IU junior Bodhi Beber has been cooking up a sweet treat for those who want to satisfy their sweet tooth while getting in some protein.
Beber, who transferred from the University of Pittsburgh last August, to study economics at the Kelley School of Business, founded the brand Muscle Mochi to create a nutritious protein snack. Beber makes the mochi out of his apartment right in Bloomington.
Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made from a glutinous rice, also known as mochigome. It’s made by pounding rice into a stretchy dough and shaping it into a ball. It can be both sweet and savory, and some, like Beber’s, contain ice cream.
Beber said the process of making mochi only takes about an hour. He first creates the mochi base and places the homemade ice cream into molds to freeze overnight. Then the next day, they are ready to be assembled. One small ball of mochi has 80 calories and contains six grams of protein. The mochi is made using heavy cream, 2% milk, eggs, strawberries, vanilla extract, strawberry extract, salt, sugar, monk fruit, glutinous rice flour, potato starch, and casein protein powder.
Beber first got the idea to create protein mochi in high school, while he was attending Cape Elizabeth High School. He was a state champion in football, powerlifting and swimming. In the midst of all this physical activity, Beber would make his own protein ice cream until he discovered the ice cream brand Halo Top. Beber said that Halo Top ice cream always messed with his gut. So, he came up with the idea to make a cleaner and healthier version. Beber started to work on the recipe this past summer in Pittsburgh before transferring to IU. He said the recipe took eight months to master.
“I didn't have any idea of making it into a business,” he said. “So, I worked on that. I worked on the recipe for that for a while, and then realized that, like, a bunch of people did want it.”
Beber has been working on creating his brand for a little over a year, experimenting with the recipe and the formulation of the brand. Once he felt confident in his recipe and brand, he spent two months fundraising to get enough money to afford a lease on a warehouse. During the time of fundraising and making a few sales, Beber worked to form partnerships with local Bloomington companies such as Macros & Nutrition, The Chocolate Moose, Twin Lakes Recreation Center, Iron Pit Gym and the IU football team.
Now, he is gearing up to launch his brand.
“I have a lease on a manufacturing warehouse, it starts May 1,” he said. “So, once we get that or all the equipment, send it into a food lab, get the nutrition label, get our packaging and then we'll be on shelves, like, late July, early August.”
Beber's family has played an important role during this process.
“My family has, like always been a huge support,” he said. “I got very lucky with my parents.”
Beber said his friend, Connor Gomez, who is also a student at the Kelley School of Business, studying marketing and finance, has recently joined Muscle Mochi as the chief marketing officer. He said his friend has been helping him create a new logo, coordinate events, and serves as an extra hand when things pop up on the operational and logistics side.
Beber said health and fitness have remained his biggest passions.
“I stuck around it just because, like, it just greatly improved all aspects of my life in every area, and just makes me a happier person,” he said.
Beber said his message to buyers about his brand is to give them a clean, healthy, protein snack.
“You don't have to feel guilty about it. You don't have to feel like, oh, my stomach's going to hate me later, or it's going to mess with my gut at all,” he said. “It's just like you're eating normal food, but it's got more protein and good for you.”
The official launch date of Muscle Mochi is not set in stone just yet. However, when the brand is launched it can be found on the shelves of Macros Nutrition, Twin Lakes Recreation Center, Iron Pit Gym and The Chocolate Moose.
