Gabriella Åfeldt And Caroline Dinkelspiel On Building Inika Superfoods, Healing From Within, And Why Wellness Should Feel Human Again

Brainz Magazine Exclusive Interview

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Inika Superfoods was founded in Stockholm in 2020 by Gabriella Åfeldt and Nicole de Geer with a vision rooted in holistic health, natural ingredients, and mindful living. What began in a kitchen during one of the most uncertain moments in recent history has since evolved into a growing wellness brand focused on creating clean, plant-based superfoods that fit naturally into everyday life.

In this interview, Gabriella Åfeldt and Caroline Dinkelspiel open up about rebuilding the company together, navigating uncertainty, staying grounded through growth, and why they believe wellness should feel joyful, accessible, and emotionally connected rather than restrictive. They also share powerful reflections on mindset, healing, entrepreneurship, and the importance of creating moments of calm in a fast-moving world.

Caroline Dinkelspiel & Gabriella Åfeldt

For people discovering Inika for the first time, what is the story behind the brand and where did the original vision begin?

Gabriella Åfeldt: The journey started during COVID in 2020, when the world felt very upside down. Through a series of synchronicities, I met Nicole, the other co-founder, and there was an opportunity to create something within holistic health.

Nicole came from a holistic health background, while I had more of an engineering and business background, but with a deep interest in wellbeing and nutrition. We started experimenting in Nicole’s kitchen, testing recipes, talking about health, and asking ourselves what people actually needed during that time.

What kept coming back was this idea of returning to something more natural and balanced. Life had become so overwhelming for so many people, and we wanted to create products that could make healthy choices feel easier, calmer, and more accessible.

It was never about perfection. It was about creating small moments that made everyday life feel a little better.

You’ve spoken a lot about wellness needing to feel joyful rather than extreme. Why was that so important for the brand?

Gabriella Åfeldt: Because health is not just physical. It’s emotional, mental, spiritual, it’s everything.

I think a lot of people today feel exhausted by wellness culture because it often becomes another thing to perform perfectly. Another set of rules. Another pressure.

Both Nicole and I had experiences of going too far into different extremes before realising that balance was actually where wellbeing existed.

We wanted Inika to feel warm and human. Something that supports your life rather than controls it.

Caroline, your connection with Inika started from the outside looking in before you became part of the company. What made you feel there was something special there?

Caroline Dinkelspiel: It felt authentic immediately.

Nicole and I were close friends, so I heard about Inika very early on. I remember her talking about the ingredients and philosophy behind the products, and I was honestly surprised that something could feel that natural while still tasting genuinely good.

But beyond the products themselves, there was something very real about the energy behind the brand. It didn’t feel like wellness marketing. It felt personal.

"I think people can feel when something is created with integrity versus when something is simply trying to follow a trend."

There was clearly a major turning point when the two of you joined forces. What changed during that period?

Gabriella Åfeldt: The company went through a very difficult transition period. When Inika first launched, there was a lot of momentum and excitement, but the world changed very quickly and circumstances changed with it.

Eventually the company needed a completely new structure and direction.

There was a period where I genuinely didn’t know what would happen to the brand. After years of building it, there was a real possibility it could disappear. But deep down, I never fully lost hope.

Caroline, what made you step into that uncertainty?

Caroline Dinkelspiel: Honestly, because I believed in it.

I remember sitting with Nicole over tea while she explained the situation, and my immediate reaction was: “No, this brand is too good to disappear.”

Then I met Gabriella, and I could immediately see the passion, resilience, and vision behind everything she had built.

What inspired me most was that there was no ego around it. There was just genuine belief, hard work, and a willingness to rebuild properly.

Over the past year and a half, we’ve essentially rebuilt the company from the ground up together. We’ve grown organically, stayed very close to our customers, and focused heavily on relationships rather than trying to scale too fast.

Inika Superfoods Founders Nicole De Geer and Gabriella Åfeldt

What has rebuilding taught you both about business and leadership?

Caroline Dinkelspiel: That mindset matters more than people realise.

Of course there have been stressful moments and operational challenges, but one thing I’m very proud of is that we’ve never approached problems by turning against each other.

There’s been a lot of trust, positivity, and calm between us, even during difficult periods. I also think experience changes the way you handle pressure. We’ve both worked in large corporate environments before, and now we’re building something much more personal and value-driven. That creates a different kind of motivation.

Gabriella, your own healing journey played a huge role in shaping your philosophy around wellness. Can you talk about that?

Gabriella Åfeldt: For many years, I was constantly running. I was extremely goal-oriented, very focused on achievement, and trying to live up to expectations I had placed on myself. Over time, my health deteriorated badly because I ignored what my body was trying to tell me.

Eventually everything crashed.

At the end of 2018, I hit a point physically and emotionally where I knew something had to change. That became the beginning of my journey into holistic health.

I started changing the way I ate, slept, and lived, but eventually I realised healing was about much more than food.

