For years, John Jehae developed his vegan and organic meal concept purely from his own conviction to eat healthier, whilst also contributing to a better environment. John’s daughter Charlotte joined to help with marketing and growing the company from the ground up. Together they are the brand Johnny Dutch, a Rotterdam original company with a Limburg touch. Today, meat no longer plays the first fiddle in a meal, says John. All those copies of an original hamburger or chicken piece. I’ve never been a big fan of copies myself, “Getting as close as possible to the original of meat, chicken or fish”, according to John this does not provide much of an experience.
A tasty and healthy meal that you can easily and quickly put on the table, that’s what it should be all about. With Johnny Dutch you get to go on a journey in your own kitchen. In 15 minutes you can imagine yourself in Mexico, Thailand or anywhere else around the world. You smell the wonderful scents and taste the atmosphere, how nice is that. If you eat well, you will also feel better. If your body gets the right nutrients, it’s happy.
Johnny Dutch is just suitable for everyone. Pure and natural, plant-based food. No soy, no protein isolates, no E numbers, no pesticides or artificial additives. With Johnny Dutch you see what you eat and you know what you eat.
What does it contain? Organic roasted oats, beans and pea shoots (for sweetness), vegetables from the world kitchen, a little fruit, herbs and linseed. It simply contains everything you need: iron, fiber, omega 3 and proteins. Each pack of power balls represents a flavour from a different kitchen. Think of Mexico, Indonesia, Morocco, Italy, India and Thailand. All places where John has often been and thus got his inspiration from. “Each box comes with a spice paste that you add to your vegetables at the last minute.
The Johnny Dutch team has already done most of the work, says Charlotte. With a little personal touch you can put a delicious world dish on the table in no time. It’s really easy. For example, tonight we will eat Thai ourselves. How does that work then? Well in 3 steps:
- Take pack of rice out of the cupboard and cook it.
- We have another onion and broccoli in the vegetable drawer. We steam it for a while and at the last minute we add the Johnny Dutch herb marinade.
- Add the Johnny Dutch power balls in the pan for 5-6 minutes on medium heat or airfryer at 180 degrees for 5 minutes, and Johnny is ready.
‘Power balls’ with fresh herbs. In the Netherlands and Belgium they are already available in organic shops such as Ekoplaza, Marqt and at health food stores, “They have a unique range and everything is organic”. It flies out of the store.
Telling the story behind Johnny Dutch is important to him. That’s where daughter Charlotte comes into play, who takes on the marketing part. ,,We are less known now, but the intention is that when people hear the name ‘Johnny Dutch’, they immediately know that it is good and trustable brand. A natural source of protein, rich in fiber, omega 3, vitamins and minerals such as iron and zinc. Naturally free of gluten and soy and Nutriscore A, low in salt, low in sugar and low in fat. So you lose weight, laughs John.
Johnny Dutch isn’t just for the sake of it, this is a real innovation on store shelfs, but in addition he has also put all his ‘power’ (blood, sweat and tears) into developing it. Success did not come by itself. For years he worked with a small team on perfecting the product. That went so far that at one point friends and family thought “stop it”. “There are so many different types of beans and herbs and I wanted to try everything from that culture and take it with me. It was a lot of testing until it all fit together.”
However, Charlotte never doubted her father. “I knew it was going to work, because this is his dream. On his travels he saw how many people are less fortunate, so he felt he had nothing to lose.” It is precisely because they both come from different generations that their collaboration works so well. John: “I am charmed by young people, who look at the world so differently and how they leave it behind.” Together they want to offer an easy (because what can’t you put a ball in?), healthy and tasty product with more and more kitchens. “We don’t want to become too massive, but will strive to take up an international position in the food market in the near future.” What do we think is most important?
Let everyone enjoy the Johnny Dutch vegan world cuisine.