Next Up: Ifat Kafry Hindes of Project Wellness

An elevator convo with Ifat Kafry Hindes. See here for more from our Next Up series.

What do you do?

I am a wellness coach to corporates, businesses, or families and individuals. I either go into F&Bs and educate them on how they can manipulate recipes to have high nutrition density without compromising on taste, or I develop menus according to my clients’ needs. With corporates, I give talks and create shared meals or a series of wellness events. With families and individuals, I help make a “painless” transition into healthier home habits.

How does your business work?

The Project Wellness tag line is “Making Wellness Accessible”, and I make it my mission to do so by any means possible. I’m flexible when it comes to my clients. I prefer to understand them rather than push my ideals and values upon them. We all want to achieve a certain type of healthier standard of living these days, but most don’t know where to begin. Others do, but fear the challenge.

I teach cooking classes, edit kitchens, and clean home pantries. I also create “Wellness Walks” around Hong Kong to show my clients just how easily accessible health and wellness is on various budgets. For some, I make introductions to health professionals as well. It is exciting and challenging [to deal with] the hardest clients — those convinced that a healthier way of living is tasteless, boring, and full of struggles. I love proving them wrong and seeing their surprise and satisfaction when it all clicks. 

How did your business get started?

I founded Hong Kong’s first gluten-free organic bakery, Choice Healthy Foods, serving baked goods made with healthy ingredients. Back when I launched, there was nothing of its kind here in Hong Kong, and it was a daring and unconventional business to start. Eventually, life presented other challenges that required me to take a hiatus, so I sold Choice Healthy Foods to a wonderful couple who are still making waves in the city. Project Wellness started after I sold my old company and began to get enquiries about whether I could help businesses and individuals. Eventually, it took off with a life of its own. I feel very blessed because of that.

Who are your clients?

Curious people who want to live a healthier lifestyle. People who aren’t convinced but want the challenge. Everyone, really! My youngest clients are children, but there is no limit on age.

What is a day in your working life like?

From the moment I wake up, I’m living a double life. I drop off and pick up my kids, as my two eldest are in different schools. My youngest is still too young for school. In between all of that, I’m either running to meetings, working from my test kitchen, planning a trip for a client, or working on my newly funded cook book while catering to the needs of my children.

Where do you see your business in the next five years?

I’d love to see Project Wellness have a center where we teach various forms of wellness to all ages, from food to meditation. This is something I am constantly focusing on. I hope this can be achieved through partnerships. I’d like to make health and wellness accessible to all — most importantly, teaching it from a young age in order to change the future. I also hope to release more cook books for kids and adults, hopefully expanding into different areas in the region. Let’s see. Who knows what kinds of opportunities will arise if I stay open to them!