Food and Drink Awards 2023

10 | LUXlife Magazine ITA Bio Lebensmittelhandel e.U. (VITA) was founded almost ten years ago in 2014 by organic-reishi-coffee-pioneer Gerold Helmut Jernej, who, for more than 25 years has surrounded himself with Asian philosophy, Tibetan Buddhism and Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). As Gerold explains, “in TCM there are so many possibilities to help mankind … I trust the millennia old knowledge about harmony and wellbeing.” With this mindset to boot, Gerold spent seven years working as a product manager for a natural and gold cosmetics line that was based on TCM, and before that for three years as project manager of a used mobile phone collection company. This company was the co-initiator of the Ö3-Wundertüte, which has been successfully collecting old mobile phones for a good cause since 2005 in Austria. Best Medical Mushroom & Healthy Coffee Trading Company 2023 - DACH VITA – Bio Lebensmittelhandel e.U. is a unique company that specialises in organic products with the overarching goal of providing its customers with the motivation to lead a lifestyle that is healthy and exciting. For the business, there is a keen focus on helping customers realise that they have to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing, and raising awareness of this in a way that is fun, innovative, and delicious. In the fast-moving world that we live in today, its amazing field for consumers to find the best choice of high-quality products that satisfy their health needs while remaining tasty, and this is where the company comes in, offering medical mushrooms in a variety of forms and natural, organic coffees. We speak with Founder Gerold Helmut Jernej, to find out more about his philosophy and the high-quality, life-affirming products that the company provides. it boasts alkaline and intermediate-fasting capabilities, it is ideal for people before or after taking part in sports, as well as being suitable for both vegetarian and vegan customers. In short, this coffee is for those who are health-conscious and is pioneering as the first of its sort on the Austrian organic coffee market. The food and drink industry is one that is subject to constant changes, evolution, and developments across the board, and a particularly prolific issue in the current climate is an increased demand for healthy and sustainable products, coupled by consumers increasingly suffering from coffee intolerances. To remedy this, VITA’s coffee produce is not only healthy, but is bolstered by the addition of two top-quality medicinal mushrooms that have been added since the beginning. The product is subsequently roasted and packaged in a private and organic roastery in Gmunden province of Upper-Austria, in packaging that is friendly to the environment. VITA uses only 100% organic highland Arabica beans sourced from a social coffee farm project in West Honduras, and the two medicinal mushrooms which accompany the beans are lovingly produced in the company’s native Austria, guaranteeing their quality and sustenance. Although these game-changing mushrooms have found their way into the company’s coffee since day one, it was 2018 when Gerold began selling these mushrooms separately as a wholesaler of an innovative mushroom production company, which is responsible for the production of valuable mushroom products as food supplements in the best organic quality in pure culture in Tyrol, in a range that is inclusive of powder capsules, alcohol-free dual liquid extracts, and a recently unveiled series of organic medical mushroom skin creams. In contrast to other coffee suppliers who use aluminium capsules, VITA focuses on high quality and only uses 100% compostable wood fibre espresso capsules. By enjoying this delicious coffee, consumers are not only doing something good for their health, but also contributing to a sustainable lifestyle and a better environment. As one might expect from the dedication and enthusiasm which Gerold exudes, VITA is a company comprised of a single person, with Gerold V • Sep23438 Vital organic coffee (VITA1001 – Bio Vitalkaffee) thus serves not only as a vocation, but a new challenge, and in order to separate himself from the competition, Gerold believes in adopting a quality-first approach across the company’s offerings, surviving in the highly competitive coffee market by specialising in one specific area and focusing on the right group that the product is intended for. Nutrition, exercise, and relaxation are the three pillars that serve to represent an individual’s health, and the business plans to utilise all three pillars to provide empowerment, offering organic food that is fair and great for overall health. As an example, the low-acid and healthy VITA1001 – Bio Vitalkaffee (Reishi coffee), helps those who suffer with coffee intolerance, and since

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTY1MjM3