Some companies start with market research and business plans. I started with my daughter, Hannah, who was always sick—and a refusal to believe this was just how things had to be. This is the story of ZSAZA.
The Medicine That Tasted Awful (But Actually Worked)
Growing up in South Korea, my mother would put me on an immune-boosting herbal remedy once a year before cold and flu season. This wasn’t something she picked up at a store—it was carefully prescribed by a local Chinese medicine practitioner, and my mother would spend hours monitoring her glazed clay pot, sometimes overnight, turning a bag of herbs into a decoction.
As a young child, I got sick very often. Frequent ER visits for high fever or extreme lethargy. I hear stories of IVs hooked up to veins in my head or foot because the nurses ran out of sizable veins in my little arms and legs. The herbal medicine tasted awful… really, truly terrible. But my mother was diligent about it, year after year. Instead of just treating symptoms, she worked on strengthening my immune system.
Today, as a mother of five wildly active children while running a business and a school, I’m rarely sick. When I do catch something, I shake it off in a day or two. Despite having five children bringing home all sorts of germs, I stay well.
Call me crazy, but I attribute this to my mother’s awful-tasting herbal medicine.
When the Problem Became Personal
On average in the US, children have six to eight cold episodes per year. That’s not counting stomach viruses, bacterial infections, and everything else that comes with childhood.
With multiple little children and frequent travel, my odds were way above average. It meant caring for a sick child all year long. That was something I was not willing to accept. My husband will tell you—nothing stresses me out more than a sick child.
There wasn’t a local Chinese herbalist nearby that I could trust, let alone whose ingredients I could trust. So I started making my own remedy at home, mixing immune-boosting ingredients of the best quality I could find, always in raw honey from my own farm.
All of my kids responded pretty well.
Except for Hannah.
The One Who Needed More
She was the first one to get sick and the last one to get better. She got sick the most. Whenever she was under any level of stress—whether it was a drastic drop in body temperature or a night of poor sleep—her body would respond almost instantly.
Hannah clearly needed more than a simple home remedy. She needed something more effective, with clinical substantiation, that would strengthen her body’s ability to handle stress and heal.
My background is in science, so I did what felt natural: I started researching. I first looked for existing products on the market.
There was nothing. Not even something remotely close to what I was looking for. Nothing that approached daily nutrition and immune support intelligently and holistically.
Building What Didn’t Exist
That’s when I decided to work with my business partner, Leilani McNeill, who brought over 15 years of experience in clean product innovation and deep botanical and clinical expertise. Together, we were determined to combine the integrity of my mother’s approach with modern pharmaceutical understanding.
We partnered with doctors who understood both traditional medicine and clinical research. We connected with friends at Champlain Valley Apiaries, Vermont’s fourth-generation beekeepers who have some hives on our farm. We decided to do everything ourselves—ingredient sourcing, custom formulation, direct-to-consumer sales. Complete transparency at every step.
We asked different questions:
Not “how cheap can we source this?” but “where can I find the cleanest version?”
Not “what’s trending?” but “what does the body actually need?”
Not “what’s the minimum dose?” but “what’s the therapeutic dose backed by clinical trials?”
Every ingredient in ZSAZA is at a clinical dose, supported by research. No artificial flavoring, coloring agents, refined sugar, fillers, synthetics, or chemical preservatives.
Why We Named It ZSAZA
The name comes from Hannah’s imaginary dragon friend—ZSAZA. A fierce, sweet protector who always looked out for her.
When it came time to name what we’d built, nothing else felt right. This entire mission was born from wanting to protect Hannah and kids like her. That dragon symbolizes the strength and sweetness behind every spoonful we make.
Hannah Today
These days, Hannah asks for her “ZSAZA spoonful” every morning. She doesn’t negotiate. She doesn’t hide it under her tongue. She actually looks forward to it.
She’s not the first one to get sick anymore. She’s not the last one to recover. She’s thriving—pursuing her interests, full of energy, resilient in ways I once worried she’d never be.
That shift from always-sick-first to actually-thriving? That’s what ZSAZA is about.
Who This Is For
ZSAZA Honey is first developed for kids, but made for mothers.
I want every parent to feel good about what they give their child, from day-to-day nutrition to sick-day support. I believe in the value of broad-spectrum nutrition. I fear the overuse of antibiotics. And I believe that a spoonful of honey really does help the medicine go down.
ZSAZA is for mothers who won’t settle for so-called immune boosters or multivitamins filled with refined sugar, fillers, synthetics, and chemical preservatives.
ZSAZA is for mothers who believe nature is our best nurturer—when paired with clinical understanding.
What We Make and Why
Everything we build traces back to the same question I asked when Hannah kept getting sick: what would I want to give my own child, every single day, with complete confidence?
That question led to HoneyBerry Immune+ for comprehensive immune support and Everyday Vitamin C+ for daily foundation. Both are formulated at therapeutic doses backed by clinical research, and delivered in a format families actually love—pure honey that kids ask for by name.
Every batch is handcrafted in Vermont with the same care and intention my mother brought to that clay pot in South Korea. Every ingredient is custom-sourced, rigorously vetted, and third-party tested. Every formula combines traditional wisdom with clinical science.
This isn’t about masking symptoms. It’s about strengthening the body’s ability to handle stress and heal. Just like my mother did for me, year after year, with that awful-tasting medicine I’m now so grateful for.
Except ours tastes good. Really good. Because wellness shouldn’t require negotiation.
From Our Kitchen to Yours
Some mornings, when I’m in our Vermont facility, I think about my mother’s patience. About Hannah’s dragon, fierce and sweet. About all the parents out there who refuse to accept that their child has to be the one who’s always sick.
This is for you.
From my mother’s kitchen in South Korea to our facility in Vermont to your kitchen table—this is ZSAZA.
Welcome to our story. We’re honored to become part of yours.
~ Danhee Bhakta, Founder
(A ZSAZA Mama)