I became deeply interested in the connection between the mind and the body - how stress, pressure, emotions, and identity impact our physical health.

At one point, my body felt like a prison. I didn’t trust it anymore.

But over time, through inner work, meditation, mindset shifts, nature, rest, and reconnecting with myself, something began to change.

Eventually I stepped away from medication for a chronic illness that I had been told would never fully heal. That experience changed my entire perspective on health and life.

One of the strongest things you said during our conversation was that “healing can become another form of performance.” What do you mean by that?

Gabriella Åfeldt: I think many people enter wellness searching for peace, but then accidentally turn healing into another pressure. They start thinking: "I need the perfect routine, I need the perfect supplements, I need to meditate more, I need to optimise myself.”

And suddenly wellness becomes another thing we’re trying to succeed at. For me, healing truly began when I stopped forcing and started listening.

Sometimes what we need most is rest. Sometimes it’s a walk in nature. Sometimes it’s joy, music, connection, laughter, or simply allowing ourselves to slow down without guilt.

"The body is incredibly intelligent. It’s constantly communicating with us. The question is whether we are listening."

Inika talks a lot about “The Inika Moment.” What does that phrase represent to you?

Gabriella Åfeldt: Presence.

Life moves so quickly now, and many people spend their lives mentally somewhere else - worrying about the future, replaying the past, chasing the next thing.

The Inika Moment is about reconnecting with the present again.

Maybe it’s having a coffee quietly in the morning. Maybe it’s taking a breath between meetings. Maybe it’s dancing in your kitchen, going for a walk with your dog, or simply noticing how you actually feel that day.

Those small moments matter much more than we think they do.

Your relationship with your customers feels very emotionally connected. How important is authenticity to the way you grow the brand?

Caroline Dinkelspiel: It’s everything.

We never wanted to build the company around aggressive sales tactics or pressure. We want people to trust us because the products, the messaging, and the people behind the brand genuinely align. That trust matters to us deeply.

And honestly, hearing customers come back and say they feel emotionally connected to the brand or that the products became part of their daily routines - those moments mean the most.

Gabriella, one thing that stood out during our conversation earlier was your belief that modern society constantly teaches people to search externally for happiness. Do you think people today have become disconnected from themselves?

Gabriella Åfeldt: Very much so.

We live in a world that constantly tells us the answer is somewhere outside of us. More success. More achievement. More validation. More productivity.

But I think many people are exhausted because they’ve lost connection with themselves internally.

We are constantly bombarded with information, stress, comparison, and negativity. Eventually people stop listening to their own intuition.

I truly believe we already carry so much wisdom within us, but we rarely create enough silence to hear it.

And I don’t believe peace comes from fighting harder or pushing harder. I think peace begins within ourselves first.

As the company grows, how do you protect the original heart behind Inika?

Caroline Dinkelspiel: By constantly coming back to why we started.

Of course we want the business to grow. We have big ambitions and exciting plans ahead. But growth only matters if the values stay intact.

We always want Inika to feel real, grounded, and emotionally connected no matter how large it becomes.

What can people expect from Inika over the next year?

Caroline Dinkelspiel: We have a new bar launching, which we’re very excited about, along with a few new products in development.

But beyond products, we’re also focused on building more of the community side around Inika. We want people to feel connected to the brand beyond simply buying something.

Long-term, we would also love to create initiatives where the brand can give back in meaningful ways.

Looking back across your journeys, what mindset has made the biggest difference in your success?

Caroline Dinkelspiel: Curiosity.

I’ve always followed curiosity throughout my career, and it has consistently led me toward the right people and opportunities.

I also think asking for help is underrated. Too many people think they need to solve everything alone.

Gabriella?

Gabriella Åfeldt: Believing that things are possible before you fully see how they will happen.

I think intuition is incredibly powerful. There were moments where giving up would have been easier, but something inside me kept saying: “Keep going.”

Often the biggest breakthroughs happen after periods where everything feels uncertain.

Finally, for anyone currently trying to build something meaningful, what advice would you give them?

Caroline Dinkelspiel: Choose the people around you carefully.

You usually know very quickly whether a partnership feels aligned or not, and the right people make difficult periods much easier to navigate.

Also, work hard - but make sure it still feels alive. Building something meaningful should still contain joy.

Gabriella Åfeldt: Trust yourself more.

And don’t underestimate the power of small steps repeated consistently over time. Transformation rarely happens all at once.

It happens quietly, moment by moment, choice by choice. For Gabriella Åfeldt and Caroline Dinkelspiel, Inika Superfoods is about far more than wellness products. It is about creating space for people to reconnect with themselves again in a world that constantly pulls their attention elsewhere.

And perhaps that is why the brand resonates so deeply. Beneath the bars, ingredients, and growth plans is something much more human: the reminder that wellbeing does not come from perfection, performance, or pressure, but from presence, balance, and learning to listen to ourselves again. For more information, please visit Inika Superfoods' website.

Youn can also follow them on Instagram to stay up to date with their latest products and community updates.