I’m a sucker for chocolate – whether it be hot chocolate or dark chocolate. BUT add some superfoods to it and HELLLLOOOOOO instacart. AM I WRONG? My friend Marisa introduced me to a new, up and coming brand called JOYA and I just had to share it with yall.
Their focus is delicious foods packed with superfoods and functional foods that make the good feels extend past your taste buds and into your mind, body & soul.
I was lucky enough to sit down with the owner of JOYA, Ruth Elnekave, and give you all some insight on their product line. I also wanted to mention all of their products make GREAT stocking stuffers. Check them out here and read below.
What is Joya?
Ruth: Joya is a wellness brand driven by giving people moments of everyday joy, and we do this through superfoods and functional foods that are equally delicious and nourishing!
Many of us get caught up in our busy lives, so focused on our careers and scrambling to take care of errands, family, homes, and everything else in our lives that we often don’t allow ourselves to enjoy all of the beauty in the present moment. I was definitely a victim of this in my grueling life as a corporate lawyer. We end up constantly looking forward to the big but sporadic things – holidays, birthdays, promotions – to provide joy and keep us going, but miss out on all of the opportunities each and every day for seemingly small yet incredibly meaningful joyous moments.
I realized how much of life I’d been unnecessarily missing, and so I created Joya to promote slowing down and to spread “The Joya Life”, the philosophy that one of the most easy to achieve and powerful aspects of wellness and joy is savoring the little things: the view, nature, a hug from a friend, and the pleasure of real, decadent foods.
Where did the name originate?
Ruth: Joya is actually my paternal grandmother’s name, and there couldn’t be a more perfect name to encompass the values and passion for food that this amazing woman instilled in me, as well as our mission as a brand. Some of my fondest memories of childhood are from our annual visits to Israel, watching (and later, helping) my grandmother create mouth-watering feasts in her tiny kitchen, followed by storytelling, smiles and pure joy as these meals were shared with 20+ family members, young and old. I realize today the impact that these moments had on me, and how much fulfillment my grandmother derived from creating and witnessing these moments.
Today, my mission is to help people experience these moments of joy through beverages and snacks that have been crafted with the same love and passion that my grandmother poured into everything she created (and even some inspiration from her recipes!).
What products do you create and sell?
Ruth: We’ve launched Joya with three lines of products: functional elixirs, functional herbal teas and superfood hand-crafted chocolates.
When we use the term “functional”, we’re referring to powerful foods made of real and effective ingredients that benefit our body and mind beyond just the value of their nutrients. For example, our elixirs and teas are formulated with various herbs, medicinal mushrooms and other botanicals that support energy, cognitive function, immunity, stress response and digestion.
Every single ingredient that goes into our products is pure, natural and non-GMO, and either certified organic or wildcrafted. None of our products contain gluten, refined sugars, dairy, additives or anything fake. Or as I like to say, “only the good stuff”.
What is an elixir?
Ruth: The dictionary definition of an elixir is a medical concoction or potion, and the intention with our line of Elixir blends is just that: these are powdered beverage blends with medicinal, wellness-promoting properties, crafted with some of the most nourishing and potent ingredients on the planet, such as Ashwagandha, Mucuna Pruriens, Reishi and Lion’s Mane mushroom, Astragalus and Pine Pollen just to name a few. But unlike a traditional elixir that also tastes medicinal, Joya’s are formulated using nutrition, principles of herbal and traditional medicine, and culinary expertise to create blends that are equally delicious and effective.
Our elixirs can be used to make hot or iced beverages (think super-elevated wellness lattes), but they are also incredibly versatile. I love mixing a scoop into yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies and any number of snacks and baked goods!
What makes Joya different from other brands on the market?
Ruth: Joya’s main differentiators tie back to factors important to me in my own wellness journey, as well as the very reason that I created Joya. And this all comes down to trust, joy and the wellness of both people and the planet (which are in fact so intertwined).
Customers deserve to be confident about the foods they consume, particularly in the functional food market where products that can be quite powerful see little in the way of quality control. We work hard to achieve this trust by being involved in every step of the production process and being transparent about what we do. For Joya, this means being obsessive about our sourcing, choosing only organic or wildcrafted ingredients from their native growing regions rather than those mass produced in labs. And this also means triple checking. We’ve seen one too many times that ingredients are not always what the manufacturer or supplier says they are, so we independently lab test our elixirs and teas to ensure potency and quality, and will not sell a product that doesn’t meet our high standards. This comes at a cost to us, but we wouldn’t do it any other way.
The second differentiator is our focus on flavour, and ultimately joy. One of the reasons I decided to enter the functional food market is that I was frustrated that most of the products I could find, while possibly beneficial, were not truly enjoyable. This is understandable, as particularly when it comes to potent herbal extracts, you’re often dealing with a strong bitter taste that is indicative of the ingredient’s medicinal qualities. But I don’t believe that sacrifice should be part of one’s wellness journey when savoring food is one of the ultimate pleasures in life! This is why we spend months in R&D to craft products that work AND taste great, and all without using sweeteners or additives of any kind. Or in Joya-speak, “All Joy. Zero Sacrifice.”
And last but not least is the second part of joy – being proud of our decisions and actions so that our customers can be proud of theirs. We’re equally committed to taking care of our planet as we are to taking care of our bodies. Every aspect of nature – from the air we breathe to the water we drink and the soil in which we grow our food – has a direct impact on our health. And of course it’s a beautiful world that we want to preserve. This is why we’re focused on environmental impact across our operations. We source from responsible producers and have created a truly sustainable packaging solution from our product packaging to our shipping supplies by using only packaging that is either reusable, recyclable or 100% compostable made with earth-friendly inks.
I would love to learn more about the intentional herbs you use in your products and why!
For me, it’s a bit of a journey deciding what ingredients will ultimately make it into a product. First, when starting to formulate a new product, I decide on the functional benefits that I want that product to provide. Each of our elixirs and teas (1) is adaptogenic, meaning that it helps support the body’s stress response, and (2) provides another one or two key benefits.
This holistic, 2-pronged methodology – one that I call “Functional, Squared” – is the key to our unique approach. While there are herbs and other botanicals that absolutely can provide certain benefits, such as digestive or immune support, they can’t act to their full potential when the body’s resources are diverted from these systems as a result of stress. However, including adaptogenic ingredients in our formulas helps ease the body’s response to stress, thereby allowing other complimentary ingredients to better support these systems.
When it comes to deciding which ingredients to use in each product, this is a combination of science, flavor and practice. The process is in part informed by choosing botanicals that not only provide the desired benefits, but that are also complementary in that they support each other’s actions. Similarly, the blended ingredients must of course complement each other’s flavor profile and result in a delicious final product. And lastly, I personally use or have used every ingredient in our products, and I’m often inspired by my experience with them.
We use a large number of incredible ingredients so I won’t go through them all, but you can find great overviews on the “Ingredient Intel” page of our website, where we dive into the history, traditional use and clinical research on our key ingredients.
Any new products on the horizon?
Ruth: Yes! Unfortunately I can’t divulge the details, but we’ll definitely be expanding all three product lines with new elixirs, teas and chocolate bars in the works. We’ll also be launching our Glow turmeric elixir blend in the new year and all the details are on our website at joya.ca. I’m very excited about that one – stay tuned!
