Judit Beres' passion for clean-eating and entrepreneurship lead her to start up her own company - Neomega. Offering naturally pressed avocado oil infused with flavours, Neomega are expanding rapidly in the US market. Supermarket News caught up with Beres...
I started my business in 2016 . I always had the self starter, entrepreneurial spirit in me and was passionate about clean eating and preserving the environment. When the multinational, clinical research company I worked for closed its US operations in 2015, and laid off all of its US programmers, including myself, I was actually excited. I took that as the sign I needed to focus my energy on pursuing my passion for clean eating and caring for the environment. I did not know what form or shape that would take but I knew right then and there that that was the road I want to go down.
Our avocado oil is high heat, has approximately 70% monounsaturated fat (the heart healthy fat) and is manufactured using a non-chemical, natural refining process. It is naturally gluten free, trans fat free and non-GMO. We use this clean, high heat, neutral tasting oil for all our artisanal infusions.
Our product line includes artisanal infused avocado oils in flavors such as ginger-turemeric-orange, rosemary, roasted garlic and chilli. Basil infused avocado oil was launched in June, just in time for summer tomatoes and vegetables (in the Northern Hemisphere). Our oil tastes just like pesto, and is great on salads, tomatoes and all summer vegetables.
We have a unique proprietary infusion process that preserves most of the nutrients and flavour of the herbs. For instance we add approximately half a pound of rosemary to one bottle of rosemary avocado oil to make it taste like a handful of fresh rosemary. Our process is time consuming and artisanal, but it gives a better quality, more flavourful oil. Our ginger turmeric oil is unique on the market. Both ginger and turmeric are widely known for their health benefits. We are using the actual ginger and turmeric root to infuse our oil and adding a cold pressed organic orange oil for a citrus undertone. This oil is great on salads or sautéing root vegetables like beets, carrots or parsnips. Add to that the anti-inflammatory effect of turmeric and you've got a highly versatile culinary oil with many benefits. For our roasted garlic avocado oil, we roast our own garlic in order to infuse the beautiful aroma into the oil.
We are looking to expand into larger retail chains and scale up production in the next two years to include 200-500 stores. Our target market is the non-GMO, natural specialty food sector and we are catering to our customers with uniquely artisanal, new specialty oils that provide added health benefits besides versatility and taste. We are also aiming to become a B Corp certified company and take our social and environmental impact seriously. We are making small steps to achieve this status in the next 3-4 years by giving back to local organisations which support sustainable agriculture and farming, and taking on tasks and activities that will allow us to become B Corp certified in this time frame. We would like to see the products sold at natural/organic retail chains in the southeast North east US region in the next two years. They are currently available in local artisanal shops, a couple of local food co-ops, one regional natural food retail chain and our website. It will be available through Amazon starting mid June and adding more retail outlets every month.
