Purpose in a Cup: Eightbillion’s vision to heal the planet through sustainability and nutrition

Leena Manro: 00:00

Welcome to Up to So Good, the podcast that unlocks the secrets of creating a purpose-driven business so we can all make this world a better place. Come join the conversation.

00:12

Hello, and welcome to Up To So Good, the podcast that explores the purpose of business. I'm your host, Leena Manro, also co-founder of All Purpose, a proudly certified B Corp. Today's episode is for anyone who drinks coffee, coffee, coffee in the morning, all day long, if you're a little addicted, if you're a lot addicted, well, even if you like tea, I think you might find this episode quite interesting, we're talking to Holly Xing. She's the founder of Eightbillion, the umbrella company that also owns products like JostArriba. We'll be focusing on JostArriba.

00:40

And just letting everyone know this is not in any way a product endorsement. We haven't been paid any money by Holly or Eightbillion or JostArriba. We just happen to actually like this product. It's a B Corp. They're doing good for the people and the planet. And it's one of those coffee beverages that's disrupting the whole caffeine industry. Why? Because it's got less caffeine, tastes pretty darn good, plus it's got a whole bunch of cool things inside it. You just have to watch the episode and listen. My favorite moment is when we talk about the caffeine and the unprotected caffeine. So I hope you enjoy this episode and there's lots to learn. Let's dig in.

01:18

And today we have a really special guest and one of my favorite people, Holly Xing. She's the co-founder of...

Holly Xing: 01:24

Eightbillion.

Leena Manro: 01:24

Eightbillion and?

Holly Xing: 01:27

And the product name is JostArriba.

Leena Manro: 01:30

When we first met you, it was at this giant... It was a big party that was happening here in the All Purpose Studio and-

Holly Xing: 01:39

Yes. That was for the B Champion retreat.

Leena Manro: 01:39

For the B Champions Retreat.

Holly Xing: 01:39

For this-

Leena Manro: 01:43

Yeah. There's like 300 people, and you had these samples of some of your product. I was blown away. The taste was so good. And now I am a bonafide... I don't know if you knew this, but I'm actually a bonafide customer of yours. I ordered online.

Holly Xing: 01:55

Thank you. Thank you.

Leena Manro: 01:57

We have it here at All Purpose. If you come to our studio and you want some of the JostArriba by Eightbillion.

Holly Xing: 02:00

Wow. Good pronunciation.

Leena Manro: 02:03

Did say it right?

Holly Xing: 02:03

Yes.

Leena Manro: 02:06

JostArriba by Eightbillion. You can drink it up because I quit coffee actually last November. And so the only type of a coffee product. And we're going to get into your product because it's not exactly a coffee product. In my opinion, it's quite better, quite better.

Holly Xing: 02:18

It's so much.

Leena Manro: 02:19

It's so good.

Holly Xing: 02:20

More than coffee.

Leena Manro: 02:20

I have a box of it here. And I guess if you're listening and you're not able to actually see the packaging, it's all paper on the outside and the inside, this is a.. Okay. It says it's a dietary supplement, so much more than coffee, but when I've tried it, I mean, it tastes just like coffee, but really good coffee. So can you explain what exactly is JostArriba?

Holly Xing: 02:44

Well, it's also a dietary supplement.

Leena Manro: 02:47

Okay.

Holly Xing: 02:47

Yeah. It's a concept maybe that's fairly new to the, I guess, Western culture that there's a differentiation between food and medicine, something, you eat food and to stop your hunger or your craving, to satisfy your craving, and you take pills to get healthy.

Leena Manro: 03:16

That's weird.

Holly Xing: 03:18

That's [inaudible 00:03:18].

Leena Manro: 03:18

That is weird. Yeah.

Holly Xing: 03:20

Yeah. But you and I know that in our cultures food is medicine. Yeah.

Leena Manro: 03:22

Food is medicine. Yeah.

Holly Xing: 03:23

We eat food, so we... Of course, it has to be enjoyable.

Leena Manro: 03:28

Of course.

Holly Xing: 03:28

I love food.

Leena Manro: 03:28

100%.

Holly Xing: 03:28

I mean, food is something I wake up every day looking forward to, including drinking JostArriba, but food can heal you and eating the wrong kind of food can kill you.

Leena Manro: 03:40

Some people have likened this to mushroom coffee. Is this mushroom coffee?

