Q&A with Chrissy and Jayla:

Q: We love Kalumi’s mission. Could you tell us more about how this began?

A: The idea for Kalumi stemmed from our skin and hair struggles. At the time, we were both models living in NYC. Our lifestyles were incredibly busy, often travelling multiple times per week to different cities and countries, late nights, early mornings  - it really began to take a toll on our skin and overall well-being.

We were both suffering from acne, eczema, dehydrated skin, and brittle hair and nails. The problem was, it was so hard to find clean, healthy food while travelling and on set. We really found that what we fed our bodies had a direct correlation to how we looked and felt.

We realized there really was nothing on the market that could take care of all our problems in one package. We wanted to create a clean, delicious and satiating snack that also contained potent beauty boosting ingredients to support our hair, skin and nails from within. In February 2016, we started making the first batches of Kalumi BEAUTYfood, combining all of our favorite food derived beauty boosting ingredients including a full serving of marine collagen, yacon syrup and sweet potato. We couldn’t believe the difference we saw in our skin and hair. It was crazy. We were determined to make our little miracle product available to busy women everywhere, because beauty shouldn’t feel unattainable like it did to us for so many years! 

Q: Where did the name Kalumi come from?

A: We combined two of our favorite words- Kalon which is Greek word meaning ‘the ideal of physical and moral beauty’ and Lumi which comes from illuminate (glow, light)

Q: Take us through your bars. All our bars are formulated with 12grams of wild caught, sustainably sourced marine collagen (from cod). We combined this with antioxidant rich foods including sweet potato and cocoa butter and sweetened using yacon syrup, a metabolism boosting prebiotic syrup! All ingredients are hand picked to deliver naturally beauty boosting and body nourishing benefits.

Q: What are some effects you’ve seen from customers  that have been taking Kalumi bars? 

A: We have seen it all! In a recent customer survey, we found 95% of customers noticed a significant improvement in their skin. Some people have reported it helping clear their acne, others have noticed a big difference in how fast their hair is growing and some have finally found a bar that doesn’t upset their stomachs and makes them feel amazing. It is very rewarding to see all of our reviews from happy customers! 

Q: So many protein bars available in the market have several fillers, artificial sweeteners, etc. which can impact our gut microbiome, when crafting your bars, how important was it to you both to stick to natural ingredients?

A: Very important! Jayla’s mum is a naturopath and drilled into her from a young age the importance of good quality and wholesome ingredients to support a healthy body. Due to our own personal health struggles namely eczema and acne, we were very fussy when it came to what we were putting in our bodies. We were creating the bars for ourselves as well as our customers, and wanted to make sure every ingredient met our standards and theirs! 

Q: What are mornings like for you? 

Jayla: Mornings for me look totally different this year than the previous years! I wake up around 7:30, cuddle my dog, make a smoothie, throw on a big cozy sweater and usually jump straight into work! I used to wake up and workout at 6:30 every morning before COVID but i find my body really enjoying going for an afternoon walk now! 

Chrissy: Honestly, I’m not a morning person! So mornings are always hectic for me, haha. I wish I could say I wake up early, do a morning yoga routine and meditate and once I get to work I’ve already conquered the world, BUT instead - I love my bed in the morning. I tend to be a night owl most nights and even work until 10pm sometimes, then love staying up watching The Bachelor or The Great British baking show. So to truly answer the question, I wake up grouchy at my cat for yelling at me to wake up, do a quick beauty routine (currently loving honest company’s Gel-to-Milk face wash and Hydrogel cream), make a delicious smoothie with Kalumi marine collagen powder or eat a Kalumi BEAUTYfood bar if I don’t have time to make a smoothie, and really I dive right into work.

Q: What are some of your favorite ways to practice self-care? 

Jayla: I love to take a hot bath — nothing feels more “self-care” than that! I go above and beyond with my baths: candles, essential oils burning, music, the whole thing! Also putting time aside each day for my walk really keeps me sane. 

Chrissy: Enjoying time with my finance and 2 loving cats, I find I’m truly in my happy place when I’m just spending quality time with my little family. I also love walking outdoors, that’s something I miss about New York was walking all over town and seeing so many cool things in the city. I do a lot of walking around the neighborhood though, it really makes a difference in my day.

Another thing I do is try to never compare myself to others. I found in the past that I’d do it a lot, and I’ve been able to really get to a place where I love me and don’t really care that I’m getting older or that my body may be changing. Instead I just focus on being healthy and giving my body what it needs and I find I feel so much more confident doing that then looking at what others are doing and do the same thing to feel like I’m keeping up so to say.

Q: What are some of your top tips to achieve a healthy glow? 

A: Eating a healthy, balanced diet, Doing things that make you happy (try to remove yourself from stressful situations and bad energy asap!), adequate sleep, drink water and of course, eat Kalumi! 

Q: What’s next for Kalumi? 

A: We’re excited to continue to grow our Kalumi BEAUTYfood line! Keep your eyes here :)