Cho Granola: This Season’s Pantry Staple
We had the pleasure of interviewing Alexandra and Cho Seward, the sister-duo who recently founded a deliciously healthy granola company, Cho Granola. Read to learn more about their entrepreneurial journey and how you can add Cho Granola into your meals. Scroll for a fall-inspired recipe!
Tell us a little bit about yourselves and where your passion for food comes from.
My name is Alexandra Seward and I’m 23 years old. I’ve always had a passion for cooking, baking, and using social media to highlight my foodie experiences. I launched my food Instagram account @foodie2shoes_ in 2016. I studied marketing at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where I developed my business IQ and passion for content creation. My experience with marketing and photography helped me land my current role as the Digital Marketing Manager for Atlas Restaurant Group in Baltimore, MD.
My name is Cho Seward, and I’m 20 years old. We’ve always been a big foodie family, we love to cook and go out to great restaurants and I think that’s how we developed our initial appreciation for good food. I started to model when I was around 16 and with that it became important for me to take care of my body and be in shape. Over the years I’ve learned a lot about fitness and nutrition and really developed a passion for it, so I love to experiment with fun healthy recipes!
What inspired you to start this entrepreneurial journey with Cho Granola?
From Cho: “Granola has always been one of my favorite snacks, but I could never find one that was made with clean ingredients and low in sugar. During the summer of 2019 while traveling in Paris, I had the most amazing granola. When I came home, I couldn't stop thinking about it, and tried to recreate it. Cho Granola was founded in an effort to create a low-sugar, vegan granola that was naturally sweetened with pure ingredients like organic blue agave and vanilla. In March 2020 at the beginning of quarantine , my sister and I decided to team up to bring Cho Granola to life. We went to work creating our logo and nutrition label, going through the Vegan Certification process, and officially establishing Cho Brands, LLC. My sister handles the business side of things, while I am more involved in the actual creation of the granola, nutrition, and creative aspects.
How do you balance your full-time jobs while starting a company at the same time?
From Alexandra: I dedicate my weekends and evenings to baking and shipping Cho Granola. We run the company virtually, and coordinate our schedules so we are able to balance marketing, production and shipping. We facetime every day when we are not together, and are constantly in communication. It makes it a lot easier to launch a business when your partner also happens to be your best friend.
Why should people incorporate granola into their daily routines?
Cho Granola is a great addition to your morning breakfast, as an afternoon snack, or even dessert, because not only is it delicious but it’s satisfying and energizing! It’s a blend of clean ingredients that taste good and are guilt free!
What are the nutritional benefits of granola and how does Cho Granola differ from other brands?
Our granola is the perfect combination of oats, seeds, and nuts to fuel your body with essential antioxidants, vitamins, protein, and fiber. Antioxidants which are found in pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemps seeds, and oats, are beneficial for reducing inflammation and boosting your immune system. The many different seeds in our granola are also rich in vitamins such as magnesium, which helps regulate blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and B1 which provides energy. They also contain fatty acids that are essential to the formation of collagen and elastin for smooth, healthy skin. Unlike most granolas which use large amounts of oil and high glycemic sweeteners such as honey, syrup or cane sugar, we make our granola differently. We use coconut oil, which is extracted from whole, fresh coconuts, and we sweeten our granola with a small amount of pure organic stevia that has not been blended with other artificial sweeteners.
Do you have any tips for how to lead a healthier lifestyle when it comes to food?
We like to keep our diet as fresh as possible and stay away from anything more on the artificial side.
From Cho: My best tips for leading a healthy lifestyle when it comes to food is staying away from artificial sugars and heavy oils. I eat a lot of vegetables and lean proteins. I think as long as you eat food that you know is fresh and made of good ingredients is the best thing you can do for yourself!
What are some of your favorite ways to utilize granola in your meals?
From Alexandra: “I love to top my morning oatmeal with sliced bananas and Cho Granola. The extra protein and fiber of Cho Granola keeps me energized and satisfied, which sets me up for a productive day.
From Cho: I love to have my Cho Granola with a bowl of Greek yogurt and a spoonful of almond butter. I also love to have it in a bowl with almond milk for a snack!
What do you want people to think of when they think of Cho Granola?
We want people to incorporate Cho Granola into their everyday routines and to know that by choosing to eat our granola they are choosing to take care of their bodies. We believe that beauty starts from the inside-out, and choosing to eat ingredients that are good for you will make you look and feel even better!
What can we look forward to in the future with Cho Granola?
The sky’s the limit! We have plans for delicious new flavors, single-serving bags, and hope to be in small retail stores in 2021.
Throw on your comfiest sweatshirt and enjoy this fall-themed recipe featuring Cho Granola! Be sure to tag @clothesandwater and @chogranola if you follow this recipe.
Warm Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal with Cho Granola
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of oats
1 tsp flax seeds
1/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup of Greek yogurt
1/2 cup of almond milk
1 small scoop of vanilla protein powder of choice
1 tsp cinnamon
Chopped apples
Cho Granola
Instructions:
Mix all the ingredients (except Cho Granola) together in a ramekin or oven safe dish, and bake at 375 degrees F for about 25 minutes or until nicely browned and to your preferred consistency.
Top with Cho Granola and drizzle with almond butter
Enjoy!
Shop Cho Granola now at www.chogranola.com
Follow Cho Granola on Instagram at @chogranola