Holly Xing: 03:43

It's so much more than mushroom coffee.

Leena Manro: 03:46

What is mushroom coffee?

Holly Xing: 03:47

So mushroom coffee is basically... It's a category that started not too long ago and it's just basically adding mushroom powder to coffee and the mushroom being lion's mane mushroom. There's reishi mushroom. There's chaga. You name it. So mushrooms, in my opinion, are delicious, but it's hard for me to drink coffee that tastes like mushroom.

Leena Manro: 04:15

Yeah. It has really-

Holly Xing: 04:15

And I'm not alone.

Leena Manro: 04:15

No. And you're not alone. You're not alone. I've tried the mushroom coffee blends because I know that in the sort of alternative coffee space and health food space, it's a cool intersection. You've got a hot drink in the morning and then you've got some healthy additives, but it is hard to get it to taste, A, like coffee or, B, just good. It doesn't necessarily always taste good. But this stuff actually tastes quite good. It tastes like coffee. I don't taste-

Holly Xing: 04:39

Thank you. It took me a long time.

Leena Manro: 04:41

Yeah. I don't taste the mushroom in it at all.

Holly Xing: 04:43

It take me a long time. My background is dietary supplement. Well, I'm a nutritionist, but I have been a... My career is a formulating chemist and...

Leena Manro: 04:54

So you literally created this in your...

Holly Xing: 04:56

Yes.

Leena Manro: 04:57

Did you use your kitchen? You just put elements together, chemicals together, and made this substance?

Holly Xing: 05:01

Yes. Yes. Well-

Leena Manro: 05:02

Okay. Tell me, how did that happen? You just woke up one day-

Holly Xing: 05:04

Yes. And I don't think it was one day, one morning waking up. I've been in this industry for quite a while. I have been in the biohacking community for quite a while. So I'm not going to take credit for a mushroom coffee category. So that was already there.

Leena Manro: 05:20

You already knew about mushroom coffee. Yeah, yeah.

Holly Xing: 05:21

I already was drinking mushroom coffee, but I was like, "Okay." But I was working with these clinically proven ingredients that I was also taking in capsules and tablets. So I'm like, "Okay. Nobody is really doing that." Now I understand why they can't do it because it takes a lot of trial and error. So it took me a while to find the right ingredients and use the right technology to incorporate into JostArriba.

Leena Manro: 05:51

And did you experiment on yourself and your husband?

Holly Xing: 05:54

I did. Yes. Yes.

Leena Manro: 05:54

And your husband? Did you guys-

Holly Xing: 05:54

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But the first, I don't know, 20 different versions were disgusting. It was...

Leena Manro: 06:01

Terrible.

Holly Xing: 06:02

I swallow it because I knew it it was good for me, but I said to myself, "Nobody else is going to swallow this. So I need to make it a better tasting, and I need to make it more efficacious. I need to make sure that it's safe and something not..." Including myself, I want to drink it for the rest of my life. So luckily four years later, I feel better than ever and-

Leena Manro: 06:28

You've been drinking it every day, every morning?

Holly Xing: 06:29

Oh, yes. Yeah.

Leena Manro: 06:30

For four years?

Holly Xing: 06:30

Yes.

Leena Manro: 06:31

Wow.

Holly Xing: 06:31

Yeah. Yeah. I try to stop a couple of times just to see how I feel, because when you quit coffee, it was miserable, right?

Leena Manro: 06:43

I was miserable. Yeah.

Holly Xing: 06:43

Yeah. So I didn't want to create something that, okay, if I don't drink it one day, I turn into a zombie or... But I took a few days off here and there. No problem. No withdrawal symptoms. Yes.

Leena Manro: 07:03

Okay. So you were a chemist before.

Holly Xing: 07:05

I'm a nutritionist.

Leena Manro: 07:06

Nutritionist. But then you became a chemist for the cosmetic world, I believe. Wasn't it?

Holly Xing: 07:10

Yes. Well, okay.

Leena Manro: 07:10

Formulary?

