Supply Chains, Ginger, and getting the Boom, with Nella Jansson-Wright from Moju

Speaker A: I actually think a modern supply chain is all about the relationships. Like that is the key where you get the strongest service level, the toughest, uh, under the toughest conditions. It's all because you've invested in building really, really good relationships.

Speaker B: Hello and welcome to the Noble Ideacast. I'm Becky Holland. Today we are upstream. We talk a lot on this podcast about behavior change, but we often think about that through the lens of the customer. What they buy, how they live, what they believe. But real change, the kind that drives lasting systemic impact that often starts much further back. Not just with customers, but with teams, with stakeholders and the supply chain. In this episode, I'm joined by Nella Janssen Wright, head of operations at Mojo uk, Leaders in functional health shots. Moju is one of those challenger brands that does things a bit differently. And in this conversation, we dive deep into what it means to build a supply chain that's not just efficient and ethical, but joyful too. We'll explore how Nella and the Moju team are creating meaningful human relationships all along the supply chain and why that's critical for brand impact, resilience and long term growth. So whether you're scaling a startup or running a global operation, get ready for practical insights, honest reflections, and a few unexpected stories, like crawling up a 70 degree slope in the Peruvian jungle. So tell me, what do you mean by functional shot?

Speaker A: So functional shot is a small drink, not alcoholic, that you would take to either increase your performance, increase, um, your health or your vitality. So the ones that we do are ginger and turmeric shots. Uh, and there's also a hot mango and spicy pina shot.

Speaker B: Yeah, so I do like the hot mango. I've had a few hot mangoes in my time. So I guess the key question is, do you like your Moju functional shots? Did you have one for breakfast? Do you drink Moju every day?

Speaker A: I do, actually, yes. Unsurprisingly, I love our shots. Um, my favorite shot is actually the turmeric shot. Um, it's quite an earthy, earthy, ah, taste. But I love it. I take it every morning as soon as I wake up. And actually I feel so great. I haven't had a single sniffle. I haven't been ill even for an hour, uh, since I started that regime, uh, two years ago. So either, uh, it's placebo, it works really well. I don't know, but I am happy.

Speaker B: Wow. So did you start when you started working for Moju or were you drinking these functional shots before?

Speaker A: I actually just tried them. Uh, as Part of, uh, the interview process I thought I need before I go and speak to these wonderful people. And then I fell in love with them.

Speaker B: We're talking about Impact today. So tell me, let's start us off. Tell me what Impact means for you.

Speaker A: Impact is everything in a business. Obviously you have to make commercially the right, uh, decisions. But alongside that, I feel it's so important to take, uh, people and planet into consideration as well. So I worked for B Corps now for almost 10 years, and I don't think I'd ever want to work for any other type of organization. But Impact is choosing to do what's right, not always the easy decision. It's putting people and planet at the same time of all those decisions. And at moju, we want our impact to be as close to our own, uh, operations as possible. And by that, I mean that we want to help people live with more Mojo and feel that boom. And that's consumers. But we also want all of our crew who work at Mojo to feel really, really good and enable them to do an amazing job and develop personally and professionally. But we also to make sure that the people who make our products also are benefiting from moju.

Speaker B: So they're feeling the boom too.

Speaker A: Exactly. So what do you mean, feeling the boom?

Speaker B: What does feeling the boom feel like?

Speaker A: Well, the boom is when you get a really strong ginger shot and you feel amazing. So you might take that instead of a coffee when you need a bit of a hit to wake you up. Or, uh, you might feel the boom when you, um, when, when you've had lots of good vitamins from these shots over a period of time and you're just adding more vitality to your everyday life.

Speaker B: Oh, so you got the short term boom and the long term boom.

Speaker A: There's many booms.

Speaker B: The big, big boom. The big bamboo. I can't say it all, uh, right.

Speaker A: The big bang.

Speaker B: The big bam boom. Sounds like, fantastic. So you grew up in Finland. You're quite an outdoorsy person. Tell me about your upbringing and how that's kind of shaped your view of the world.

Speaker A: Yeah, I guess. Um, yeah, I grew up in Finland near the coast. And every summer we would, uh, we would go out onto a small, remote island with a small little cabin and, um, spend four or five weeks out there. There would be no running water, no electricity, so we'd have to kind of make do with what we had. And, um, and it was just an amazing way of really reconnecting with, with nature every. Every summer, I don't think. I thought that that was any different to anybody else at that time. But, but I think now living um, in the uk I do feel like I need to be out in nature like almost most days. So uh, I always try and go for and that whole nature has been a real kind of source of physical and mental well being for me in the last few years. I've got a lot of strength from being outside and I think everyone should have that opportunity and we mustn't stop destroying this amazing environment we have around us.

