LIFT UP LOCAL 005
By Wendy Ekua (W.E.) Da'Cruz
Founder & COO, The Mushroom Angel, LLC
📷Cruz Burgers
What started as a yearly family fast from meat, inspired the plant-based patty made from mushrooms recipe that we now call Cruz Burgers. Producing a product for market was inspired by the insecurities in the food industry exposed by the pandemic and compromised immune systems plaguing the world. We believe in the nutrition of mushrooms to help address these global issues.
The English word for Cruz translates to “Cross”. We are a cross burger, a place where people can cross paths – vegans, vegetarians, meat lovers alike, can sit at the same table and enjoy the same meal. We believe there is power in flexibility. Our family story is a representation of what's possible for people all around the world.
📷Cruz Burgers
At the peak of COVID-19, our household was reduced by 6-figures to one income, both children began homeschooling, and soon after learned of our pregnancy. Through prayer and advising, Dominique DaCruz and I made the choice to take a family recipe that was developed during a spiritual fast during the pandemic to market.
We didn't have a food license.
We didn't have a commercial kitchen.
We didn't have any machinery.
We didn't have packaging.
We didn't have any food education.
We didn't have a pool of investors.
We didn't have a name for the product.
We didn't have a legal business structure for the new venture.
We didn't have a list of wholesale suppliers for ingredients.
We didn't have any connections to grocery stores.
But in less than 6 months, we’ve expanded into 5 grocery stores and have big plans for 2022 and beyond. It's a testament and true reflection of its name and the important to "Keep Cruzin" in life no matter the circumstances you are faced with.
📷Cruz Burgers
Launching Cruz Burgers helped our family focus on creating a solution in the midst of a huge global problem that is impacting our daily lives to the core.
While we have moved to a more plant-based diet as a family, naturally our eldest daughter (7) is a meat lover, our son (4) has been a vegetarian since birth, our youngest (4 months) exclusively breastfed and we as parents have two totally different taste palettes. Dominique is more open and a lover of mushrooms. I, (W.E.), am more reserved and did not initially eat mushrooms. Cruz Burgers provides a healthy medium for all of us to share a meal we all enjoy at the same table creating a healthy lifestyle.
We are grateful for the impact we've been able to make and achievement so far and look forward to helping others in their various "crossroads" in life.