Holly Xing: 07:10

My journey started as a nutritionist, and I had my own business as I had my own store selling nutritional supplement and all that that was fascinating right after I graduated from university, and then I was invited to learn with a biochemist and who's a formulating chemist to develop, well, all kinds of products, dietary supplement, beverages and cosmetic products, skincare. So I have seen it all. I understand the chemistry behind product development. In the last 10 years, I decided... I know skincare industry, cosmetic industry, is huge, and it's just not for me. Beauty is so superficial in that industry. And after spending so many years and trying to so-called fulfill people's dreams of becoming better looking, what they're not focusing on is what comes from inside, comes from what they drink and what they eat and how they take care of their body, how they exercise and even meditation.

08:31

So it was a great decision for me to get out of that industry and immerse myself in the industry of basically nootropics and adaptogens. And for those who are not familiar with those names, nootropics are basically the bioactives that help to boost your brain's performance.

Leena Manro: 08:54

Neurotropics? That's-

Holly Xing: 08:57

nootropics.

Leena Manro: 08:57

Nootropics. Oh, okay.

Holly Xing: 08:57

Yeah. Yeah. And adaptogens are basically a category of what botanicals and in some cases mushrooms that helps your body to cope with stress better.

Leena Manro: 09:08

Adaptogens?

Holly Xing: 09:09

Yes.

Leena Manro: 09:09

So some of the adaptogens that are in here are ashwagandha?

Holly Xing: 09:13

Ashwagandha. Yeah. Reishi mushroom. Yeah. Yeah.

Leena Manro: 09:14

Reishi mushroom's lion's mane mushroom? Is that-

Holly Xing: 09:16

Lion's mane. So they're not mutually exclusive. So one can be adaptogenic and also nootropic.

Leena Manro: 09:25

Got you.

Holly Xing: 09:25

So that's why this blend... Even coffee, coffee is nootropic as well. Too much coffee is not nootropic, so... And coffee... And one more ingredient in there is called L-theanine. So L-theanine is nootropic. It's amino acid from tea. You said you enjoy drinking tea, right?

Leena Manro: 09:55

I do enjoy tea.

Holly Xing: 09:55

And because it gives you a different sensation. It's this calming, soothing, focus.

Leena Manro: 10:02

What are neurotropics?

Holly Xing: 10:04

So nootropics are the bioactive compounds. They can be naturally occurring. They could be synthetic. Of course, everything in JostArriba is-

Leena Manro: 10:13

Bioactive? Even what does that mean, bioactive?

Holly Xing: 10:15

Well, something like say fiber is not necessarily bioactive.

Leena Manro: 10:22

Okay. Okay. Got you.

Holly Xing: 10:24

It's a part of your food. It's important for digesting, but it does not go into your bloodstream or cross the blood-brain barrier into your brain.

Leena Manro: 10:35

The blood-brain barrier. Right.

Holly Xing: 10:38

And adds impact to your mental performance.

Leena Manro: 10:43

Got you.

Holly Xing: 10:44

But those ingredients, those actives, those compounds, that do are bioactive. So every single molecule that you're drinking in JostArriba is bioactive.

Leena Manro: 10:57

I did not know that. That's interesting. So these things are crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Holly Xing: 11:03

Some of them do. Yeah. Yeah.

Leena Manro: 11:04

Some of them do. And basically they're good for your brain?

Holly Xing: 11:08

They're good for your brain. They're good for many other things. They're good for your adrenal. And they're good for lowering the cortisol level. And they're good for producing alpha wave versus beta wave. You need a balance. You need a combination of the wave so you can stay alert and without the anxiety, without the jitteriness.

Leena Manro: 11:32

So November of last year, just after 25 years of drinking coffee daily, and I was at that three to five cups a day, having the crashes, and like I said, I felt like my brain was just noisy. I couldn't sleep because my head is racing. I also had insomnia and all that stuff. So in last November, I just did a deep dive meditation type of a program and really occurred to me then that it was the coffee that was... In addition to other things, but coffee was a primary factor in just affecting me negatively. So I went on a completely... I took it out slowly, but eventually I just cut it right out. And it's honestly the hardest thing to cut out of your diet, right?

Holly Xing: 12:14

Yes. You're emotionally attached to it.

Leena Manro: 12:16

So emotionally attached. So that hot cup of coffee in the morning, you've got just the routine and the ritual and the flavor and the taste. I missed it so much. This sounds so dramatic. I know these are first world problems. I get it. But I missed it so much. It took me probably three months to finally not have that kind of daily... I was wistful. I missed it. I also could feel some of the benefits. It was really strange because actually I went through a couple of months of a crash. It was not... But at least I was able to sleep I found at night. So that was good. So when I met you, I was actually part way through that process and I had given it up. And so do people report... Have you heard daily?

