The HEALTH : June 2019 | Page 28

The Health | june, 2019 28 Nutrition Grazing on Amazin’ Graze Local startup brings delicious, healthy snacks to Malaysia M alaysia is famous for a plethora of multicultural and delicious food. However all the amazing delicacies tend to be loaded with calories. Well motivated by the passion for food and healthy living, three women established Amazin’ Graze, Malaysia’s very own local start up on delicious, healthy snacks. They have a huge range of healthy snacks like granolas, nuts and nut butters with a local punch! Think Malaysian flavours like pandan, gula melaka and coconut, all very yummy. Snack on this The story of Amazin’ Graze began in the kitchens of three women, Amy Zheng, Ching Yi Lee and Sabrina. All which whom were at the time living the corpo- rate lives. Brought together by a mutual passion for healthy eating, they discovered that while the most accessible Malaysian foods were indeed fast, cheap, and tasty, they lacked quality nutrition. Rather than merely commiserating over the issue, the three girls seized the opportunity to fill this gap in the market – and thus, Amazin’ Graze was born. Was the Malaysian market familiar to the idea of granola when first introduced? “When we started Amazin’ Graze nearly four years ago in mid 2015, very few people knew what Granola were. People asked us if they can eat it directly or even have it as part of their soup. A lot of people knew oats but not the yummy baked version of it with nuts and fruits,” says Zheng. “It definitely took us a few years to introduce con- sumers to the concept of granola. We even steered the market to view granola as a healthy snack, rather than just a breakfast option in the West. A lot of Amazin’ Graze customers now eat granola for breakfast, as their healthy work snack and even as a popcorn alter- native when watching TV.” Granola tends to get a bad reputation due to the content of sugar. How does Amazin’ Graze combat this notion? “First of all, we believe in achieving nutritional balance across all our products. This means that we are not draconian about any macro or micro nutrients and do not blindly demonize carbohydrates and sugar. We believe that healthy means to consume everything in moderation,” explains Ching. “Secondly, we use unrefined natural sugars such as molasses, honey and maple syrup that offer higher nutritional value than refined sugars and lower GI which keeps people feeling fuller for longer. The goal is to keep people enjoying their foods rather than offering an alternative that people will not be able to consume sustainably in the long run.” What sets Amazin’ Graze from its competitors? “What distinguishes us is our focus on product quality, speed of innovation and an enormous desire to delight our customers. We believe that Amazin’ Graze has the potential of becoming a household brand which is why we focused on creating fewer but excellent products that people would rave about.” “On top of this, we also understand the importance of constant innovation and are driven by a desire to delight our customers. This is why we create seasonal flavours and new products every quarter so our customers can rely on us to offer deliciously healthy snacks for themselves and also have the option of gift of health for their families & friends,” explains Sabrina. What are the go-to flavours? “Hazelnut Blackforest Granola is our all-time top sell- ing products, followed closely by Pandan Coconut Nut Mix (which also has won 2 stars for UK’s Great Taste Awards 2018),” states Zheng happily. “Our Coconut Kaya Granola is rising steadily in popularity since its introduction on AirAsia flights this year,” says Ching. — The Health Rather than merely commiserating over the issue, the three girls seized the opportunity to fill this gap in the market – and thus, Amazin’ Graze was born.”