Moe’s Story

From Mama JimJim to Taste of Nature

I was only 4 years old when World War II ended. With everything in turmoil, there were many shortages and life was very basic. There were no store-bought treats, so my mother made a simple confection we called “mama jimjim” of grape syrup and sesame seeds. It was a low cost candy made from ingredients that were locally available, but it was delicious.

I would take my daily piece of mama jimjim and run into our backyard to peacefully enjoy my treat under the beautiful eucalyptus trees. I remember spending hours watching the birds and listening to their songs while savouring my treat, made of simple ingredients and with my mother’s love.

Even today it only takes a candy in my hand to spark the childhood memory of watching the birds in the trees, and to think about my favourite, naturally delicious confection, mama jimjim.

Many years ago I had my own canning factory. I had the facilities to start experimenting with making this confection, and I developed a formulation that was very close to ready, but I had to move to Canada as an immigrant.

In 1988 I established Shandiz Trading Company in Canada with my dear friend from high school. We resurrected my old dream of developing mama jimjim into a commercial product and experimented with different nuts, seeds and sweeteners.

We started with the grape syrup that my mother used but improved it with honey and then later discovered agave syrup, which we still use today. My childhood memories had finally become a product; a wholesome treat carefully made with simple ingredients from nature. The name Taste of Nature came from the basic idea that I had lived with my whole life, which started with eating mama jimjim in my backyard.

Now Taste of Nature is distributed worldwide to over 30 countries. I think Taste of Nature has been successful because it is based on such a simple idea.

My partner and I, along with our families, still run the business today and don’t stray too far from my original dream. Our ingredients come from farms around the world that are also run by families. They supply us with the best quality ingredients possible, and families everywhere enjoy our products.

From their families, to our family, for your family