Holly Xing: 13:02

Oh. Absolutely. Absolutely. We hear that every day. People, yeah, letting us know. And this is quite emotional, like what you have gone through, right? People have this borderline addiction, some of them, is addiction.

Leena Manro: 13:15

It's an addiction. It's an addiction.

Holly Xing: 13:15

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Physical...

Leena Manro: 13:18

Let's just say it right now. It's an addiction. Let's just call it what is.

Holly Xing: 13:22

Physical addiction and psychological addiction.

Leena Manro: 13:23

There's a psychological addiction. Yeah.

Holly Xing: 13:24

Yeah. To drinking coffee. And this is what I would describe. Regular cup of coffee, that's unprotected caffeine. So a lot of...

Leena Manro: 13:33

Unprotected caffeine?

Holly Xing: 13:34

Yes. So a lot of consumption. It's not just coffee. Just a lot of caffeinated drinks out there that's being consumed by a lot of people not understanding what they're drinking, how much caffeine they're drinking. Coffee at least the caffeine's found in coffee. A lot of the caffeinated drinks are just synthetic caffeine and plus chemicals, plus sugar. My husband comes from a beverage industry and I came from a dietary supplement. They got problems. We have technology. We have information. We're highly educated. We have medical tools to help us to accomplish things that we have not been able to for thousands of years. But we're sicker than ever.

Leena Manro: 14:22

Yeah, we are sicker than ever. That is true. So then what do you feel is the overall purpose of your business then?

Holly Xing: 14:28

Well, to improve our own well-being and each other's and consequently, and we take care of the planet together. I know it sounds cliche. I know. While I say it it's like, "Okay."

Leena Manro: 14:48

No. It's okay. It's okay.

Holly Xing: 14:49

But we're doing it already. Every sip we take, I drink, every sip you drink and is doing something good for yourself and you're a better person because of it and you treat each other kinder. If we all do that in this world with each other-

Leena Manro: 15:06

This world would be so much better.

Holly Xing: 15:07

Tell me about it.

Leena Manro: 15:07

Agreed. Agreed. Agreed.

Holly Xing: 15:08

Tell me about it.

Leena Manro: 15:09

It's true. Well, tell us, what are the bad things about caffeine? What are the effects of say just an unprotected...

Holly Xing: 15:15

Unprotected.

Leena Manro: 15:17

Daily... Let's say on average, the average adult has what? Two, three cups a day?

Holly Xing: 15:21

Yeah. Yes. Yeah.

Leena Manro: 15:23

Okay. So what is the negative effects?

Holly Xing: 15:24

Well, I'm going to say something that's a little controversial. I don't think coffee is guilty. I think the way we drink coffee probably is more detrimental to our health. Sadly, Americans consume... Most of our antioxidant consumption comes from coffee.

Leena Manro: 15:45

Oh. But that's good.

Holly Xing: 15:46

That's good. However, there's a lot of ways of drinking coffee that's not healthy. People add a lot of things that they shouldn't.

Leena Manro: 15:54

Okay. That's true.

Holly Xing: 15:55

And also the caffeine, in regular cup of coffee, you drink one cup, two cups. If you can stop right there and move on to other things-

Leena Manro: 16:06

Then you're fine.

Holly Xing: 16:07

Then you're fine. But-

Leena Manro: 16:08

Three to five cups a day.

Holly Xing: 16:09

Yeah. They line up and they pay ridiculous amount of money and they get something that you think it's a cup of coffee. No. Read the ingredient list.

Leena Manro: 16:19

It tastes so good though. It does take good.

Holly Xing: 16:19

I was looking at the pumpkin spice latte the other day. I was looking up how many grams of sugar. I was shocked.

Leena Manro: 16:26

How much?

Holly Xing: 16:27

50 grams of sugar.

Leena Manro: 16:27

50 grams.

Holly Xing: 16:29

Yeah. Yeah. In one cup.

Leena Manro: 16:31

What is that? Like a chocolate bar?

Holly Xing: 16:32

That's -

Leena Manro: 16:33

That's half a chocolate bar or something, isn't it?

Holly Xing: 16:35

Yeah. The chocolate bar probably has 30% sugar in there. So yeah.

