10 minute read
Featured Pro: BoKU - The Super Family’s Superfoods
BY RICHARD CAMP
Super Food, Super Family
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ROLLE FAMILY
Visitors and locals cannot miss BoKU as they enter Ojai on the 33… the name itself is intriguingly exotic… the owners are poster children for healthful food with a desire to “make a positive difference for as many people as possible with the healing power of organic super food.” Co-owner Lynn Rollé says she dreamt the name and the logo, and to her and her husband, Reno Rollé, it means “Love Life.”
INSIDE BOKU SUPERFOODS
BoKU Superfoods has been around for 15 years as an online source of plant-based food with natural ingredients grown in mineral-rich soil. The food is then dried into a power powder that encapsulates its exceptional nutritional strength and supports health and well-being.
Now, Reno and Lynn have taken the next step of opening a café where Ojaians can experience the super foods in healthful, vegan versions of favorite dishes.
How about a vegan Mac & Cheese made from gluten-free pasta and vegan cheese (my wife is a diehard cheese-aholic and she loved it.) Or, a quesadilla made with jerk jackfruit that thinks it’s pulled pork. Or, a Cauli-Power Salad or Wrap, made with hempseed crusted cauliflower, vegan spirulina blue cheese and tomato; or the super BLT, where one of the world’s classic sandwiches is made vegan by using a dehydrated strip of zucchini marinated in paprika, Applewood-smoked salt and maple that mimics a crispy piece of bacon.
As with many Ojaians, Reno and Lynn Rollé started their lives elsewhere. He was born in Mt. Vernon, New York to Robert R. Rolle, a janitor, and Dolores, a hardworking housewife who raised five children and eventually became a successful realtor. Lynn was born in Wilkes Barre, PA, and raised in Bensalem (a suburb of Philadelphia) by farmer Carter Alexander Bache and mother, Marie.
BOKU BUILDING ON WEST OJAI AVENUE
Reno, a sales rep at the time, showed Lynn some samples of imported clothing and eventually the two decided they were cut from the same cloth. In 1989, they were married in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, in what Reno says must have been one of the first “destination” weddings, with 80 guests from across the country. “The day started out rainy,” Reno remembers, “and just before the ceremony, the clouds parted, and a rainbow was cast from one side of the 17-acre property to the other. Pure magic.”
Reno and Lynn have two children, Reno, Jr. and Ryann, and Reno, Jr. is actually the impetus for them to create superfoods. In 1995, they were looking for an alternative to prescription drugs for their son after he’d been labelled as having “attention deficit.” A doctor wanted to prescribe Ritalin, but with Lynn’s background in family farming, she and Reno explored more natural alternatives. A naturopath recommended “Super Foods,” and they ordered a blend by mail. “The green powder tasted awful (like fish food),” says Reno. But they mixed it with orange juice and convinced their kids to drink it. A few weeks later, a teacher happily told Lynn that the drugs were working on Reno, J. … his grades and behavior were vastly improved. “We knew he wasn’t taking drugs,” says Reno, “and that something else must have caused this positive change.” Thus, a passion for super foods was born. a New York Times best-seller, “Natural Cures They Don’t Want You to Know About.” In 2003 he became CEO of a large TV marketing firm based in the United Kingdom and moved to Ojai, where the founder lived. With royalties from his book, he and Lynn worked to fulfill their dream of creating the world’s greatest superfood blend, with their kitchen in Ojai becoming the test lab.
Reno’s background reads like a “who’s who” of American entrepreneurship. (Lynn calls him a “serial entrepreneur.”) He founded the National Lampoon Home Entertainment division, invented a “Spin Fryer,” which removes more than 50 percent of saturated fats from fried foods, twice named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, and has published and co-authored several books, including
“We found the most potent foods on Earth,” says Lynn, “but it turned out a lot of them were less than tasty. This is how BoKU born, to create superfoods that not only fueled and nourished the body but tasted delicious.” After working and experimenting for two years, Bokusuperfood was born.
Lynn had learned basic business skills while working for Bernie and Mickey Somerman, who owned a gift shop/ gourmet/flower shop in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Mickey would invite Lynn on buying trips which instilled in Lynn a love of running “in and out of small shops wherever we travel. You find the most unique and coolest things!” Mickey was also a top-notch decorator, which “rubbed off” on Lynn. When Reno and Lynn moved to Ojai to set up the business, Lynn collaborated with South African Artist Peter Stuart. “I am so proud of how we transformed the building into what we had envisioned using recycled materials and some things from my house,” says Lynn.
The Superfood products are sold online to 65 countries around the world, but the in-person cafe experience is found only in Ojai. At the café, visitors can also buy a number of products to take home. Another attraction is an electric vehicle charging station where you can energize your car while you’re energizing your body. Reno added a ramp access from the bike path to the BoKU café, and wants to bring back electric bicycle rentals. He’s also plan-
SHELVES STOCKED WITH SUPERFOODS
ning to landscape 1.5 acres in the back of the restaurant for events such as weddings, parties and discussion groups … all designed to give back to the community. “We love bringing the community together for healing events,” says Lynn. In addition to his work with BoKU, Reno is very much invested in the community, having worked with the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation and as a member of the Building Appeals Board.
Reno, Jr. and Ryann both work for the company. Reno, Jr. is the “master formulator” of the superfoods, and Ryann works remotely in administration from her home in North Carolina. All things considered, Lynn thinks she’s found her happy place. “As a ‘YaYa’ of three amazing grandchildren (one from Reno, Jr., two from Ryann) I think I finally found my passion in Café BoKU, influenced by my 15 years of being CEO of Boku International,” Lynn says. “I found the job of my dreams and a great sense of accomplishment … I want BoKU to be a household name.”
And what’s a superfood café without super smoothies?
BoKU’s have an earth milk base, a mixture of watermelon seed butter, jujubes, dates, bananas, Lucuma powder and coconut milk. This base is infused with various powders to create healthful smoothies such as “Pink Protein Moment,” “Ojai Kreamsicle,” (10 billion probiotics and 1060 percent of your daily vitamin C) or “Super Human,” a blend of 11 greens and sprouts and 13 berries and fruits with 30 grams of protein. This writer can attest that these scrumptious smoothies absolutely do NOT taste like fish food.
Lynn feels that the BoKU story is continually being written. “We cannot wait to see where the future takes us,” she says proudly.
For Ojaians along for the ride, all we can say is Merci BoKU!
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