Speaker B: Um, the theme of the, this podcast and all of this season is all about how we create inside out impact and how we get inside systems and processes and things and make them better. And supply chains and the work that you do is a really, really good example of that. Why do you think that manufacturers and brands need to influence their supply chain partners and co manufacturers, not just consumers? Because that's what we think of when we think about, you think about marketing and you think about who's going to buy this stuff. But you're thinking about stuff much m earlier in the chain, aren't you? Yeah.

Speaker A: So I guess like I've been working with uh, manufacturing partners for 10 years and that's what I absolutely love and I know that time I've really learned that um, it's the relationships that matters in those uh, manufacturing and supply chain relationships. So without a true genuine partnership, um, you're going to get the basics right and you're going to do some transactional business. But that is not meaningful to anyone. When something happens, they won't prioritize you and you won't get any sense of satisfaction out of doing that kind of ah, job but where you can build really long lasting meaningful relationships with um, between businesses and ultimately between people because it's humans doing business, not business businesses. It's incredibly rewarding and that takes time. But if you, if you align on your values and align on your goals and you share your strategy and you're open with each other, I genuinely believe that you get a much, much deeper collaboration that will set you uh, apart when things get tough.

Speaker B: So in terms of how that works at Moja, you're a relatively small company. I think you've got about 40 people. So do you do your own manufacturing or do you work with co manufacturers? Can you just explain a little bit about how it works?

Speaker A: Yes. Our products are made in Europe by a co manufacturer who we have an incredible relationship with. They are really aligned to our values and they are keen to help us with anything uh, that relates to um, the environment and impact and all of those sites we have recently, for example, invested in uh, lots of solar panels for their roof and that's us giving them money to buy solar panels that they will own. It's not our solar panel. We want them to be uh, more and do the right thing. And in return we have the most incredible product and it's manufactured not just to perfect quality but also every week delivered on time in full. So we have fantastic service levels and I don't think we would have that if it wasn't for the fantastic relationships.

Speaker B: So what does it actually take to kind of create those behaviors to shift behavior upstream in the supply chain? Because there are, there are lots of people that manufacture things for the food and beverage industry. There are lots of manufacturing partners that you could have chosen or that you could work with now. And as you scale, obviously you need to bring more people on um, board. How do you make sure that you've got that alignment and how do you shift behavior I guess when it's perhaps not as aligned to your values as you would like it to be? Yeah, it is.

Speaker A: But taking the time to get to know people and really being open about the future and what, what your goals are, um, it's not a quick fix but we, we in my previous workplace we, we did that particularly with our biggest co manufacturer and um, it took years. But then um, in 2021 they actually ah, certified as B Corp and they were a manufacturing site and those do not normally certify as B Corp. And that meant that all of the staff at their end, which was 500 people, now got the benefit of working for a B corp. And we're helping lives uh, much further afield than just in the head office where we're working. And that's, that's an amazing feeling, um, to not just help people locally but have uh, a ripple effect much further afield.

Speaker B: I want to talk about inspiration and where you get inspiration from and how you continually improve and make things better. There are brands like Tony's Chocolonely in particular who I get really excited about when I talk about, and I know you do as well. Um, and they really raised the bar in terms of how you look at your supply chain and kind of changing the way people think about it. What do you admire about what they've done?

Speaker A: Yeah, I really look up to the Tony Chocolonely guys. Ah, they've done an absolutely amazing job at ah, revolutionizing the way that cocoa is sourced and that's kind of their mission. Um, I've spoken to them a bit uh, just to understand everything they do and I'm really impressed by these uh, five sourcing principles that they have. Tony's talk about all cocoa beans being traceable, paying a higher price to the cocoa farmers and uh, making long term commitments and then really collaborating with the farmers so that they can be really strong in what they do and having really good quality and productivity controls in place. I think that would probably uh, apply to a lot of uh, products uh, sourced from uh, lots of countries. But I'm not just impressed by these five sourcing principles, I think they're brilliant. What they've really done is this um, taking these um, Tonys open chain ah further and now we know that Waitrose and uh, Pepper Nut are always using uh, the chocolate that comes from cocoa with these uh, principles. So that's really impressive. But what makes it even more impressive is that when I speak to them they're very much of the mindset that they want to help other organizations who source other ingredients on their journeys as well. So it's a very kind of collaborative approach to let's not just do this because it's the right thing for our marketing, it's let's do this because actually we want to make people's lives better and that's what I really admire about them.

Speaker B: Do you think that a smaller brand uh, like Mojo can have that same kind of ripple effect that Tony's have had with their open chain? Or do you need to do things slightly different like what's your way?

