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From farmers markets to Whole Foods, Jai Farswani and his mother are bringing their AshaPops to the entire country.
In the natural medicine system of ayurveda, water lily seeds are recommended as part of one’s diet. However, they’re not a diet staple here in the United States.
AshaSuperfoods is looking to change that with AshaPops, popped water lily seeds in flavors like chili and turmeric garlic.
Founded by Northeastern grad Jai Farswani with his mother, the brand came to life when the elder Farswani packed some water lily seeds as a snack for her son while visiting him in Los Angeles. The younger Farswani broke the snack out during a meeting in his work as a venture capitalist.
“One meeting, I was kind of hungry, so I took (the seeds) out and offered it to the entrepreneur I was meeting with,” Farswani said. “He started eating it, but he finished the bag.”
The entrepreneur asked Farswani what he was doing with the seeds and suggested he sell them at farmers markets. Farswani went back to his mom with the idea and the brand was born. They began making AshaPops, popped water lily seeds, in several different flavors, with the recipe coming from Farswani’s mother’s home kitchen.
The pair began selling AshaPops at farmers markets around Los Angeles in the fall of 2017. A few months later, Farswani got a noted Los Angeles health food store, Rainbow Acres Natural Foods, to start stocking AshaPops.
Seven years later, Asha Superfoods’ water lily snacks are now stocked in retailers across the nation such as Whole Foods, ShopRite, Central Market, and Fresh Thyme and even made a cameo in the background of “Family Affair,” a Netflix romantic comedy starring Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman and Joey King.”
‘It just organically happened — no pun intended,” Farswani said. “I feel like people really love the product, but more importantly, they just really resonate with my mom. … We’re both CEOs and chief executives, but she’s the chief energy officer. It’s phenomenal how much she’s been able to attract with her positive energy. It’s been an amazing experience.”
What also helped was the quality of the product. AshaPops are vegan, plant-based and are free of allergens like gluten, grain and soy, while being packed with antioxidants. They also come in at 120 calories a bag and have a similar texture to popcorn without the kernels that get stuck in your teeth.
“There were customers who were posting about us and that’s what really helped us do some grassroots marketing and get the brand going,” Farswani said. “We’re a bootstrap company. We didn’t really have a whole lot of venture funding backing us, so we’re really grateful to all those early initial supporters. That really helped us get the word of mouth to spread.”
Farswani did not set out to become CEO of a snack food company. His family comes from India, but he was born and raised in Dubai before going to high school in Connecticut. It was then when he became acquainted with Northeastern while visiting Boston on the weekends.
“Northeastern was one of my top choices,” he said. “I really love the campus and I also love the co-op program. I always felt the best way to learn is on the job. … Northeastern really helped me develop my personality and communication skills, soft skills that are hard to measure tangibly.”
Farswani graduated in December 2011 with a degree in industrial engineering. Along the way, he did three “fantastic” co-ops, getting the chance to try his hand at work in different departments and fields: aviation, finance and transportation.
After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles and worked for an aviation company and then moved to venture capitalism. He now works as AshaSuperfood’s co-CEO alongside his mother.
“AshaPops was never in the plan,” he said. “It’s been a lot of learning, especially since we don’t come from the food business. Now what we’re really trying to focus on is (spreading) awareness, because it’s new and education is a big part of the play. … I’ve learned a lot. My mom is more creative and she’s more in tune with the marketing aspects. That’s been invaluable for me as I managed more of the operational and business side.”
Farswani said AshaSuperfoods are focused on their popped water lily seeds and getting them in more retailers but hopes to expand products in the future.
“Our goal is to be in all sorts of stores,” he said. “But our vision was to bring out ayurvedic plant-based foods that mom grew up eating that she doesn’t see here in the U.S.”