Forest Mana

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Company: Forest Mana
Website: www.forestmana.com

More about Forest Mana

Forest Mana is an ecommerce-based business, specialising in the procurement of superfood and premium health supplements. The founders are firm believers in a science-based approach to nutrition for a healthy lifestyle.

Contact information

Website: www.forestmana.com

Email: [email protected]

Location

Enterprise@Lincoln Building, Rope W

Lincoln

Lincolnshire

LN67DQ

United Kingdom

Veganism

Are all the products your entity (business, brand, organisation) produces and/or retails suitable for vegans? If no, then, unfortunately, you cannot register as we only accept submissions from 100% vegan entities.: Yes
Which of the following best describes you (professionals and sole traders) or your organisation?: Vegan

Ownership

Is your organisation an independent business/brand or a corporate owned business/brand?: Independent
Are you a Grassroots organisation (for projects, charities/NGOs)?: No
Are you a BAME (Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic) owned/run business/organisation?: Yes
What type of business/organisation are you?: Company
Are you a woman-owned/run business/organisation?: Yes

Social, Economic and Environmental Justice

Which social, economic or environmental justice causes does your entity (business, brand, organisation) support or promote (e.g. through social media posts, donations, attending protests and other direct actions etc.)?

Animal rights

Climate justice

Environmental justice

Environmentalism

Food justice

Global justice

LGBTQIA justice

Racial justice

What do you do to support or promote each of the causes you have identified?

Social Media Posts, Protests, Co-Promotions with relevant brands, Provide marketing expertise Pro Bono, help establish Social Enterprises that specialise in the above causes

Does your business/organisation have an ethical labour policy or code of practice (either formal or informal) which ensures fair labour practices?

Yes

Does your business/organisation have policies and practices which actively promote diversity and inclusion?

Yes

Do any of the products you produce and/or retail, or ingredients you use, have fairtrade certifications?

Some (less than a third)

Do you source products and/or ingredients from companies and suppliers that support fair labour practices?

Always

Environment and Sustainability

If any of the products you produce and/or retail, or ingredients you use, have a sustainable production certification, please indicate which certifications apply?

Certified organic

Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified

Other certification

Overall, how many of the products that you produce and/or retail, or ingredients you use, are certified by the sustainable production certifications listed in the question above?

All

Are any of the products that you produce and/or retail, or ingredients you use, produced using sustainable production methods albeit uncertified?

Yes

Are any of the products that you produce and/or retail, or ingredients you use, free of palm oil?

All

Do you reuse, recycle and/or donate any waste products (e.g. food, plastics, packaging etc.)?

Yes

Do you only use recycled or recyclable materials for packaging?

Yes

Is all of your packaging biodegradable?

Yes

Does your business, organisation or project follow a zero waste philosophy?

Yes

Energy, Transport and Distribution

How many of the products you produce and/or retail, and/or the ingredients you use, are made in the country in which your entity (business, organisation) is based?: All

Giving Back

Does your business support or give back to the local community in any way?: Yes

What was the motivation behind your business? What did you want to change in the world?

The motivation behind our business was to spread awareness of natural, sustainable, vegan, non-GMO supplements that are derived from medicinal mushrooms. We believe that mushrooms pave a clear path towards a sustainable future, in which hunger is tackled effectively across the globe. Coming from the Baltics, our cultural heritage is focused on the forest, its bounty and worship of nature - this is our modern way of expressing and sharing that love with the world!

Who is the team behind your business?

The team behind our business are all Lithuanians, who have all led busy city lives in the past but have now joined together on a business venture, after realising that our health, pursued in sustainable ways, is the most important thing. It is part of our cultural heritage, as well as personal passion - to deliver natural, easy on the belly, risk-free premium nutrition at affordable rates. We have long since known about these supplements, but only a few years ago have managed to put our heads together and procure them ourselves - to ensure that the high quality is maintained by people who are absolutely obsessed with nutrition, Mother Nature and care for ethical business practices as an expression of love to all people. We consist of three founders but work with a wide network of collaborators from different cultures, to identify and care for their individual and group needs across the globe. Due to Covid, we are now focusing on the multicultural UK market, and are planning to launch in the US, Europe and Asia - yay to big dreams!

What one thing about your business would most surprise us or is not known outside of your team?

The fact that one of our founders has an interesting habit of shouting 'STAY HEALTHY *Customer Name*' when sending an email reply to customer emails. 'Stay healthy is our signature version of 'kind regards', and we believe that by saying it aloud, we add a little bit of positive energy or karma to the simple process of sending an email message. We're a bit strange here!

If your business could be granted one wish, what would you wish for?

A collaboration with a small business, clinic, or charity entity that would make use of our products for patients! We are actually planning for it and actively looking into opportunities - it's a bit down our wishlist, but it's more interesting than the other bunch, hence us mentioning it here! :) Another similar wish, would be to collaborate with a charity to make it so that some proceeds from our sales are dedicated towards it - we're thinking of 3 different causes for 3 different products. For example, for our Lion's Mane Mushroom Extract product, we wish to donate a part of the proceeds to a mental health charity, and for our Spectrum 7 Mushroom Extract Blend - donating the proceeds to an adult Autism and Learning Disabilities charity. A lot of ideas, but we have to take it easy and plan very carefully, especially in these unprecedented times.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us about your business?

We don't plan on being huge overnight, but we do plan on being steady - that is achieved with careful attention to detail, customer trust and gradually revealing our brand story to the world. For now, you won't see a lot from our personal stories on our website and other comms channels, but we are planning to reveal more and more of our Baltic heritage, its nature and how we work to preserve it. You should visit the Baltics and Northern Europe - the dark green in our forests is like nowhere else. It draws you in as if it is your home!