Speaker A: Well I think every single industry has because it's own challenges so it's not going to be a uh, kind of copy paste and just do the same. Tonys have been doing it for 20 years now and they are very open that there's still lots of challenges that uh, they want to win. We're a small, small, small, small business and we are at uh, the very start of our journey. We are focusing on doing the right thing with the amount of resources that we do have and, and ultimately a ripple effect would be amazing. But we're at the very start of our journey.

Speaker B: A lot of it is about storytelling as well though. You know, you're right. Every organisation has limited resources and clearly you know, your business needs to be commercially successful in order to have a positive impact. I don't think anybody would dispute that. So it's not just about the work that you do but it's also about people knowing about it and creating memorable moments and doing things I guess like coming on this podcast and talking about it and inspiring other people to do the same. You can have a ripple effect in lots of different ways. Yes.

Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker B: I'm going to talk about another little ripple, my little jealousy ripple. So one, I don't know if that's a thing. Um, so I was very jealous when I discovered that you were going to deepest darkest Peru, if that's a place, but Peru anyway to um, talk to ginger farmers right in the middle of an explosion in ginger production. So I know it must have been an incredibly busy experience, but it sounds like it's always also pretty inspirational. Tell me a little bit about why do you source ginger from Peru?

Speaker A: The best ginger in the world grows in tropical climates, um, in really, really nutrient r rich soil. It needs high altitude and it needs a lot of rain and a lot of sun. And one of these regions that ginger can grow is in Peru. So the ginger in our product has actually got more potency than uh, ginger in shop bought ginger. It's got more uh, gingerols and shower goals which are the components with the health benefits. And uh, we have found that the ginger in, in Peru two and a half times more than ginger that you could easily find in the shops. So that's the reason why we are sourcing from tropical countries like Peru.

Speaker B: Tell me about your experience. Tell me, tell me what happened.

Speaker A: So out in Peru we saw uh, the most amazing, amazing uh, fields. We met with fantastic farmers who uh, are working really, really passionately uh, to deliver the best quality ginger and turmeric. We saw how these fantastic roots grow in the really, really nutrient rich soil in the middle of really, really jungle countryside and they grow on these steep hillsides and the people that farm them are uh, really, really passionate about what they do. So it was an absolute honour and a privilege to meet them.

Speaker B: And do the farmers eat, do they eat the turmeric and the ginger or is that something because it's not in their culture? Do they just produce it and provide it to you?

Speaker A: It's actually there's quite an interesting story in that ginger came to Peru from China with the railway workers and um, that's how they grow ginger in Peru. Also. Lots of Chinese came and there's an interesting uh, fusion of foods, um, between Peruvian and Chinese foods. And that cuisine indeed uses ginger.

Speaker B: Oh wow.

Speaker A: So this um, Chinese, Peruvian fusion food is called chifa and it's very popular out there and that uh, indeed uses ginger.

Speaker B: Well you learn something every day. So look, you went to Peru, you're trying to build meaningful relationships with producers that live uh, a long way from you, they have a totally different lifestyle. There are language, cultural, commercial barriers. How do you build those meaningful relationships with people whose life experience is so different from yours?

Speaker A: Well, again, it's like with anything, it's about truly listening and being open and trying to understand the challenges that they are living with and starting to build that trust and people being genuine with them. So um, we, we didn't have an agenda as such. We were just listening and learning. And uh, we learned so much about the ginger farming out in Peru. One of the things for example, we learned was that um, it's actually now forbidden to farm ginger on any slopes. That's ah, steeper than 70, uh, percent. So can you imagine? 70% is like really steep because 90 is straight. So if the slope or the, the hill is steeper than 70, it's illegal to farm ginger because of the safety of the workers on the farms. Um, but climbing up a field that was almost 70 degrees was nearly impossible.

Speaker B: Did you do that?

Speaker A: Yes, I did, yeah. Wow. You had to kind of crawl up and hug the roots, uh, to get up and. Yeah, it's just fascinating to see that, that without that law they probably would have found even steeper places. So, yeah, they, it's incredible.

Speaker B: Looking internally, obviously you, you have a whole team of people, I think you call them Mojo makers. Um, how do you inspire them to care about the impact in a way that feels real and part of your DNA because you're there experiencing and seeing it? How do you bring that back to everybody else?

Speaker A: Yeah, so the Mojo makers are a, um, fantastic team. They, my little impact team, um, but they're not people that do impact all day long. They are just representatives from each teams that um, have kindly agreed to help on the impact work. So I'm very privileged to lead them. Mojo was really created as a very value sled and purpose driven business. And I think because everyone is so motivated and on board with that, um, that kind of impact work comes quite naturally. So, um, the motor makers are really, really engaged. I mean, for example, last autumn a couple of them came up with an idea of doing a breakfast panel on the new, uh, standards. And they just thought it would be an amazing idea. And, and so we did. And, and it was completely additional to anybody's workload normally. But it was a, ah, great success where lots of people came. We had some good speakers and panel discussions and great breakfast and a great goodie bag which always goes down well.

