Making Something From Nothing: Wanda Malhotra of ‘Crunchy Mama Box’ On How To Go From Idea To Launch
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Work smarter not harder. When you are struggling, reassess and make the necessary changes. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it, outsource. When you are working too hard and not getting the expected results it’s time to bring in experts and stick to what you love and do best.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Wanda Malhotra.
Wanda Malhotra is the Founder of Crunchy Mama Box eco marketplace as well as a Certified Health Coach and mother of three. Wanda was born and raised in the fertile lands of Brazil, where she learned about botanicals, holistic healing, and Ayurveda which she now shares with a community of families looking to learn, cultivate and grow their commitments to better living.
Prior to starting the company, Wanda spent over 20 years in the natural cosmetic industry creating vegan and organic skincare, henna, and plant-based hair products and developing corporate wellness events. Today, Wanda uses her healthy living experience to cut through the clutter of the wellness industry and provide consumers with only consciously curated brands that truly promote a sustainable lifestyle.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
I was born and raised in Brazil, where I learned about botanicals from various regions in the country, including the Amazon Forest. Growing up I learned about holistic healing and Ayurveda from a young age, all of which fostered my “crunchy lifestyle”. My heritage is equal parts Italian and Indian, my Nonna Anna and my father Raj, both showed me how to take care of myself using the best of what nature provides.
Brazil is a melting pot with a mixture of cultures and traditions with immigrants from all over the world, including my own family. I was raised in a multicultural environment. I attended an American school in Brazil with students and faculty from all over the world. By being introduced to diversity from a young age, I acquired a strong desire to learn and connect with different cultures and always loved traveling to places where I can experience all of it in person. From this exposure, I learned to work with people regardless of status or race. I became more open-minded and aware of the rest of the world, which led to my desire to create an impact on our planet and communities.
Both my parents are entrepreneurs, I was able to learn from their endeavors and even more from the obstacles I so closely watched them face. I learned to adapt to change, and that mistakes can be great learning opportunities if you see them that way and keep moving forward.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain.”
― Tom Hiddleston
I have been surprised so many times in my life that I try to keep my eyes (and ears) open. I love talking to people, I am interested in people’s experiences and learning about their story. I’ve learned invaluable lessons from conversations with people of different ages, professions, and backgrounds. You can meet someone who will share something so important for your business or your life in the most random places. You never know where your life will take you, and that is why I love to observe, listen, and be surprised by opportunities in places never expected. Networking events are great, but sometimes a visit to a small village can transform your life. I like to think back to the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met and see how they inspired me. This also motivates me to keep going, knowing there is so much more to learn and accomplish.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I love the book Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus; I’ve read it a few times. This autobiography of the world-renowned, visionary economist who came up with a simple but revolutionary solution to end world poverty — micro-credit, has kept me motivated to keep looking for different ways in which I can give back to the community and the planet. I hope that through Crunchy Mama Box I can help artisans, small businesses, and families from all over the world offering my own contribution to empower minority groups.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
There are so many great ideas, but whether it becomes a business or not depends on how much you believe in your ideas and how much work and time you are willing to put into making it a successful business. I’ve had business partners in the past with fantastic ideas, but if the business didn’t quickly make a profit, they were just as quick to give up and move on to something else.
The way I see it is, there comes a time when you must decide to make changes or improvements to your business to keep it going. However, giving up on what you truly believe and moving on to something that just pays the bills, will just make you frustrated and unhappy. I agree that we all want to thrive and not just strive the entire time, so to keep yourself focused on your goal, you need to really love your idea to keep yourself motivated to make it happen in one way or another. The journey can have changes but not the mission.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
People can have similar ideas, but if and how they execute the idea is what makes all the difference. If you dismiss an idea, it’s either because you don’t believe you can make it happen or you fear that someone can do it better (our fears can fog our vision). I have seen similar ideas transform into completely different products and in some cases geared towards different audiences. If you have an idea that you are truly passionate about, don’t dismiss it before going through the process of visualizing it already happening, doing the research and creating a business plan on how you will make it happen. Start taking action and enjoy the journey. That sounds easy, but it isn’t, that must be combined with persistence, determination, and consistent work, while believing in your abilities and always working to improve them. Ideas don’t become successful overnight, you must have patience, build the right team, stick to your values and keep on going despite the challenges you will face, while making necessary changes, always focusing on the final result you want to achieve. Try not to listen to negative opinions that sometimes come from family and friends, who although have your best interest, might let their own fears or bad experiences try to convince you your idea won’t work because theirs didn’t. We are not all the same, we do things differently, and just because it doesn’t work for one person doesn’t mean it won’t work for another. Be ready to pivot if you have to, but don’t give up on your dreams, keep going believing in the end result.
