Cashews for a Cause: Nuts + Nuts

I’d never thought about where cashews came from until I met Cyrilla Suwarsa, half of the entrepreneurial duo behind Nuts + Nuts, a direct farm to consumer company. In a twist on the old lemons into lemonade adage, she and her sister Caecilia have turned an unfortunate illness into a fledging food company that is invigorating the Indonesian cashew industry. Five years ago, when Cyrilla, a New York-based graphic designer, was diagnosed with lupus, she went home to Indonesia to recover. While she was there, Caecilia introduced her to locally grown cashews, which were delicious but having trouble reaching the global market. To help the farmers, Caecilia was buying bulk raw nuts, then roasting and spicing them using a family recipe. Cyrilla was hooked, and knew that other people would be too—if she added smart marketing and appealing packaging. She created the logo and branding for their new venture, Nuts + Nuts, and enlisted Java artisans to make gift boxes out of indigenous banana bark, wood bark, and pandanus leaves. These days Cyrilla is back in New York, where she handles the business and marketing side of the company, while Caecilia works in Indonesia, sourcing the cashews and creating new recipes. The proceeds, once the company gets off the ground, will go to the Lupus Foundation. As for the cashews? Completely addictive, especially the salty-sweet version. Eat up—after all, it's for a good cause.