Health food store muun chi in Redondo Beach is the newest Blue Zones Project Approved™ business in the Beach Cities, providing its customers with a range of healthy, gut-friendly options including fermented foods, kefir and kvass.
muun chi, at 1951 Artesia Blvd. in Redondo Beach, joins Beach Cities Health District’s list of more than 100 Blue Zones Project businesses.
muun chi Founder Manette McDermott also crafts products containing prebiotics and probiotics with no refined sugars. muun chi’s focus on fermented foods stems from their belief that health begins in the gut. According to Health Journalist and Registered Nurse Elisabeth Almekinder, fermented foods have “have more good bacteria to improve your belly.”
Harvard Health explains the difference between the two, “Probiotics are live microorganisms that maintain or improve the balance of good to bad bacteria in your digestive system” while prebiotics “act as nutrition for gut bacteria, helping them to flourish.” Her delicious and nutritious creations are backed by McDermott’s background as a Health and Wellness Coach certified through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.
The CEO of muun chi, Bill McCalpin, shares Manette’s passion for not only holistic health, but sustainability as well. They have both gotten creative about incorporating byproducts that we would normally throw away like fruit peels or pulp and how to package their products sustainably. Once forgotten peels are fermented and used to spice up dishes like stir-fries or baked into a sweet treat. Products are stored for freshness in reusable glass jars, bottles and containers that must be returned to the store. This ingenious model not only reduces food waste and single-use plastics but has customers returning to restock their shelves. McCalpin claims that “their customers returned over 16,000 used muun chi containers last year and are on pace this year to reach 24,000 in 2025.”
For anyone thinking about taking steps to better their health, Bill McCalpin encourages people to eat “at least one fermented food per day.”
As part of their pledge to enhance the food environment, you can find out more about the health benefits of their many products outlined below:
- muun chi’s Lemon Turmeric Chia Pudding and fermented Golden Turmeric Beet Kvass feature two flavorful ingredients from the Blue Zones® Food List, which contains foods people are eating to live to 100 in regions around the world. Lemons not only add brightness and acidity to a dish, but they also contain fiber and flavonoids that boost heart health. They are the perfect complement to many dishes from Ikaria, Greece! According to Blue Zones Kitchen, turmeric is used “as a cooking spice and a tea” in Okinawa, Japan. It is often revered for its “anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antiaging properties.”
- In the Blue Zones, centenarians incorporate plant-based proteins into their diet. At muun chi, you can grab one of their Protein Fiber Bites to go. They come in four different flavors with a variety of nuts to satisfy your sweet tooth. The ingredients in their best seller, Brain Bites, are walnuts, pecans and dates. There is no refined sugar in any muun chi foods. According to an Adventist Health Study, people who regularly ate nuts lived two to three years longer than people who did not.
- Muunkraut, muun chi’s unique take on the popular fermented dish sauerkraut, contains both red and green cabbage. Cabbage is another Blue Zones Food that is utilized in Nicoya, Costa Rica. Unlike lettuce which is prone to wilting, cabbage can withstand high temperatures.
When you stop by a grocery store, you will notice a counter separating you from the register. Bill shared that they asked the designer to get rid of their traditional notions of a typical grocery store or food retailer.
“We didn’t want anything separating us from helping the customer.”
Tailoring the experience to the customer has made all the difference. We are grateful to muun chi for their passion for the Blue Zones Project and their commitment to a healthy beach community.
Blue Zones Project Approved™ Grocery Stores encourage shoppers to stock their pantries with healthy essentials inspired by what people are eating around the world to live to 100.
Sources:
- Prebiotics: Understanding their role in gut health – Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School
- 6 Ways to Improve Gut Health – BLUE ZONES®
- Iced Banapple Turmeric Smoothie – BLUE ZONES®
- Blue Zones Diet: Food Secrets of the World’s Longest Lived People – BLUE ZONES®
