A Healtier Way To Start Your Morning

From the Canadian Business Journal
Author: By Jennifer Sorlie

It is instant, which initially made me doubt its validity
as a good coffee. That’s because any real coffee drinker
knows instant is inferior, and should only be consumed in
the most urgent of circumstances.

The date was April 14, 2010—just over four
months since Richmond, B.C.-based Organo Gold
Coffee officially launched the product. It’s rare to
get samples with a story assignment but, as I was
about to realize, I wasn’t dealing with a normal
company profile. I came into work at 7:30am and
headed into the kitchen as per my regular morning
coffee routine. Except this morning, instead
of filling my mug with a percolated French roast, I
added a package of Organo Gold Black Coffee to
a cup of boiling water.
The day before, I had already interviewed
Shane Morand, co-founder and global master distributor
of Organo Gold, so I had an idea how this
experience would go. Morand told me it would
look and taste exactly like gourmet coffee, “if it
didn’t, how would it sell?” he asked rhetorically.
Still, I was sceptical; after all, other instant coffee
brands sell in grocery stores all the time.
As the granules dissolved into the water, I
smelled a familiar scent. Coffee! I felt more awake
already. But I still had to taste it. To my surprise, it
was fine; actually it was good. Morand was right.
“Good for you, Jennifer,” says the reader. “You
enjoyed a cup of coffee.” You’re right, reader, I
did. But I also enjoyed that this particular cup
of coffee didn’t dehydrate my body and it didn’t
give me any heart palpitations. As I said, this isn’t
regular coffee.




The difference:


That fact that you can’t taste the ganoderma
is a good thing. If you could taste it, I suspect
the product would go right to health stores and
people would drink like they drink wheatgrass
juice. I’m getting ahead of myself, because in all
likelihood, only a handful of you know what I’m
talking about—I didn’t know what it was until a
few weeks ago.
Morand explains it like this: “Ganoderma is
the highest-ranked herb in the entire Chinese
pharmacopeia; it is known as the miraculous
king of herbs.” This mushroom—‘Lingzhi’ or ‘Reishi,’
in Cantonese—has been used in traditional
Chinese medicine for more than 4,000 years.
The scientific name, ‘ganoderma,’ is derived from
the Ancient Greek, meaning ‘bright, shiny skin.’
Ganoderma is known to regulate the immune
system and is used to treat ailments ranging
from stress-related conditions to fatigue and
sleep disorders. “Our coffees, teas, hot chocolates,
lattes and mochas are delivery mechanisms
for 100-per-cent-certified organic ganoderma,”
Morand maintains, “so people can enjoy
all of those benefits.” Sounds great, right? Yes and no.
“The challenge in North America is that not even one
person in 10,000 has heard of ganoderma,” says
Morand. “Here we are with the closest thing to
MAy 2010 • The Canadian Business Journal 7
nutritional perfection found in nature, and few
know what it is. We are working on spreading the
message through word of mouth.”

A wide-open market:
The great news is Organo Gold is in the right
business. Morand estimates that between Canada
and the United States alone, more than a
half-billion cups of coffee are consumed daily.
“We’re all drinking coffee. The question is
whether it is making us feel good or not. North
Americans don’t talk a lot about the negative
impacts of coffee, but we know it reduces the
body’s pH balance, affects the nervous system,
dehydrates us and, over time, ages us faster. It’s
not that we’re against caffeine altogether, but
we are positive about the effects of ganoderma.
We’re entering a wide-open market, but we’re offering
something healthier,” he says.
Wide open indeed. Even though Organo Gold
is a Canadian company, it is growing internationally.
“We’re marketing in Canada, the U.S., Jamaica,
Peru, Bahamas, Germany, Netherlands,
Austria, and the Philippines; and we’re just getting
started,” Morand boasts. “People all over the
world drink coffee so it’s the perfect commodity.”
Although the product was officially launched
in January 2010, the company started operating
in June 2008. “It took us a year and a half to determine branding,
build a compensation plan, move the product, build warehouses,
perfect our shipping and test the product,” explains Morand.
“But we officially lifted the gates this year. Since
then, sales have exploded. We knew we had a
great product and a great management team,
but we’re still blown away by the response and
the speed at which we’re expanding. We’re emptying
warehouses everywhere, so we’re definitely
ahead of target.”
Organo Gold is certainly off to a great start
and I can see why: it tastes good and it’s good
for you. Since I first tried the coffee (about two
weeks ago), I have enjoyed it at least a half-dozen
more times. To get more, i would have to contact
a local representative, as the product is sold
via direct sales (think Avon model). If this product
line tweaks your interest, make sure to check out
want to hurry though. From what I understand,
it’s flying off the shelves. CB


http://www.organojavajoan.com