, for a lot of people.

Yeah.

Tell me how it's affected you guys.

Yeah. We've been extremely blast COVID. The onset of COVID has actually heightened people's interest in seeking out immunity boosting foods and beverages that are natural. And so our business has skyrocketed since COVID started. There was a slight downturn, particularly within our food service business. The sports teams basically locked down, and there were no sports for a while. So that impacted us just on that side. But our retail business, online business skyrocketed over that time, and way more than offset any short term downward blip that we had. We feel very blessed where 100% cell finance, we have no debt, no outside investors, we didn't take a single dollar, the PPP loans, we didn't feel it was appropriate for us because there's so many other businesses that are struggling that deserve that money more than we do. I think we're in a good financial position because of COVID. And we've been blessed because more people have sought us out during this timeframe because they're looking for turmeric. The searches on Google for turmeric based products, or tumeric in general has skyrocketed.

So we're getting more educated, and that's one of the things that I really strive to do with the podcast is really bring people, like yourself, founders, industry experts, thought leaders to share the information so that whether it's the new businesses, new founders and consumers can make more informed and educated decisions, whether they're building the business, or putting food on the table for their family.

Correct.

This is kind of circular, and to make better and more informed choices we can demand a better food system. And then hopefully, more people will build really better for your products like ZYN.

We would love to see other businesses providing consumers with natural wellness, holistic wellness, food is medicine. The more people catch on to this idea that what you put in your body has a direct correlation to your long term health, the more companies, like ours product, like ours will explode into the marketplace. And that's just better for everybody. society in general will get the health care costs down eventually when people aren't stuffing--

The cost of products is down too because there'll be--

Absolutely. Yeah, greater supply, greater demand, etc. And that will all help us, as well as other companies in this natural better for you world of food and beverage.

I want to just circle back. You had started to talk about or mentioned, I think that this was the first product, but it sounded like there were going to be more products or different products coming down the pipeline?

Yes. There will be lots more products, hopefully in a more consistent time interval. So in two, three months, we're launching a powder version of the science that's in that bottle. It's a stick pack. So if you are familiar with Crystal Light stick packs, the concept is similar.

I grew up in that era, I remember that.

Yeah, yeah. That made Crystal Light explode onto the scene, their stick packs. So in any event, we want this single serve concept available more cost effectively than our beverages are across the country, and that product will be able to export more easily because of the weight profile. And they'll be less expensive. That product will launch hopefully in April timeframe. if not sooner. Everything's pretty much done. We're just looking to set a production date in March, and then we'll get it into the market. But that product will have the same 200 milligrams of curcumin and piperine, the black pepper extract for absorption. It'll have 100% of vitamin C, 100% of vitamin D, 100% of the daily value of zinc. Zinc is another immunity boosting compound naturally occurring, and then it will have electrolytes. So consider it, the beverage without the plastic bottle and the heavy water. You can take it in your purse or you can put it in your pocket. You can take it out in the airplane, etc, etc. Just mix it with a bottle of water, shake it up and you have four new refreshing delicious flavor. So we're going to continue this concept of introducing the world to other cultures, and we'll have other flavors. Some of which are tropical from other parts of the world that people can enjoy and get accustomed to.

Wow.

Oh, so that product two. And then later next year, we're going to be introducing curcumin infuse protein bites. So think of round balls with dates and various other natural products, but the same base formula of having the 200 milligrams of curcumin, in the piperine will always be consistent across our products. I failed to mention our sort of core underlying principle is that, ZYN, the mission of ZYN is to bring the ancient wisdom of cultures around the world to the modern consumer in engaging and effective formats. So the first ancient wisdom that's scientifically backed is curcumin, but there's other amazing plants and herbs that are out there in the world, including the US where people have used for centuries for its healing properties. We want to take that wisdom, that knowledge and package it into tasty products. So one of the interesting things about curcumin it in turmeric is, is it's used in the Eastern culture for beauty. And women, particularly days before their wedding, days of celebration, they put tumeric paste on their skin because of its anti-inflammatory benefits that makes the skin glow and makes it look younger. So lotions and creams with curcumin down the road is definitely on the table. We don't want to be to stay one singular product company, we want to be a lifestyle brand that encapsulates food, beverage, and various types of experiences. So down the road, we'll have destinations that will be associated with ZYN to give people calmer, better experiences, not just with consuming something.

I love that that sounds amazing.

Right.

You're not only impacting the future of food, you're creating a lifestyle that allows them to eat better, feel better.

Precisely. Love better, live better.

But it's all about what they're consuming. It all goes back to what they're choosing to put into their body, whether it's in or on it, and it goes to food because it's rooted in food.

Precisely. Food is medicine. Food as medicine, food is lifestyle, etc, etc.

Okay, that is awesome. So out of curiosity, do you share your office with your brother?

Yes. We have a small team.

I was kind of wondering if he was there with you right now.

He's in the office next door.

I was kind of wondering if you wanted to say hi to some of the listeners? If you wanted to say hi to the listeners, or hi to the viewers so we can meet Q & A.

Yeah, let me grab him Justine.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you as well.

Well, let's introduce you to, we have now, I'm sorry. I'm Justine.

Justine, I'm Qasim.

Qasim.

