Economy

Pioneering a healthy and natural way forward in life

By Karen Yip (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-09 11:07

BEIJING - It is only a matter of time before the green, healthy and "for the greater good" philosophy of life gains widespread popularity in China.

For now, a small but growing number of courageous entrepreneurs are taking the lead and are reaping the benefits as first-movers.

Born out of her fascination with cakes, flavors and colors, Zhang Juhua's Homaroma, an artisan bakery that currently takes orders by telephone, is championing the "baked from scratch" mantra in China.

Using premium, non-processed ingredients such as fresh fruit, natural flavors and colors and freshly grounded nut flours, the 31-year-old high school dropout whose previous jobs include selling newspapers, waiting on tables and being a housemaid, is beaming with pride as orders keep pouring in.

"I'm lucky that the trend of eating healthily is picking up," she said. "I don't compromise quality. I pay attention to detail. Everything has to be freshly made, clean, tasty, and beautiful to look at. I want people to finish the food that I prepare."

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Following years of cooking and experimenting for her former expatriate employers, who often organized parties, Zhang finally had the courage last year to strike out on her own by starting Homaroma.

What's fascinating about her is that she has a palate similar to Westerners, which enables her to successfully produce the likes of caramel walnut cake, raspberry frangipane tart, lemon and poppy seed cheesecake and chocolate hazelnut cake, which are invariably too rich for general Chinese tastes.

The secret recipe lies in Zhang's passion - she bakes from the heart. "Some of my customers, especially the foreigners, told me that the taste of the cakes reminded them of their home countries," she said.

Zhang said she is expanding her offerings to include bite-size pies and bread for catering purposes.

Seizing the chance

For Sherri Rao, the establishment of Fine Yoga began when she tried to shed some pounds, gained from her pregnancy, through yoga. Later, she snapped up the yoga studio when the business was put up for sale, knowing fully well that such an exercise regime will increase in popularity among urban Chinese.

Five years later, in 2011, with two branches in Shunyi, north Beijing, and Dawanglu in downtown Beijing, Fine Yoga has evolved to become a training center for potential yoga teachers, aside from its regular yoga classes for the general public.

Fine Yoga has so far produced 2,000 Chinese graduates who are qualified to be yoga teachers. Future plans include online yoga classes and the establishment of a yoga retreat center in Hainan, South China.

Ninety percent of students join through word of mouth.

Initially driven by ambition and courage to start a yoga business, these days Rao's business philosophy is to impart physical and spiritual health.

"It's a challenge to teach spirituality. I feel sorry for those who worship money," she said.

"At the beginning, the majority of my students came here to lose weight but later, during practice, they became mindful of the surroundings and actions in their daily lives."

Her knowledge and skills are influenced from insights gained from her trips to the ashrams in Mysore, India, and practitioners from the West.

The greater good

"After moving to China, we realized that finding fresh, healthy and safe food was a challenge and that we needed to take things into our own hands," said Steve Liang, co-founder of Fields China, an online supermarket that delivers the finest quality natural products and organic goods whenever possible.

Launched in 2009, Fields develops relationships with its suppliers and taste-tests all of its products to meet customers' high expectations. Besides supporting local farmers and occasionally collaborating on product development, Fields has socially responsible practices and quality control.

These include the employment of disabled workers, particularly the deaf.

"I see a large shift in the quality of life within China. Those in their 30s and above have started to realize the importance of embracing quality of life. A better quality of life does not revolve around the size and location of an apartment and the number of designer handbags," he said.

"Having good quality food is a start. Looking for a spiritual path is a start. Eating healthy food makes you feel better. Some people resort to yoga and delve deeper into religion.

"I want to make sure we teach and help improve the environment and quality of life for the next generation and for my son," he said.

Liang expects profits to materialize when Fields can build a community-based, ethical business that works on doing things right first and offering interesting innovative ideas on products, packaging and social responsibility.