Leena Manro: 16:39

Oh, wow.

Holly Xing: 16:40

So yeah, imagine eating a whole... Yeah. Have a whole chocolate bar in your cup of coffee.

Leena Manro: 16:48

For breakfast.

Holly Xing: 16:49

Yes. And so that's the problem. And unprotected caffeine versus protected caffeine in our case. First of all, the caffeine content is only half of the regular cup of coffee.

Leena Manro: 17:01

Yes. That's right.

Holly Xing: 17:02

And similar to cup of green tea. And L-theanine, which is the amino acid in green tea, it's in JostArriba.

Leena Manro: 17:12

That's right.

Holly Xing: 17:12

That's why when you drink JostArriba, the sensation you get is very similar to drinking cup of tea.

Leena Manro: 17:18

I've noticed that. I feel very calm. I feel very calm.

Holly Xing: 17:21

Yes. Yes. That's the most important thing.

Leena Manro: 17:24

Because I feel like when I went on my detox... Because I was drinking too much coffee, honestly, three to five cups and unprotected caffeine. I love this.

Holly Xing: 17:35

There you go.

Leena Manro: 17:35

You need to-

Holly Xing: 17:36

Trademark that?

Leena Manro: 17:36

You need to trademark that. Yeah. Unprotected. People, make sure you have unprotected... Don't have unprotected caffeine.

Holly Xing: 17:43

Drink coffee responsibly. Or do caffeine responsibly.

Leena Manro: 17:48

Drink caffeine responsibly.

Holly Xing: 17:48

We're starting a campaign.

Leena Manro: 17:51

Don't drink unprotected caffeine. I love it. Something about you were saying earlier was spice good for your skin? Tell me.

Holly Xing: 17:56

Oh, absolutely. Spice is good for your skin and good for your brain.

Leena Manro: 18:00

Oh. Tell me more.

Holly Xing: 18:01

Yeah. Chili pepper. Turmeric.

Leena Manro: 18:03

Really?

Holly Xing: 18:04

So speaking of BDNF, of course you don't have to, I wasn't going to put turmeric in JostArriba. That would be...

Leena Manro: 18:12

I've seen people put turmeric and I mean-

Holly Xing: 18:14

You could. You could. You could. Yeah.

Leena Manro: 18:15

I mean, originally my parents are from India. And I have to say, I personally really bothers me when turmeric is in a lot of... Just it's in everything. I feel like I saw a deodorant one day that had turmeric or something. I was just like, "Are you kidding me? Just stop with the turmeric. It tastes really good in Indian food, but please."

Holly Xing: 18:36

But a turmeric is really good for boosting your BDNF.

Leena Manro: 18:41

Okay. Turmeric is. And chili and spicy food, is it good?

Holly Xing: 18:45

Yeah.

Leena Manro: 18:45

Really?

Holly Xing: 18:45

Antioxidant and blood circulation. Antioxidant period is so important for your brain as a-

Leena Manro: 18:53

So what about some normal things that people are daily eating? What would be some things you would suggest just random, some things that we should be consuming?

Holly Xing: 19:02

Well, not random, but essential fatty acids. Omega-3, so important.

Leena Manro: 19:09

Yeah. Daily.

Holly Xing: 19:10

So important. Just remember your brain is made of fat, essential fatty acids, omega-3. So some people don't eat fish, but fish will be a good source.

Leena Manro: 19:22

But also oils, right?

Holly Xing: 19:24

Oils. Yeah. So if you want to be able to manage your weight without struggling with diets, especially restricting your calories or reducing fat, no, you want fat. Well, not all fats. The good fats, is... The best [inaudible 00:19:42] is-

Leena Manro: 19:42

Is butter okay? Butter okay fat?

Holly Xing: 19:46

It depends on how you consume it. Yeah. Moderation is the key, again. If you want to cook with butter, that's better than cooking with, say, olive oil. But then you add... I will use olive oil without cooking.

Leena Manro: 20:03

Raw olive oil? Don't cook olive oil.

Holly Xing: 20:05

Yeah olive oil. Don't cook olive.

Leena Manro: 20:06

Not even on low heat? Just don't?

Holly Xing: 20:07

Maybe low heat.

Leena Manro: 20:09

But that's it, right?

Holly Xing: 20:09

But if you really want to cook with oil, use avocado oil.

