Maplewood Resident Brings 'Spinach on Steroids' to the U.S.

In the winter of 2008, Jude Ken-Kwofie wasn't feeling well. He called his mother, who lives in Ghana, for advice. "I'm sending you some moringa," she said. "Take it, get some rest, and exercise."

The instructions sound so basic. Just as an American mom often turns to chicken noodle soup, in Ghana, moringa is the cure-all.

"I started drinking the tea, and I started feeling better," Ken-Kwofie, 34, recalls. He added moringa, in powder form, to teas, soups, salads and other dishes. "I felt my energy increase, and it brought mental clarity," he says, recommending a dose of one teaspoon daily.

As his health improved, he realized that many of his fellow Americans—Ken-Kwofie was born in Hoboken and moved to Maplewood in 2001—know nothing of the "medicinal, nutritional and therapeutic powers of moringa."

The moringa powder Ken-Kwofie used is derived from the leaves of the moringa oleifera tree. The tree is native to the foothills of the Himalaya mountains, but has been cultivated in semi-tropical and tropical climates around the world for centuries. Besides the leaves, the flowers, pods, roots and seeds of Moringa have been found to offer health benefits.

The organization Trees for Life International says that "ounce-for-ounce, Moringa leaves contain 10 times more Vitamin A than carrots, 17 times more calcium than milk, 25 times more iron than spinach, 0.5 times more Vitamin C than oranges, and 15 times more potassium than bananas."

In addition, researcher Martin Price, Ph.D., found that Moringa leaves contain 25-30 grams of protein per 100 gram serving.

"Moringa comes very close to being a perfect source of nutrients, in terms of variety and concentration," Monica Marcu, Ph.D., says in a Discovery Channel documentary.

As Ken-Kwofie grasped the potential nutritional benefits of moringa, he developed a company that, he hopes, will help make moringa a household name in the U.S. while battling malnutrition around the world.

"With research, I realized it had potential to be something bigger than just my mom sending me some leaf powder," he explains. 

While other superfoods, such as acai berries and wheatgrass, have exploded onto the U.S. market, moringa is not nearly as well known. A company named Zija offers moringa products, but not in retail stores, only through private suppliers. Ken-Kwofie and business partner Darryl Daum are planning to change this.

"We are planning to be the biggest vertically integrated supplier, from the farm to the fork," he says. 

To skeptics, Ken-Kwofie says the proof is in the results.

"It's like spinach on steroids. The nutrition's there to validate it," he says. "This is a natural multi-vitamin. You will feel it."

The company, named It's Moringa, will officially launch its product lines in October, but has started a soft introduction at local stores, including Eden Gourmet. It is also available on the website.

Ken-Kwofie and Daum are being incredibly careful because they do not want to jeopardize the other side of the company: a social awareness campaign.

"We have the opportunity to use moringa and the brand as a platform to help fight malnutrition in the developed as well as developing parts of the world." Moringa, he says, can help cure the obesity epidemic in the U.S. by offering a nourishing, nutritional supplement to regular diets.

Humanitarian organizations around the world are already using moringa to treat children and families. It's Moringa is donating a percentage of proceeds from sales to help eradicate malnutrition.

It's Moringa is also working with Vitamin Angels to help children with Vitamin-A deficiency and with Nourish America to help provide the daily essential nutrition that impoverished children and families require, Ken-Kwofie says. So far this year, the company has reached more than 12,000 children. As part of the effort, Ken-Kwofie launched Boadi Foundation, the Ghana-based charitable arm of It's Moringa.

"Boadi Foundation was created to basically provide nutrition, clothing, and basic needs to the children and families of Ghana," he said. "We will do what we can."

The company is also supporting farmers in Ghana. It's Moringa moringa dry leaf powder comes from co-ops and their own farms.

It's Moringa is currently developing individual ready-to-drink teas, tea bags, cookies and nutritious protein bars. The official company launch will take place at the Natural Products Expo East 2010 in Boston on October 13.