MEET BONNIE BOROIAN OF BLISSFULLY BETTER IN BOCA RATON
Today we’d like to introduce you to Bonnie Boroian.
Bonnie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today? For years, I had searched for a healthier alternative to the refined white sugar found in so many categories of the food industry today. By 2010, my quest took me halfway around the world to Bali’s coconut plantations. There, I saw how they harvested nectar from flower blossoms in coconut trees and learned more about this low-glycemic, sustainably grown and high nutrient nectar.
While in Bali, I suddenly had an epiphany: what if great tasting sweets using this coconut nectar instead of cane sugar could be made, allowing everyone with a craving for a sweet treat to enjoy them in moderation without spiking their blood sugar levels and leading to other ill effects on people and our planet?
After several years of observing that few mainstream products were being manufactured that were high in nutrients, low-glycemic and tasted great, I decided to establish Blissfully Better.
The first confection we shared with consumers was a recipe adapted from my mother’s famous toffee recipe. I transformed it to become our 100 percent Organic Almond Toffee Thins, made with four to six simple organic ingredients, enrobed in 72 percent organic dark chocolate, sweetened only with organic coconut nectar. Each variety following maintained my commitment to use only a handful of organic ingredients to make sweets that are better for you and our planet.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way? Coconut nectar is eight to ten times moister than cane sugar, which presented a challenge at the start. We knew we needed to achieve that crunch at the center of our toffee and that took nearly two years to solve. Today, we know the copper kettle is the solution, helping to make a confection made with the ingredients we won’t compromise on and the crunch we crave.
Helping to educate current and future consumers on the benefits of coconut nectar are something we work towards every day. As shoppers begin to understand the benefits (for both themselves and their world), it is easier to introduce our confections and our mission to a growing community of conscious consumers.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Blissfully Better – what should we know? Blissfully Better was created as a byproduct of my passion to make organic confections free from cane sugar that tastes great. In the 20 months since we launched our first product, we have proven that consumers, retailers and distributors are aligned.
Having a clear intention of what you can bring to the marketplace through your power of education, passions and talent are important to remember when starting out. I believe your intention is what should drive you and what you should continually commit yourself to. When you have a clear intention, you don’t move away or lose focus on what you want to create for yourself. That’s something that has always helped to differentiate Blissfully Better as well.