Cyrus Schwartz grew up in a family that was progressive about health and nutrition. The 5th generation dairy farm business owner picked up an interest in the benefits of various foods and has made a name for himself as the president of Dora's Naturals, the South Hackensack based distributing center of refrigerated products including his family's 3 NY-based companies: ZenSoy, Evolve and Mountainside Farms. Just recently, Dora's was named Most Valuable Partner by D'Agostino's Supermarkets Inc. in Manhattan and Westchester.
As a blogger and a small business owner, I've been introduced to a number of local companies and national brands. I've gotten to know the people behind-the-scenes which makes me feel confident knowing that the products and food I buy and use around my family were manufactured with care and with the consumer in mind. I had the chance to catch Cyrus for a few minutes out of his busy day to learn more about the history behind his family business and the process that makes his soy and dairy products some of the purest in the market.
Mrs Mo: Cyrus, your brands are both healthy and tasty. Tell us a little more about them.
CS: My family has 3 brands. ZenSoy (Organic Soy milk and pudding) is made with soy beans sourced in the US which means a smaller carbon footprint. Our Kefir(Evolve) is like a cousin to yogurt but with more cultures in it. In fact Kefir has 11 live active cultures and ours has 2 strains that have been clinically tested to show beneficially effect on immune system and digestive track. A study was published in the American Journal of Pediatrics showing that it signically reduced cold and flu symptoms over 6 months. I have two boys who are 2 and 6 and I would never make a product that I wouldn't feed them. My oldest like Kefir quite a lot.
Mrs Mo: I like Kefir too and I definitely feel like I'm doing something good for my body by drinking it. I also read about a special purification process you use with your milk. Tell me about that.
CS: For our Mountainside Farms Ultra Pure Milk, we use a new technology that is primarily only used in Canada and England. We filter out about 90-95% of the bacteria prior to pasteurizing giving the milk a longer shelf life. And of course it's hormone free/antibiotic free.
Mrs Mo: I also read that you also only work with farmers who do not use extra hormones or antibiotics. There definitely is growing trend and perhaps more of an awareness about dairy and meat products going hormone/antibiotic free. What are your feelings on the subject.
CS: First of all, just to dispel any myths about milk, there is a natural level of bovine hormone in milk. And if a cow gets sick, the farmer treats it with minimum antibiotics. The Federal government screens milk for 5 families of antibiotics and we screen for more than is required. If a farmer gives growth hormone to a cow, that’ll make it produce more milk and put stress on the cow and it's not necessary..not something we need to do. Not something that should be allowed. If I can avoid it, I will.
Mrs Mo: Going back to ZenSoy for a moment, what made you decide to go soy?
CS: Well what we are doing-our flavors, products, process-is quite unique and soy and Organic foods are trendy right now. But we also found that a large number of our consumers had children with multiple food allergies. ZenSoy is lactose free/dairy free/gluten free and tastes good! We get letters from mothers who are so grateful to us.
Mrs Mo: I agree that the chocolate pudding is DELISH! So any future plans for your empire?
CS: We will probably add more flavors to our pudding and our Evolve Kefir and try different packaging. Our milks are regional so I'd like to get into more supermarkets. For right now, I mostly want to educate consumers about our products and the health benefits of soy and eating Organic.
Experience the Schwartz family brands by visiting ZenSoy (http://www.zensoy.com/), Evolve Kefir (http://www.evolvekefir.com/) and Mountainside Farms (http://www.mountainsidefarms.com/)
Mrs Mo: I like Kefir too and I definitely feel like I'm doing something good for my body by drinking it. I also read about a special purification process you use with your milk. Tell me about that.
CS: For our Mountainside Farms Ultra Pure Milk, we use a new technology that is primarily only used in Canada and England. We filter out about 90-95% of the bacteria prior to pasteurizing giving the milk a longer shelf life. And of course it's hormone free/antibiotic free.
Mrs Mo: I also read that you also only work with farmers who do not use extra hormones or antibiotics. There definitely is growing trend and perhaps more of an awareness about dairy and meat products going hormone/antibiotic free. What are your feelings on the subject.CS: First of all, just to dispel any myths about milk, there is a natural level of bovine hormone in milk. And if a cow gets sick, the farmer treats it with minimum antibiotics. The Federal government screens milk for 5 families of antibiotics and we screen for more than is required. If a farmer gives growth hormone to a cow, that’ll make it produce more milk and put stress on the cow and it's not necessary..not something we need to do. Not something that should be allowed. If I can avoid it, I will.
Mrs Mo: Going back to ZenSoy for a moment, what made you decide to go soy?
CS: Well what we are doing-our flavors, products, process-is quite unique and soy and Organic foods are trendy right now. But we also found that a large number of our consumers had children with multiple food allergies. ZenSoy is lactose free/dairy free/gluten free and tastes good! We get letters from mothers who are so grateful to us.
Mrs Mo: I agree that the chocolate pudding is DELISH! So any future plans for your empire?
CS: We will probably add more flavors to our pudding and our Evolve Kefir and try different packaging. Our milks are regional so I'd like to get into more supermarkets. For right now, I mostly want to educate consumers about our products and the health benefits of soy and eating Organic.
Experience the Schwartz family brands by visiting ZenSoy (http://www.zensoy.com/), Evolve Kefir (http://www.evolvekefir.com/) and Mountainside Farms (http://www.mountainsidefarms.com/)
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