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.
If you are going to file a patent, this is the first thing you should do before reaching out to a manufacturer or a retailer to introduce your idea. My advice is to first hire an attorney to help you structure your company, file your patents and register your trademark.
The next thing is finding a good manufacturer that will embrace your idea. If your plan is to start by bootstrapping and have limited funds this might be a bit of a challenge. You have a vision of an awesome product, but you have to make it into a marketable product in terms of price and packaging. You will have to think outside the box and be open to different possibilities to make your idea viable and keep the costs down. The ideal manufacturer will be the one who understands your idea and will use their know-how and experience to help make it into a product in the most cost-effective manner.
Finding the right retailer can also be a challenge. When you launch a product, you dream of having it sold everywhere, at all your favorite retailers. Here’s another journey that must be well thought in order to achieve the desired result. You need to make sure the retailer’s audience is the right one for you or you will be just another SKU and not a best seller. You want to see your products fly off the shelves, so choosing the right retailer to start your journey is very important. Choose a retailer whose values are aligned with yours, that understands the importance of what you have to offer and how you can grow together. This collaboration is crucial to grow your brand.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
1- Work smarter not harder. When you are struggling, reassess and make the necessary changes. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it, outsource. When you are working too hard and not getting the expected results it’s time to bring in experts and stick to what you love and do best.
2- Don’t settle for your comfort zone. This applies to work and personal relationships, just because something is familiar doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
3- Not everyone shares the same values and work ethics. I had to learn that the hard way.
4- Don’t take things personally. When you get rejected in business, take it as a way to reassess and improve your product or service. A “no” can become a “yes” later on, when the time is right or when you’ve made the necessary changes.
5- Everything is always working out for the best, open your eyes and see beyond the problems. During moments of stress sometimes you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. The times I’ve faced my hardest challenges, I’ve stopped to meditate, take time off, enjoy my children and spend time taking care of myself. It is when you can distance yourself from all the stress that you can see more clearly. When I was younger, I would let it take over my life to the point that I would burn out. I wouldn’t allow myself to stop, reset and then go back to figuring things out.
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
How passionate are you about this idea?
How many more people would be passionate about it? What problem does it solve?
What feelings would this product evoke in your target audience?
Where would you see it being sold? Can you put a price on your product/service? Who would be able to afford it?
How many people and what skills would you need to create your product?
Would you need outside investment, or could it be self-funded it in the beginning?
Do as much research as you can and see if you’re still in love with your idea and the process it takes to get it to market.
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
If they can hire an experienced consultant to give them guidelines on how to get started, if they are not sure where to start, that would be very helpful. Sometimes you start off well but reach a phase where you feel stuck and need an experienced consultant or mentor to help you find solutions to keep moving forward. If you are truly passionate and by now know it is a viable idea, persist even if you have to pivot a little, keeping your focus on your goals that will make your idea happen.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
I have bootstrapped all my ideas since I’ve started in business. That doesn’t mean I’m not open to looking for venture capital when the time is right for my business. If you are testing the market or want to have more control in the beginning, I recommend bootstrapping. It really depends on your business model and how you plan to scale.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
My core value and mission are to contribute as much as I can to make the world a better place.
I am passionately committed to environmental conservation, animal protection, education, and social responsibility. I have created, volunteered, and donated to social projects in every business I have been involved in as a founder, consultant, or collaborator. As my business grows, my plan is to expand the ways in which I give back.
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I hope that through Crunchy Mama Box we can inspire a global movement that will promote sustainability, health, wellness and community. Our goal is to create a “Giving Back Chain” where together we support women-owned, minority, small, and sustainable businesses that also do their part by making clean, healthy products, and that are motivated by a cause. It’s a requirement for any brand we onboard that they also give back to charity in some capacity as Crunchy Mama Box is always thinking of customer health, the planet and others. This is our movement. Everyone giving back together, our vendors, our customers, and our team, all sharing the same mission to protect our planet and our people.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Before I tell you the person I would love to meet, I’d like to share that a big influence for me since I was a child was Anita Roddick. She spoke of human rights, fairtrade, and zero tolerance for animal testing. She was revolutionary at the time and very inspiring. She was one of the first to shape ethical consumerism, something very close to my heart. She is unfortunately not with us anymore.
Holly Branson, the Chief Purpose and Vision Officer of the Virgin company is someone I deeply admire. She is helping transform the business world into a force for good. I love her goal to help people who are creating solutions with a purpose, whether it is a product or a service. Her work is inspiring and is helping create an impact in the world. Having a conversation over lunch or breakfast with Holly Branson would be a dream come true for me.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Making Something From Nothing: Wanda Malhotra of ‘Crunchy Mama Box’ On How To Go From Idea To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
