Zeyad Moussa, Founder and CEO of Tulua, would absolutely encourage anyone with an innovative idea and a lot of drive to disrupt the “stale and crusty” food & beverage industry. Just maybe not the way he did. In this episode of AMP, we learn about an unconventional but wildly successful path to starting a business.

An erstwhile biomedical engineer, longtime wellness advocate, and lifelong drinker of ginger tea (for its impeccable record of outperforming Pepto Bismol!), Zeyad saw a place for remedial ginger shots in the relatively risk-averse market of food retail and went for it. With no experience in the industry let alone the less-established category within it, he and his partner managed to r&d and scale up their first product, then land an account at Whole Foods by way of a bid at a charity auction. Now he runs one of the first companies to bring a wide range of wellness shots to the national level.

We chat about the incarnation of the brand and growth from wellness to vitality to digestive shots. Tulua, meaning “to rise up” in Arabic, represents the awakening you experience from their flagship product, which features a dose of Peruvian ginger so strong that he laughs about some customers’ reactions. We talk clean labels—in both human and pet food—and Tulua’s further guarantee of using certified organic, kosher, gluten-free, and non-GMO ingredients.

Zeyad has a lot to say about millennials (all good!), the current wellness boom, and a move toward e-commerce. We ask about challenges he’s faced with investments as a Saudi-Egyptian Muslim American; though he can predict with great accuracy who will win a pitch competition, it’s really the peaks in prejudice following the first Gulf War and 9/11 that stand out. A lot of consequences, like the double “random checks” at the airport, he takes in stride and with notable empathy; others, like his four-year-old son asking if they were going to jail after Trump’s Muslim Ban, are more painful. We end on maintaining a belief in goodness, committing to understanding others’ worldviews, and acknowledging the exhilarating departure from the cookie-cutter role of American Muslims past.

Keep on top of what Zeyad and Tulua are up to, and discover your own favorite Tulua shot at your local health-food store or by shopping online.

This interview was recorded in March 2021.

American Muslim Project is a production of Rifelion, LLC.
Writer and Researcher: Lindsy Gamble
Show Edited by Mark Annotto and Asad Butt
Music by Simon Hutchinson
Hosted by Asad Butt