Leena Manro: 20:13

I've heard this. Yeah.

Holly Xing: 20:14

Yeah. It has-

Leena Manro: 20:15

A higher burning point or something?

Holly Xing: 20:16

Exactly. Yeah. So it's more stable.

Leena Manro: 20:18

What about coconut oil?

Holly Xing: 20:19

You can do that. Yeah. I love...

Leena Manro: 20:22

High boiling again?

Holly Xing: 20:24

Yes. I love... So the flash point, it would be olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil and then butter. So MCT oil, median chain triglyceride, it's actually from coconut oil.

Leena Manro: 20:36

It's from coconut oil?

Holly Xing: 20:37

Yeah. Yeah.

Leena Manro: 20:37

Okay.

Holly Xing: 20:38

So you can just use coconut oil to get MCT oil, which does have health benefits if consumed in moderation.

Leena Manro: 20:50

Got you.

Holly Xing: 20:50

Yeah. And I... Yeah.

Leena Manro: 20:51

Would you recommend putting that in your coffee? Or no?

Holly Xing: 20:53

Absolutely. Which I do.

Leena Manro: 20:54

Yeah?

Holly Xing: 20:55

Yeah. You want to hear my hack?

Leena Manro: 20:56

Yes. Okay. Okay. I want to hear your hack. What's your hack?

Holly Xing: 20:58

Well, normally I just drink JostArriba the way it is.

Leena Manro: 21:00

You've got amazing skin. You look very, very young. I know you. I know your energy. You're super, super smart.

Holly Xing: 21:07

Thank you.

Leena Manro: 21:07

So what's your hack? What's your hack?

Holly Xing: 21:08

So when I make a cup of JostArriba, I think about what do I add in there that's going to help with my brain. So MCT oil, coconut oil, is something I would quite often use. Cacao powder.

Leena Manro: 21:22

Really?

Holly Xing: 21:23

Yes.

Leena Manro: 21:23

Cacao powder?

Holly Xing: 21:25

Yeah. Not the chocolate, chocolate we get from the store. Huge difference. Cacao powder is so bitter, but I know it's so good for me. So I add... So coconut oil, cacao powder, cinnamon.

Leena Manro: 21:38

Cinnamon? Sounds good.

Holly Xing: 21:39

Yeah. Yeah. Cayenne pepper.

Leena Manro: 21:40

Okay. Oh, that would be nice.

Holly Xing: 21:42

If you want a little bit sweetness, like maple syrup. If you dare, like I do once a week, I will add an egg, omega-3 egg.

Leena Manro: 21:53

Into your coffee?

Holly Xing: 21:53

Into coffee. I use a blender. And then so it's emulsified. There's natural emulsifiers in eggs. And so that's a great combination with coconut oil and with all the spices. And oil is a delivery vehicle for the spices, for the antioxidants in the spices.

Leena Manro: 22:12

Okay. That is interesting [inaudible 00:22:14].

Holly Xing: 22:14

So that is the drink. Yeah.

Leena Manro: 22:16

You had me until the egg, but okay.

Holly Xing: 22:19

Forget about that. But you know what? You don't even don't taste the egg. You just-

Leena Manro: 22:24

I guess when it's emulsified, when it's blended, you wouldn't taste it. It just adds protein.

Holly Xing: 22:25

I mean, when you eat a cake for example.

Leena Manro: 22:29

Right. You can [inaudible 00:22:29]. I see your point.

Holly Xing: 22:29

Yeah. There's eggs, but you don't. That's not something you-

Leena Manro: 22:32

And then it's giving you a bunch of protein, I suppose.

Holly Xing: 22:35

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And in this case omega-3 [inaudible 00:22:37].

Leena Manro: 22:37

Eggs are good for you. Eggs are good for you.

Holly Xing: 22:39

Yeah. Yeah. [inaudible 00:22:39].

Leena Manro: 22:39

See, that's another one that's got such a bad rep about the cholesterol and this and that with eggs.

Holly Xing: 22:44

You know what? Cholesterol is so innocent.

Leena Manro: 22:45

So innocent?

Holly Xing: 22:46

Cholesterol that we consume does not go straight to your blood. Our brain is made of cholesterol as well. So if you deprive your brain and also if you deprive your body of a cholesterol, your body's going to produce cholesterol.

