Helga Angelina Tjahjadi

Conscious eater

HELGA ANGELINA TJAHJADI had some health issues when she was young, but that all changed after she became a vegetarian as a teenager. Now the 26-year-old social entrepreneur is helping others discover the delights of healthy eating through Burgreens, which serves up veggie burgers, creative plant-based meals, vegan desserts and treats, and Superfood smoothies at venues in Pacific Place, the Darmawangsa area, Tebet and Pondok Indah.

“I’ve been passionate about healthy food since I was 15,” says Helga. “That’s why I decided to change my diet and lifestyle at such a young age, and I experienced rapid healing through nutrition as a result.” She and her husband, Max Mandias, founded Burgreens in 2013. They first met when she was studying for her Bachelor of Communication degree in the Netherlands.

“Max also became a vegetarian about four years ago, after he read a report that eating plant-based foods is one of the most effective ways to reverse climate change,” says Helga. “We were brainstorming about how we could establish a social business to promote conscious eating, which is about how the food directly impacts our health, animal welfare, the welfare of farmers and environmental sustainability. That’s why we conduct direct sourcing from local farmers at a fair-trade price, and why we empower underprivileged women at our central kitchen.”

“I wouldn’t call myself a successful entrepreneur yet,” says Helga modestly. “But in the past three years, I have learned many things about myself. One of them is about my purpose, which is to promote the conscious living movement and social entrepreneurship to the urbanites, and to integrate it as much as possible into my company.”