My name is: Maacha Le Blanc.

I live in: New York.

I’m known for being: The founder of Milli Mylk and mother to a magical little boy, Jack.

I'm talking about:

How I want to shift the plant-based mylk industry towards delicious, nourishing and clean mylk we can trust. Consumers are starting to discover that store-bought cartons of alternative mylks are loaded with oils, gums, fillers and junk that can harm your microbiome, cause inflammation and lead to poor gut health. That’s why we made Milli Mylk. We wanted to provide the best and easiest way to make delicious, clean, homemade-quality mylk in seconds.

Before I created this, I was: I worked in private equity. I loved advising and helping founders build incredible products and companies. I never thought I’d be on the other side as a founder myself. It’s been an absolutely thrill, and I’ve found a deeper sense of purpose.

My interest was sparked when:

I was fortunate to be raised by a pretty crunchy mom who embodied clean, conscious living. I spent most of my childhood this way, until the latter years of high school and college, when I rebelled against anything clean living and absolutely indulged myself in all things glutenous (fast food, late nights, etc). Unsurprisingly, it lead to pretty terrible health. Luckily, I had enough of a roadmap on how to return to health through clean living. My interest in clean mylk was sparked when my son Jack was born with a severe intolerance to dairy. I needed to give him an alternative mylk, but felt frustrated by the store-bought cartons. What I needed was a mylk that tasted amazing, so Jack actually wanted to drink it, and one that I trusted enough to feed my family. So, I started making fresh mylk at home, which was delicious and clean, but a huge messy chore. When I couldn’t find a solution that measured up, I knew we had to innovate a new way.

The idea behind it is:

We wanted to create a delicious and clean mylk that people could unequivocally trust. Working with food scientists and Michelin chefs, we created the first and only freeze-dried, plant-based mylk—with 100% organic ingredients—that gives people the best and easiest way to make fresh, homemade mylk in seconds. Freeze-drying (the removal of water and moisture) suspends our mylks at their peak freshness, flavor and nutrition. Our freeze-dried mylks are then milled into a fine ground mix. Just add water for fresh mylk in seconds! Because there are no chemicals or additives used in freeze-drying, what we end up with is a really delicious, clean mylk. Our freeze-dried mylks won’t spoil, they’re light and transportable (planet-friendly—emits three times less carbon than store-bought cartons) and, most importantly, there’s no compromising convenience, taste or quality.

Next up for us is: We get a lot of requests to take milli on the go. We’re excited to be launching single-serve sizes (travel packs) this month. We are also launching our Oat and Chata (think horchata) blends later this year.

What “Clean Living” means to me personally is: For me, clean living is conscious living. It’s an intentional way of living where one’s words, thoughts, actions and purpose are guided by love. When conscious love is your guide, you will inherently live with a tremendous amount of respect, compassion and care for everything (yourself, family, community and the planet).

The clean ritual I’m currently obsessed with is:

My meditation and exercise practice is my daily obsession. It nourishes my mental and physical well-being and provides a connection back to my truest self.

The words I live by are:

Love is infinite, the more it flows the more it grows.

One truth that is so important, but people don’t always realize is:

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” — Anis Ain.