Speaker B: Uh, can never go wrong with a goodie bag. Actually, ah, you can. There's nothing worse than a goodie bag.

Speaker A: And you open it up, well, this

Speaker B: is just a load of old junk. I don't want this. But Moju goodie bag is a very goody goodie bag.

Speaker A: Yeah, uh, it was good.

Speaker B: So we are almost at the end of the, the, the kind of the, the questions that I wanted to ask you, but I really just kind of want to, I guess just dig a little bit deeper in these last few minutes and just, I guess, understand what makes you tick a little bit more and how the experiences that you've had can help inspire or influence others. So I guess the first question I've got on that is, what is the one thing that you wish more people understood about modern supply chains?

Speaker A: So I think when I talk about being in operations and running a supply chain team, I think people often go a bit like, oh my God, that's so difficult. And I don't understand anything about that. And how do you cope with that? And it's a constant chaos. It is not. I actually think a modern relationship, a modern supply chain is all about the relationships. Like that is the key where you get the strongest service level, the toughest, under the toughest conditions. It's all because you've invested in building really, really good relationships. So during COVID obviously the supply chain environment was challenging, but where we had really invested in good relationship pre Covid, those relationships really, really paid off. And we were being prioritized, uh, ahead of other companies and we did so well because of those relationships. And yes, it takes more effort and yes, it's easy sometimes to raise your tone and say, no, we just need this done and it has to be done. That's not gonna get you anywhere. If you sit down and understand what the challenges are and invest in the relationship, then I think that's what makes it so amazing. The people.

Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you. So for other brands that are listening, what's one practical first step that they could take to make their supply chain more responsible?

Speaker A: Um, well, I mean really back to basics is to map your supply chain, um, map it out, understand where everything comes from. Do a materiality, uh, assessment to identify all the risks.

Speaker B: So what's a meta reality assessment?

Speaker A: Materiality assessment, where you look at all your risks and the impact of those risks. So who is going to be impacted of those risks and how significant they are. And one way of, uh, helping with that structure is to use the BCOP framework. BCOP are bringing up new standards, um, that are being enforced in the next Few years. Um, when I look at those, it really helps me as a really good framework for how to source ingredients and manufacturing.

Speaker B: Uh, Looking to the future, if I asked you to make a bold prediction or a hope for the kind of the future of sourcing and behaviour LED supply chains, what's your prediction or your aspiration?

Speaker A: Well, I mean uh, one has to think big, right? So let's go for it. Um, so I think that supply chain should not be judged by how efficiently they deliver products on shelves, but uh, rather what they leave behind on um, places that they've touched. So that's my kind of long term goal. So what you leave behind should be as equal as what you've actually delivered to your shelf. And then kind of more, kind of more practical wild terms maybe, maybe like QR codes on every pack with full traceability information of exactly what farm everything came from. I'd really like to see more collaborative collaboration between different brands. So like Tony's are doing, uh, collaborating and making chocolate like something um, that many brands can benefit from the open source. So that kind of thing would be amazing to see.

Speaker B: Awesome. So final question for you. Um, I know you talk about the wild, you're talking about practical things. What does your weekend have in store? Are you out in the wild?

Speaker A: I will very much be out in the wild. I am going paddleboarding tomorrow. Uh, one of my apple stabilates favorite hobbies. And then on Sunday I am actually traveling to the remote island I spoke about earlier in the Finnish archipelago.

Speaker B: Cool. Well, uh, you've managed to make me jealous once again. Thanks for that. Thank you so much Nella for being on the show. It's been an absolute pleasure talking to you today. Thank you so much and um, I will speak to you soon.

Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you so much Becky. Thank you.

Speaker B: That was Nella Jansen Wright from Moji. Brilliant conversation. That reminded me just how much of a brand's impact happens behind the scenes. It's easy to talk about values, much harder to live them in procurement decisions, supplier relationships and in the choices you make when no one's watching. But what stood out most for me is this impact starts and ends with people. It's built in factories and fields, in B Corp frameworks and ginger farms, and in the day to day decisions of teams like Nella's. So if you're building a brand that wants to change the world, even just a little tiny bit, don't forget to look up stream and if you've enjoyed this episode, please share. Subscribe Tell a friend we'll be back next time with more stories from the people that are driving transformation from the inside out. Until then, in a world that has gone completely curly wurtly, stay curious, stay bold and be you. Bye for now.