Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Navyn Salem. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Navyn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

We manufacture and distribute life-saving, ready-to-use therapeutic foods—such as Plumpy’Nut and Nutributter—to treat and prevent malnutrition among children and mothers in the world’s most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities.

Through strong partnerships with leading humanitarian organizations, NGOs, and Ministries of Health, we ensure our products reach those who need them most—even in the midst of the most complex and challenging humanitarian emergencies.

Navyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Edesia is a non-profit social enterprise on a mission to end global malnutrition. We manufacture and distribute life-saving, ready-to-use therapeutic foods—such as Plumpy’Nut and Nutributter—to treat and prevent malnutrition among children and mothers in the world’s most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities. Through strong partnerships with leading humanitarian organizations, NGOs, and Ministries of Health, we ensure our products reach those who need them most—even in the midst of the most complex and challenging humanitarian emergencies.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

We earned it—one box at a time. From the very beginning, we focused on doing one thing—and doing it well. Making life-saving foods that children in crisis could count on. Our reputation was built by keeping our promise: that every packet leaving our Rhode Island factory would meet the highest quality standards, reach the hardest places, and give a child the chance to survive and thrive.

When I was creating Edesia, I was told over and over that with no previous experience, I’d never succeed. But I chose to ignore that. That courage—to keep moving forward when others said it couldn’t be done—set the tone for Edesia.

Partnerships strengthened our reputation—humanitarian agencies, NGOs, and so many others trusted us to deliver in the most difficult emergencies. But what truly built it was creativity coupled with back-up plans – the words that guide us are “find a way” Even in the darkest moments—when funding collapsed, when shipments stalled, when politics got in the way—we kept showing up. Resilience isn’t about never feeling fear—it’s about pushing forward anyway when so much is at stake.

That’s what built Edesia’s name around the world. Not just the food we make—but the relentless belief that children should never die of hunger when we already hold the solution in our hands.

Edesia faced the devastating reality of losing critical funding that had sustained our mission for years when foreign aid funding was frozen. The past year, Edesia faced a painful moment of silence and uncertainty, when so many organizations were trying to figure out what would come next.

What helped build Edesia’s reputation was choosing not to stay quiet. We stepped forward and used our voice and stories of impact — through media interviews, op-eds, and conversations with journalists — to make sure the story didn’t disappear.

At a time when there was swirl, confusion, and fear around the future of foreign aid, we provided clarity. We spoke about the human stakes: the children waiting for life-saving food, and the communities relying on us to be there to help, like we have in the past.

By leaning into transparency and storytelling in the hardest moment, we showed our partners, donors, and the public that Edesia wasn’t giving up. That willingness to be vocal, honest, and visible — even when the news was difficult — helped build trust and reinforced our reputation as both a leader and an advocate in the fight against malnutrition.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When USAID/Foreign Aid funding collapsed earlier this year, Edesia stood on the brink. We were dangerously close to significantly closing down operations, we had to lay off staff, and thought we might have to walk away from the very mission that drives us: ending malnutrition in the hardest corners of the world. Thousands of boxes—marked “From the American People”—sat trapped in warehouses. Ready to save lives, but unable to move.

And yet, in the silence and uncertainty, we refused to stop. Every day, we showed up. We kept the lines running. We kept hope alive. Resilience doesn’t mean we weren’t afraid—it means we pushed forward anyway, because children’s lives were at stake.

In Mali, we saw the truth of those stakes. A child arrived so malnourished she could barely eat. Another lost her fight. Behind every box, there is a child’s life hanging in the balance.

But then—something remarkable happened. Hope broke through. We created our own coalitions that did not depend on the US Government or the United Nations. We refused to let politics or delays silence our purpose. We started fundraising which allowed us to keep making life-saving foods. We kept serving children in the hardest-to-reach places.

Because “one box, one child, one life” is not just a slogan. It’s a promise. And it’s one we will never walk away from because at Edesia, we know, children can’t wait.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://edesianutrition.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edesianutrition/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdesiaNutrition/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edesia-nutrition/
• Twitter: https://x.com/EdesiaNutrition
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT-SFzMMXEi6q3Xpb9pGLmw
• Other: Vimeo has most of our videos: https://vimeo.com/edesianutrition

Image Credits

Photo Credit: Edesia Nutrition