Leena Manro: 23:02

Oh, that makes sense, right, because we're always looking for equilibrium. We're looking for balance. So...

Holly Xing: 23:06

Yeah. It's very complicated, Leena. It's not easy for me to sit here. I have gone through years of education and I have been in this industry for so long and I have seen everything all the way from behind the scene, the chemical industry, suppliers, manufacturers, product development, into branding, marketing. I've seen it all. That's why for me, this is a dream coming true to make things from the very beginning to the very end the way I know is the way I want to be, the kind of products I want to consume and the kind of information I want to be given, the truth. I want to be given the truth. And that's why being B corp transparency.

Leena Manro: 23:55

Yes. There's transparency there. You're forced to. You're being forced to be held... You're held accountable.

Holly Xing: 24:00

And we want to. We want to.

Leena Manro: 24:00

We want to. Yeah. I agree.

Holly Xing: 24:02

I want to be able to sleep at night and knowing that I have done everything I can to take care of myself, other people, the planet, and I get to do that again in the morning.

Leena Manro: 24:11

So with that mandate, and by the way, that is... When we first met and we started talking about these things, these are topics that are very close to my heart, and it was really beautiful. You put your money where your mouth is in a sense, quite literally with your product, but I mean, in that you are a B Corp.

Holly Xing: 24:30

Yes. Certified B corp.

Leena Manro: 24:33

Certified B corp. If you want to in a couple of sentences, maybe for our audience, explain B Corp.

Holly Xing: 24:38

Yeah. I think it's... For us, we're measured against the highest standard and to operate as a business to help with our community, our customers and our team and our planet.

Leena Manro: 24:57

And the environment. Yeah.

Holly Xing: 24:59

And the environment, our planet.

Leena Manro: 25:01

So by being certified B Corp, this is an objective measure, an objective standard, kind of like certified organic would be on other products. certified B Corp is like that you know this company has been vetted by an objective standard and it's got a seal of approval. So that's a huge thing, to be a B corp.

Holly Xing: 25:20

Yeah. We've gone through what? 151 questions and create, I don't know, piles of SOPs, manuals and... Yeah. And-

Leena Manro: 25:28

It's not easy feat. No.

Holly Xing: 25:30

It's not. And it's something, but once you get certified, we're held accountable. And then we have... That's in our DNA now. We have the confidence. We know who we are.

Leena Manro: 25:39

It's part of the mission. It's part of... Yeah.

Holly Xing: 25:42

Yeah. We don't have to go around and trying to seek for validation. We know, yeah, this is what we want to do.

Leena Manro: 25:50

And the other thing that you are also is 1% for the planet. So what does that mean?

Holly Xing: 25:54

That means the company has dedicated, will always dedicate, 1%, at least 1%, of their-

Leena Manro: 26:07

Before taxes.

Holly Xing: 26:08

Yeah. Its revenue.

Leena Manro: 26:09

Its revenue. Yeah.

Holly Xing: 26:09

Yeah. Revenue. Yeah.

Leena Manro: 26:10

Revenue.

Holly Xing: 26:10

To one of the environmental partners that 1% Planet brings into their organization. So what we have chosen is to partner with this organization called EatReal.org.

Leena Manro: 26:24

Amazing.

Holly Xing: 26:25

And their mandate is to help our future generations to eat real food, delicious real food, healthy food and instead of processed food. And one of their... Actually, I believe it's their focus of 2024, is to help reduce the consumption of added sugar, not naturally occurring sugar, added sugar, in the school children's diet by 30%.

Leena Manro: 26:55

That is so beautiful. Well, so Eightbillion has... It's already working. You're already working towards doing good impact related activities for this planet, for the world, for-

Holly Xing: 27:07

I think we are. Yeah. We're already.

Leena Manro: 27:08

You guys really are.

Holly Xing: 27:09

One step at a time.

Leena Manro: 27:10

One step at a time.

Holly Xing: 27:11

One sip at a time.

Leena Manro: 27:12

One sip at a time. Well, okay. You are using your business for a greater purpose. And I love that. And we want to-

Holly Xing: 27:19

That's so powerful.

Leena Manro: 27:19

So powerful.

Holly Xing: 27:20

It's such a wonderful feeling. Of course we're just getting started.

Leena Manro: 27:24

I know. It's great.

Holly Xing: 27:25

But oh, my God. There are eight billion people

Leena Manro: 27:27

There are. There are.

