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Most families spend their weekends watching Netflix movies or playing in the backyard. Judith and her family spend theirs teaching people how to live healthy lives through the food they eat.
Pots and pans are basic kitchen items that we’ve all grown up with. But inside the kitchen of Sydney-based entrepreneur Judith Viado, they are more than just that.
To Judith, her cookware is the key to a healthy life.
With the business she founded with her husband only a few years ago, Judith hopes to change the way Filipino mums and dads use and choose their cookware.
Nutricraft was a business idea borne out of her need to protect her family, especially her children from toxic cookware.
Judith is a scientist at heart (she graduated with a degree in biology from the prestigious University of the Philippines) before she migrated to Australia. Settling in Sydney, she carved a career as a successful IT specialist. With a major in biology, Judith applies a scientific eye in everything she does. It was when she did her research on basic cooking items that she discovered many of them weren’t safe to use over the long term. As she dug deeper, she was very alarmed about metal toxicity.
For example, while the toxicity of aluminium pots are still being debated (the same pots that many Filipinos use to boil rice), research has shown that they ruin the flavour of acidic foods, including dishes with tomatoes.
The problem with aluminium pots is that there is no guarantee on the quality. Harmful metals can leach into food cooked in cheap, poor-quality aluminium cookware.
The same goes with Teflon-coated pans. They’ve become popular in many households because of the convenience of so-called non-stick pans. But under extreme heat, Teflon-coated pans release toxic chemicals into the air that can cause polymer fume fever. Worse, it can even lead to breast, ovarian, prostate cancer and lung damage.
Judith and her husband decided to “take matters into their own hands”, and Nutricraft was born.
The husband-and-wife team looked far and wide for the manufacturing facility to exclusively make Nutricraft products. All Nutricraft cookware is made from the highest grade surgical stainless steel with titanium (Type 316 7-Ply Surgical Stainless + Titanium construction), a material that is practically indestructible, corrosion resistant, neutral to odours and flavours. It provides excellent heat conduction, a non-reactive surface that will not leach metals or chemicals into your food, and a minimum-moisture method of preparation.
While stainless steel pots and pans are not new, Judith aims to make a difference in two ways: customers can order a custom set according to their liking if none of the already available sets suits them. Or, customers can avail the “try before you buy” program where they can experience cooking with Nutricraft first hand before making any purchase. Judith believes that this program will be a game changer.
Moreover, all their products have 50-year transferable warranty! True to the Filipino tradition, the cookware can be part of a family’s ‘pamana’, handed down from one generation to the next.
Aside from creating a safe and smart cookware, Judith is also very passionate about teaching people how to prepare food more healthily (without using oil, salt and artificial seasoning) and how to prevent it from being contaminated with toxic chemical.
Healthy cooking for all
Thai and Vietnamese cuisine have been all the rage in Australia for many years. Local pubs offer Pad Thai, chicken curry and Banh Mi next to fish and chips. But in the last two years, Philippine cuisine has started to gain attention. Thanks to the new wave of Filipino foodies and chefs introducing the likes of adobo and chicken afritada to a global audience.
Judith believes this new generation of Filipino chefs will be drawn to Nutricraft’s products.
“Our product retains the flavours much better. For example, if you use a cast iron pot to cook pork adobo, the adobo sauce would seep into the pores of the pot so that if you cook sinigang next, the sinigang would go rancid. You can tell the difference with the right cookware.”
Aside from Filipino chefs and caterers, Judith also believes health-conscious mums and dads will also like using Nutricraft products.
“I know a lot of couples here whose mums and dads, lolos and lolas are still back home using cancer-causing cookware. We believe they can order Nutricraft here in Australia and send some to their families back in the Philippines for peace of mind about their health.”
Judith is against metal toxicity and her cooking lessons and demonstrations focus on education around this, as well as how to use less salt, sugar and oil in Filipino dishes.
A side business
Like any product of excellent quality, Nutricraft products are not cheap. “Our products are made-to-order so they are priced accordingly, but they are not as expensive as some of the stainless steel cookware out there in the market. We believe they are still affordable and worth it for the long-life (50 years) warranty,” she said.
Judith sells direct and her dream is to share the message about healthy cooking with as many people as possible. That’s why she’s adapted an affiliate model, allowing other like-minded individuals to sell or promote Nutricraft in exchange for a referral fee.
Depending on the made-to-order request, her cookware set can cost anywhere between $500 to more than a thousand dollars. But customers don’t have to pay it in full. Judith is offering prospective customers a payment plan starting from $80 a month.
A legacy she can be proud of
"We’ve registered our Intellectual Property (IP) with IP Australia. We’ve put our hearts and souls into this business. I’m proud to say we’ve invested in technology to produce state-of-the art cooking system.”
"Pinagsikapan namin ito. Tipid diyan, tipid dito [sa bahay] para maka-invest sa business,” she said.
Their efforts are starting to bear fruit. Within eight months since they founded the business, they started shipping overseas, with customers in six countries.
“We are not interested in volume. We are hoping to make a difference. How to eat well and live well through Nutricraft is the legacy we want to pass to our children,” she said.
To find out more about Nutricraft, go to https://nutricraftcookware.com/.
Click here for her promo offers.
The Australian Filipina is a proud supporter of Filipino-Australian small business owners and entrepreneurs.