Yes. One of the co-founders and also related, I'm the older brother.

The older brother, okay. Our listeners know who you are. I want them to meet the other co-founder. We have had such a great conversation with your brother, I just thought it would be nice to meet the Q and the A.

That's right. Yeah, he has a good grasp of it, and I can go into anything that he missed on the call.

I don't know any of this, but I'm happy to meet you. And if there's anything you want to share, he really did quite a good job of sharing about, Oh, I just got a crick in my neck. What happened? Oh, he did a great job of talking to us about ZYN, sharing a little bit about the story, a little bit about your values, all about where it came from and your vision. But we'd love to hear a little from you if you just have a minute and want to share with us what you see and what you hope for the future.

Yeah. I know this is just outside of the product. This has been a great journey where my brother and I were only 13 months apart. We went to the same university. Basically lived together within very close proximity all our lives with the exception of a couple of years. I think what's been great about this is there are certain traits that he has that I don't have, and there are certain traits and skills that I have that he doesn't have. So this has been unbelievable in terms of experience of building a company from scratch and working with my brother who I've known for all my life with the exception of 13 months. So it's been great from that standpoint. One of the things about this is it's been a great journey. We took it from what we have always lived and practiced all our lives into a product that everybody can enjoy. And there's lots of ups and downs. There will be continue to be lots of ups and downs, challenges and things that we get excited about. But it's been a great journey to share with my brother as we tried to build this out.

Are there any tips or things that you'd share with other founders today about building a business with your brother?

Yeah. I think, look, you've got to have somebody that has different opinions and different skill sets. If everybody has the same skill set in the group, everything, everybody's nodding, yes to all the suggestions. So there's been a lot of friction. I'll put it kindly in those kind words. But I think that friction has led to a better outcome for the consumers and the products that we're trying to create. So I think I highly encourage founders, private businesses to have people around them on that team that have varying points of view, have different opinions, have different experiences, as well. I think that's what's helped us get to the point that we're at, we come at it from a different angle.

Thank you, I really appreciate you hopping on, sharing those tips and introducing yourself to our listeners.

Yeah. Likewise, nice meeting you and your listeners. I'll turn it over back over to Asim.

Thanks so much. Bye.

He got the look, I got the height.

Together, you're a great pair. Loved it. Thanks for bringing them on for a quick hello. I thought we'd get back, maybe you can give us a couple tips for our listeners on what your tips about working with your brother?

Yeah. This concept of patience and understanding takes on a whole different light. And I would not trade this ever for any other experience. We have very frank, open conversations, there's no mincing words, we both want the exact same thing for the business. So understanding that the goal of every conversation is the same to create success for ourselves and then be able to get back, we do have different opinions. And this is the case where one plus one typically ends up equal in three. Because he shares an opinion, I share my opinion, they don't align, and out of that comes a third opinion which is better than either of our opinions. So this back and forth is really healthy. Both of us had been in the corporate environment where you have to watch carefully how you say, what you say, when you say I can. I can't stand politics in any aspect of life or business. So in any event, we just want to help people, and that's what drives us every day is we can help them with health and wellness. And then we give back as we get the people who are into health and wellness and want to buy our products. And then we can help people that are less fortunate. And the more that we can do that, the better we feel. At the end of the day, we're going to be the same people that we are. Our parents did a good job and grounding us. Money's important, but life is more important. And taking care of things that matter, family, friends, people, community, environment, all of that is more rewarding. But eventually, hopefully, one day will be a billion dollar company, and people will know us as a company that cares. And that would be a huge success.

I think you're already a huge success. I think your values stand for themselves. And I think anybody that listens to this podcast is going to be inspired. I'm so honored to be able to share this conversation because I don't think we hear enough from founders about their values and how they stick to them. And to me, it's wonderful to be able to talk to people that share those values, and really are building a viable company, and are showing that it's scalable and possible.

Yeah. Likewise, Justine, I'm honored to be on this wonderful chat with you. And hopefully, your listeners will also appreciate the message. The most important message that we're trying to relate which is business can be a force of good, and should be a force for good not just profits. And there's so many people out there, particularly with COVID that are struggling, and we step back out of our shells, this body, and look at how people go about their day to day lives, and what impact we can have to help promote a better life for everybody else. The rising tide will lift the boat and tie all the boats. So anyways, that's a message that we want to keep getting across.

I agree. I couldn't agree more. So with that said, I hope that our listeners enjoyed this conversation. I want to thank you. So for joining me today, I want to thank our listeners for joining. If you've not already subscribed to the Essential Ingredients Podcast, I invite you to subscribe to it. It's available on all the regular channels, Spotify, iTunes, Google, you name it, it's on there. If you've not subscribed to the NextGenChef app, please do. It's a great way to connect with other founders, thought leaders. Asim, I hope you'll download the app. It's on Android and on iOS, and it's a great way to connect with other founders and thought leaders. It's a new app so be patient with that we are just getting it going. But it's a great way to chat with other people, attend events, see other, talks that we've done, as well as some white papers, and we will be adding new features all the time. So if you liked this podcast, leave us a review, let us know what else you'd like to hear. And again, please subscribe to the Essential Ingredients Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. And again, don't forget ZYN.

Thank you very much Justine.