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Hi Christiana! Could you tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to Beijing?
I’m a Chinese-Kiwi (aka “Chiwi”) from Auckland, NZ. I started my career in PR, marketing New Zealand as a tourism destination to travelers from Asia. Although it was great fun, where I did things like throwing Bollywood stars (that I didn’t recognize) out of planes, kayaking with HK indie musicians (that I also didn’t recognize) and wine tasting with Chinese movie stars (that I also didn’t recognize), I soon realized that I was completely out of touch with Asian pop culture. I decided that if I wanted to develop further as an Asian marketing specialist, I needed to spend time there and familiarize myself with the scene first-hand. I threw my CV out and what came back was a job as a marketing consultant for a luxury travel company based in Beijing, so I packed my bags and moved here.
What’s the Yeyo Yogurt story? We’d love to know what inspired you to make your own coconut yoghurt.
Here comes the sob story… After moving from pure little NZ to the grungy big smoke of Beijing, my social life took a step up, but my health, well, you guessed it. I developed a lot of digestive issues, as many do. But what was worse was that for a whole year, I had constant unexplainable rashes and horrible eczema. I went to numerous doctors, western and Chinese, and spent a lot of money trying to fix the problem, to no avail. It was super stressful and embarrassing. Summer was the worst, as it was all over my arms and legs.
I did a lot of reading and that’s when I discovered there was a big link between digestive health and skin. Your skin is your body’s biggest organ. It plays a vital part in protecting you from toxins entering your body, as well as excreting toxins out. That’s why in Chinese medicine they practice cupping, to draw out the toxins through your skin. (Yes, I did try it and it kinda worked, but was not a long term solution as it was not treating the root of the problem).
I started to seriously pay attention to my digestive health, avoiding processed foods and inflammatory foods that were known to cause eczema flare-ups, and also trying an elimination diet to figure out exactly what my body did not respond well to. It was through this that I discovered the main culprit – dairy. This didn’t come as a huge surprise as I’d always been sensitive to dairy back home, but I was still able to eat the occasional pizza and have yogurt with my muesli in the morning. Now I had to cut it out cold turkey and I was devastated, especially when I found that there were no dairy-alternative foods around! Back home there were numerous brands of coconut yogurt at the supermarket, but in Beijing, nothing. So the natural solution was to make my own.
I went to my best friend (another kiwi, and host of cooking show Graci in the Kitchen) and learnt to make coconut yogurt from her. I was sick of people feeling sorry for me for not being able to eat the dairy-laden desserts at dinner parties so started bringing my coconut yogurt, and everyone loved it. I discovered that there were plenty of other dairy-free people, vegans, and coconut lovers out there that were equally sad about the absence of coconut yogurt in Beijing. So, I decided to make mine available to everyone and thus Yeyo was born.
Could you run us through some of health benefits of your coconut yoghurt? Is it healthier than regular dairy yoghurt?
The number one health benefit that Yeyo has is that it’s good for the soul because it’s damn tasty! Everyone who knows me knows how much I love good food, so my number 1 factor in product development is taste (hence the slogan ’Delicious and Dairy Free’). Healthy and wholesome foods often get a bad rap in the taste department. Food labeled ‘vegan’, ‘gluten free’ and ‘diary free’ are not usually the sexiest and people often see them as ‘rabbit food’ or not ‘real’ food. But actually, that’s far from the case! I hope that Yeyo can play a part in correcting that perception, which is why I create a different bad-ass compote to go with the yogurt every week, from bannoffee date to chocolate covered strawberries to pina colada.
As for physical health benefits of coconut yogurt, there are plenty. The main ingredient is coconut milk, the superstar of superfoods, and with a supporting act of digestion-enhancing probiotics, it’s great news for a wholesome diet. Before I go on about the exact benefits of coconut however, I have to mention that coconut yogurt is not necessarily a calorie-counter’s best friend as it does contain more fat than regular cow’s milk yogurt. But as people are becoming increasingly aware, it’s quality and not quantity of calories that matter for a healthy diet, and coconut fat sure has the quality factor.
Supports digestion
Unlike animal fat, coconut fat occurs in the form of medium chain saturated fatty acids (MCFAs) which are processed much more efficiently than long-chain fatty acids contained in most other foods. Coconut oil is thermogenic, which means eating it increases energy expenditure (fat burning) compared to the same amount of calories from other fats, and can actually speed up metabolism. Coconut is also an inflammation reducing food, and helps improves bowel function. All of this paired with 3 different strains of pro-biotics work together to support overall healthy digestion.
Boosts immunity
Coconut milk also helps to boost immunity. It contains a large amount of lauric acid, which is converted by the body into a highly beneficial compound called monolaurin, an antiviral and antibacterial that destroys a wide variety of disease causing organisms.
Promotes healthy hair, skin and bones
Coconut promotes healthy looking hair and skin, by nourishing the body nourishment with calcium, essential fats, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It can also help your body absorb all of the above, better feeding your luscious locks and pearly whites.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced since opening Yeyo Yoghurt? How’s the public response been so far?
I’ve been really greateful with the overwhelming support I’ve received for Yeyo so far. I have regular customers who love the product, vegans, dairy intolerant, and general dessert lovers alike. I’m really happy to be providing a truly unique product that fulfills a real need and adds value to people’s wellbeing.
My biggest challenge at the moment is actually having the energy to keep it going on top of my full time job. It started in my kitchen as something I made for myself and has grown organically from there so I’m still the main person that makes and distributes everything. Though it can be tiring, it’s very rewarding. Sometimes when I’m super tired and ready to slack off, I’ll get a message from a client saying that Yeyo makes them look forward to breakfast, and that gives me just the fuel to get back in again. I’m hoping to overcome this challenge by hustling up a crew of dairy-free trendsetters to join me in my crusade. Perhaps JingJobs can help?
Have you noticed health consciousness in Beijing growing? Why do you think that is?
I definitely feel that people in Beijing are becoming more health conscious. There are new healthy eateries and yoga studios popping up everywhere and that’s super awesome! This is all part of a wider trend amongst China’s urban population and has been acknowledged in many China market reports, including a recent one by McKinsey & Co. There are so many polluting environmental factors around us which we can’t control so we turn to things we can. Diet and exercise is the natural place to start.
Could you tell us some of your favourite places to go to in Beijing? (food, shopping etc.)
Eat
Obentos, Tribe – my go-tos for clean eating
The Hatchery – Love seeing the new concepts they come up with
Great Leap Pizza – Nuzino sans cheese is my guilty pleasure (don’t let them tell you it doesn’t taste good without the cheese, it’s divine!)
Shop
Pop-up Beijing – tastefully curated vintage and design pieces and positively charming hosts. I want everything in this shop!
Exercise
Fight Fusion (formerly fight camp) – Throwing some early morning punches sure gets you in a kick-ass mood for the rest of the day
Chaoyang Park – love going for a run in the first few weeks of spring and watching the cherry blossoms come into bloom
To order Yeyo Yogurt, add their wechat: yeyo-yogurt
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