Chocolate with Soul

 

Chocolate temptations are hard to be ignored. I remember launching my latest book at the Cheese and Chocolate Bar at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and thinking: how can you resist chocolate?

Cheese and Chocolate Bar, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

The  Sugar Reduction Programme published by Childhood obesity, followed by The tax on sugar introduced last April, are the first attempts to break free from the obesogenic environment  that nurtures obesity and unnatural weight gain.

With a more than double consumption than the recommended amount of sugar, one in three children is obese by the time they are 10. Chances are that one in three children will grow to be an overweight adult, suffering of type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Can you give up chocolate?

What if you don’t need to?

We team up with Dr Gill Barham, who broadcasts The Vitality Hour on BYP TV and start searching for Solutionaries who are not afraid of sharing their innovations and unique products.  When we first heard the story of Mani and Ash Himani, we all agreed that they live their own story, the story of Chocolate with Soul.

MADE WITH LOVE

Mani worked in the city of London for 22 years, when she found herself fundamentally questioning her current predicament in life and how far from her purpose she was living. Trying to run her city career alongside her holistic health vision, was like running on two parallel paths which would never quite meet and the energy to keep running both routes simultaneously, was beginning to impact her health.

When Mani went on a juicing detox course four years ago, she decided to deliberately create a healthier balance in her own life. At the end of the course, she loved the way it had made her feel on the inside, and that lead her to make few conscious lifestyle changes which impacted her life at first and then the lives of others.

Her husband, Ash, had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and his chocoholic tendencies were a running concern for Mani, especially when he would return to the supermarket’s checkout with multiple chocolate bars, claiming that his reason for bringing back the variety was that he could not make a choice amongst so many amazing flavours. Mani started to ask herself a more realistic question: How could she embark on a quest for a healthier lifestyle that could work for the complete chocoholic? Together, the couple began to create sugar free chocolate recipes and The Veda Soul Company was just an organic step forward into their journey into a new found freedom.

Her husband Ash is a qualified pharmacist, who currently continues his pharmacy career while building The Veda Soul Company in alignment with their holistic approach to health and well being.

‘It took a while to get things off the ground, because we were trying to find a way of doing the artisan chocolates whilst aligning it to our vision of helping people fall in love with themselves. We always knew that our entire range would be made with organic, ethically sourced ingredients and made with all our love in a positive environment, but our lack of confidence forced us to believe that this was not enough of an offering to deliver our vision. Learning to overcome fears and insecurities is part of the journey of any passion-led business. Soon enough, we found our way and connected to our inner confidence and we launched in October of 2017.’ Mani says.

Through a labour of love and a ‘serious dose of passion’, Mani and Ash put every ounce of love and soul into the process end to end. They created a range of decadent treats, 100% Vegan, 100% Organic, free of refined sugar, a perfect alternative sweet treat, which they both enjoy.

‘The products provide a conscious treat that is nourishing, decadent and filled with goodness, packaged into tins and boxes which make people feel special and feel inspired. Our mission is to change the world one box or tin at a time. As we grow we would like to work more directly with the farmers and support local communities.’ Ash says.

They make every effort to ensure that their unique creations are made from nothing but the finest organic ingredients, sourced from suppliers that value ethics and care through the entire food chain. 

‘Every tin of oat delights and every box of chocolate bars contain an inspirational quote, written by us. Our aim with this is to inspire a mindful moment, where the consumer pauses and enjoys some inspiration and then continues into the eating experience with mindfulness. All of our packaging utilises recycled waste from the cacao industry and it is important to us that we use up the waste that we are creating within the industry that we are part of.’ Mani adds proudly.

‘We sell online and visit lots of vegan festivals and other markets and events to showcase our products. We love to share our story and encourage people that visit us to believe in their dream. We meet other business owners with a passion for their offerings and we support each other. Our business is more about the experience than it is about the products. When people are eating our chocolate, they enter a journey of flavours and understand the passion and love that has gone into them, they appreciate and value the offering and our vision is fulfilled each time.’ Ash says.

‘We have a love for inspiring and being inspired.  Each of our rose gold tins and luxurious boxes of magic come with an inspirational quote card. We also  share our inspirational quotes on a daily basis on Instagram and Facebook, for our daily contribution of positivity into the world.’

It is fair to say that Mani and Ash Hirani are the heart and Soul of the Chocolate Made With Love.