BeautyNewsNYC got the scoop on the founder & CEO of the delicious natural botanical beverage company, Moment!
Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I have grown up in different parts of the world, which has been an incredible experience and has allowed me to pick up great practices from everywhere. Moment has been the perfect way to bring some of those different parts of the world together through our ingredients and flavors.
I moved to the U.S. from South Africa to study business and had always dreamt of (and been nervous about) being an entrepreneur. I joined a consulting job at McKinsey right after my MBA, which I loved despite the intensity. It’s during this intense job that I met a monk who encouraged me to start incorporating mindfulness practices into my daily life and actively think about my long-term mental health. That’s when I started building my own rituals which was a huge unlock for me. It completely changed my mental and physical health. I was more productive, more creative, and felt positive all the time. I felt ready to take on the world. I decided to leave my comfortable corporate job and took the plunge into the entrepreneurial world so I could help others access the same feeling.
The journey has been life-changing, and so rewarding. The most exciting facet for me is the impact that we have on our customers’ lives – sometimes customers write me two-page long emails sharing how Moment makes them feel and that makes my day.
Tell us a little bit about Moment:
Moment is a gateway into taking a step away from the everyday noise and giving yourself a break. Life is difficult enough, and we want to make it easy for our community to be more mindful.
The brand has been carefully designed to encourage customers to take a moment for themselves. The beverage goes hand in hand to make this possible with our proprietary formulation replicating the same effect as meditation, reducing stress, and enhancing the mind-body connection.
The broader mission of mindfulness is especially important for us and a portion of our sales go towards supporting other mental health non-profits, Calm Classrooms, and Growing mindfully to name a few.
What made you get into natural botanical beverages?
Moment is my entire life coming together.
I have grown up having most of these botanicals. In many Asian cultures, people prepare for old age through prevention, and I have had many of the ingredients in Moment (such as Tulsi, Cardamom, Cloves) even as a child. So when I was looking to improve my own physical and mental health, it was natural that I turned to these ingredients.
I love having drinks throughout the day so I decided to combine these adaptogens and botanicals into a refreshing and healthy beverage that I could have on a daily basis myself. I made sure I was using natural ingredients and no added sugar.
Then before you knew it, I started experimenting with additional flavors in my kitchen and was on my way to launching my own brand.
What does meditation mean to you?
Meditation is anything that allows you to be in a state of wakeful relaxation and be aware of your thoughts. Done successfully, it should build the muscle to be hyper-aware of the different sensations in your body at all times, to control your fight-or-flight responses and engage in better decision-making/creative thinking.
Too much stress can sometimes distract the mind and inhibit the ability to be aware and so we address this head-on by using adaptogens in our beverage.
Are there any products from Moment you’d like to spotlight?
For now, we use similar active ingredients in all our products which help you fight stress and generate the same alpha brainwaves as does meditation. My favorite flavor for the summer is Tulsi Lemon – it is refreshing and herbaceous. Stay tuned for our new summer special flavor drops.
To learn more, visit https://drinkmoment.com/.