Holly Xing: 27:29

On the planet.

Leena Manro: 27:29

And there's so many ways that we can all do our part. And I think it's something that you'd said earlier, but if it starts with even just taking care of yourself, your mind, your body, your spirit, then you can go on and continue that. You'll feel better. And you want to take care of others. You want to do good for humanity. There are going to be people who are listening who are just sort of thinking, "Well, it might be all well and good for you to be doing things that are good business, but..." I feel like there's a resistance there with some people because they don't realize you can have both. You can make profit and you can make an impact.

Holly Xing: 28:02

Absolutely.

Leena Manro: 28:02

So what do you say to those people?

Holly Xing: 28:03

I think every decision we make is an important decision, everything we consume. So for anybody to say, "No, I have no power to make decisions. I have no power to make changes," that's not...

Leena Manro: 28:16

That's not true.

Holly Xing: 28:17

That's not true.

Leena Manro: 28:17

I agree with you.

Holly Xing: 28:18

You drink... Every penny you spend, everything you drink, every decision you make to put in your mouth-

Leena Manro: 28:24

Every piece of media you consume.

Holly Xing: 28:25

Yes. Exactly.

Leena Manro: 28:27

Every piece of media. Everything we watch on TV, everything-

Holly Xing: 28:29

Has consequence. Has impact.

Leena Manro: 28:30

Absolutely. Yeah. I think it's a conscious decision too. If you're going to go into business or work for a company or whatever it is you're doing with your gift and your talent and your expertise, I think we have a choice whether or not we want to expend that energy on something that is purposeful. And I think that what also... I didn't know this before we went into an impact business because All Purpose, our company, is also an impact agency. We work with clients who are impact clients and we work in spaces. I love spaces that create joy. I love that. Any of the media that I personally create as a writer and a director is rich, I hope anyway, with messages of joy and uplifting content. You know? And I'm very careful about the media I consume for that reason, because again, it's so multi-layered, right?

Holly Xing: 29:17

Yeah.

Leena Manro: 29:18

But anyone who goes down this path, the thing that I think is so powerful is that you have a choice. As you said, there are many, many decisions you make on a daily basis. And these choices accumulate. And so the more you go down that path of purpose-driven, intentional, positive choices, big or small, every single thing, it just accumulates and accumulates step by step. I hope. My desire is that people are inspired by your story.

Holly Xing: 29:45

Thank you.

Leena Manro: 29:46

That they can get off the treadmill, ask themselves if they're doing a job, a vocation, that is purposeful, and if not, start to take those steps to make that come true, because it can come true, right?

Holly Xing: 29:58

Yeah. And all decisions are equal. Every sip, every bite, every word we say to ourselves and to each other, they're all equally important. That's my...

Leena Manro: 30:12

Yeah. It does. And we can all be working... Should we do it together? We can all be working up to so good.

Holly Xing: 30:17

I can't see.

Leena Manro: 30:21

Okay. We can all be up to so good.

Holly Xing: 30:24

Up to so good.

Leena Manro: 30:24

It feels good. It feels good, doesn't it? It feels good. I mean...

Holly Xing: 30:24

It does. It does feel so good.

Leena Manro: 30:30

It does feel so good to just be singing out there and being up to so good.

Holly Xing: 30:35

Thank you.

Leena Manro: 30:36

Thank you so much for joining us today in this vault, which is the All Purpose vault, our little studio space within our big studio, because it's a place where these things have been kept a secret for far too long.

Holly Xing: 30:49

I know.

Leena Manro: 30:49

So we're going to unleash these secrets of good business here on up to So good. And I want to thank you so much for joining us. Check out our website for the links to this particular product and its website, JostArriba produced by Eightbillion. Also as a very generous offer, Holly and Eightbillion and JostArriba has offered a discount code for our listeners. If you put in Up to So Good on their website, you can get 20% off of the products up until the end of January. Of course special thank you to All Purpose. We are a design agency and we're producing this all in-house. And special thank you also to J Pod Creations, who's helping us create the podcast experience.

31:33

Well, that's all the time we have for today's show. Thank you so much for joining us. And if you've enjoyed the show, please Subscribe, hit the Like button or share an episode. And if you have any feedback, questions or comments or show ideas, you can email us directly at hello@allpurpose.io. Thank you once again for joining us. We'll see you next time.