We have all had that experience where an overindulgence in sweets leads to less than ideal feelings afterward. What if you could enjoy a delicious chocolate bar without the inevitable sugar crash? Saskia Sams-Yeboah has solved this consumer pain point and is launching the perfect plant-based candy bar.
Saskia, a DC Native with eleven years of experience in the food industry, grew up with a complicated relationship with food. Like many others, she loved to indulge in sweets, but often experienced a quick sugar high that resulted in a crash and overeating. Saskia attended culinary school in Hawaii, which she was drawn to by their commitment to utilizing raw and natural foods. Saskia remembers the pivotal moment that led her to launch Bel Botanica: A teacher shared a video on cacao, chocolate-making, and sculpting.
“I’m Ghanaian American and something unlocked that was embedded in my DNA. A spark went off and I was like ‘I’m going to make chocolate and I’m going to make artistic pieces,’” Saskia shared. Bel Botanica allows you to indulge without the processed sugar and with decadent, plant-based, superfood candy bars.
Bel Botanica is launching three superfood candy bars, Maqui Soursop Bliss, a sweet, tangy, and rich fruit forward chocolate bar, Coconut Reishi Chai, a spiced, earthy chocolate bar, and Lucuma Hazelnut Crunch, a nutty, creamy chocolate bar.
Handcrafted chocolate from nib, the shelled cocoa bean, Saskia is crafting artisanal candy bars filled with delicious superfoods like maqui, an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory Chilean berry and soursop, a nutrient-dense fruit with a flavor and texture profile similar to that of strawberries and pineapple, high in fiber and vitamin C. Saskia also uses reishi mushroom, which is known for its immune-boosting, fatigue and depression-fighting properties, in addition to lucuma, a South American fruit naturally low GI sweetener, full of antioxidants, and packed with vitamins and minerals.
These decadent, superfood candy bars promote a deeper connection and a sustainable relationship between self and food. Each candy bar features a food meditation to guide the consumer on their relationship with food and self. Saskia hopes that this will be an opportunity for people to slow down and celebrate themselves, while also indulging without compromising health or wellbeing.
When looking back on her launch process, Saskia notes scaling the recipes, the adjustment of quantities and production procedures to produce a larger amount, as a challenge. She credits her adaptability as an asset through this journey.
“Be open to change. Get grounded in the fact that this is a learning process. Every single personal pain point is changing juice to push you to be that entrepreneur, that business owner, and that person that you want to be. Nothing is in vain and everything you learn you take it with you.”
Saskia also says this process has taught her to be more assertive and one of the lessons she learned was “Saying things with your chest. Especially as a woman, there is a lot of patronizing and I’m learning how to be more matter of fact and to just say ‘this is what I need.’”
You can find Bel Botanica products at Union Kitchen stores, and soon on their website and in other local retailers around the DMV.
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