Today we’d like to introduce you to Wanda Malhotra.
Wanda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a certified health coach and crunchy mama of three.
I have spent over 25 years in the natural cosmetic industry, creating vegan and organic skincare and hair care products, developing corporate health and wellness events, and hands-on cooking classes emphasizing plant-based meals. Today, I use my experience and high standards to consciously develop and curate clean beauty products, wellness, and self-care accessories, sustainable home, and kitchen items, and healthy snacks.
I love curating products for Crunchy Mama Box, but what I love most about it is that we are not just a curated gift box company; we are a community of mama’s that are on a mission to spread love, support, and encouragement as we aim to live a healthy and sustainable life.
Giving Back is not just our mission but our core value, we support women-owned, small, and sustainable businesses that make clean, healthy products and that are motivated by a cause. Social projects have been part of my life since childhood, volunteering and later as part of every business I had.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Not at all! I faced so many struggles when I started developing skincare and hair care products (back in 1995). My biggest struggle as a small, woman-owned business in Brazil was to source all-natural ingredients that were organic and fair trade. You would think that in a country where exotic fruits, roots, nuts, and vegetables were abundant, it would be easy to find that.
At the time, the only way to source these products was to either to grow them yourself (we always had a garden growing fruits and vegetables at our house) or buy directly from the Indigenous tribes in the Amazon. I remember visiting the Amazon and learning so much about its rich biodiversity. That was a struggle that lead to an amazing learning experience. Don’t all struggles lead us to great teachings?
The next big struggle was to get these ingredients approved for use in personal care by our Health Ministry. Today there are great raw material companies that sustainably source these ingredients while giving back to the Amazon forest and its Indigenous communities.
One of the saddest struggles we faced was getting our products approved without animal testing. Chemists, pharmacists, and the Brazilian Health Ministry took a long time to accept that a product could be “human tested”, vegan and cruelty-free. Now, we have great certifications such as Leaping Bunny that support brands that do not test on animals.
I could go on and on about struggles, but I think these are the most unforgettable ones for me. Today with clean beauty, sustainable packaging, certifications, and a more conscious supply chain we can create amazing products that perform and also help take care of our planet. There is still a lot of work to do, lots of struggles along the way, but the best part is the journey, isn’t it?!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I have two businesses, Crunchy Mama Box and Root Journey.
At Crunchy Mama Box you will find a highly curated selection of healthy snacks, clean beauty products, eco-friendly home goods, wellness items, handmade jewelry, accessories, and more. I personally review and test all the products found on our marketplace.
As we grow we are adding more crunchy mamas and certified health coaches to our team, which is a community on a movement to provide a healthier life for the ones we love and for our planet. We also provide information on ingredients we approve and don’t approve of, education is a very important part of our business.
Our Facebook group called Crunchy Mama Strong is a space where families feel connection and support in other ways. This is a safe space where they can share moments of joy, sadness, frustration, confusion, hope, anger, and triumphs as they navigate this time as a parent. So much to learn from all the Crunchy members of the group!
Root Journey is a holistic approach to beauty, health, and wellness. The goal is to feed the mind, body, and soul with only what’s pure, healthy, non-toxic, and safe while protecting the environment. Root Journey offers a vegan skincare line that was created to nourish the body from the outside in, based on the principle that forming your own clean beauty routine doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming to be effective.
To nourish the body and mind from the inside out, Root Journey offers wellness programs that include workshops, health coaching, and resources that will help guide your journey to a healthier lifestyle. Root Journey skincare comes in sustainable packaging and is Leaping Bunny Vegan and Cruelty-free certified; and gives back to causes that support environmental conservation, animal protection, and social responsibility.
I am very proud of both brands and how we are helping the planet and our communities through all the products and services we offer.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Knoxville is a beautiful city, with kind, friendly people and nature. It is a great place to raise kids and start a business, the Chamber of Commerce is very supportive, as well as other organizations.
There are a lot of creative and new ideas being brought to Knoxville. The only things I wish we had more in Knoxville are vegan restaurants and bakeries, but I’m sure very soon they will be opening up here!
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@crunchymamabox.com
- Website: crunchymamabox.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crunchymamabox/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crunchymamabox
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCazdp3SP_T2pndKuqPpzWYg
- Other: rootjourney.com