Innovation

In addition to a clean environment, friendly service, and great tasting food, customers can also expect nourishing food that leaves you feeling physically and mentally, naturally invigorated while encouraging a healthy lifestyle with a basis on sustainability. As the first vegetarian restaurant in Shanghai, the core value of Pure and Whole separates itself from the fierce competition of other popular restaurants.

For the past 5 years, Pure and Whole has continued fueling and healing its customers. Pure and Whole’s passion for the transformation of humanity and the world continues to grow stronger with their ever growing customer base.

Inspiration

After rehabilitation from cocaine, Frank Steffen wanted to do something meaningful and helpful. Becoming a kindergarten teacher was Frank’s initial idea since he loves kids. The greatest motivation for stopping his drug use was the affection of his son. However, he did not have the required education and degrees so teaching was impossible for him.

“What else I want to do?” Frank asked himself. Every morning he did primal meditation in order to find out more about himself. He realized that he was not different from other people. Nearly everyone has some kind of past personal trauma which still affects them and they must live with. With this new insight about humanity, he sought a new career that could allow him to help others to go of their misery and achieve peace like he did.

Though born in Germany, Frank came to Shanghai, China 14 years ago while working on a project for his then current employer, Siemens. Not long after arrival, he invested in a designer café in Shanghai with two other friends. Relying on his education, vocational training, and passion for cooking, Frank quickly found he had a skill for operating restaurants in China. Starting one successful restaurant after another including Arch, A Future Perfect, and Syzygy, he quickly found himself surrounded by success, wealth, alcohol, and cocaine.

“Why not open a vegetarian restaurant?” suggested Frank’s sponsor from his Anonymous addiction recovery group. All his passion and talent are about food. A vegetarian restaurant can help people be more physically and mentally healthy and can protect animals, thereby making the humanity’s impact on the planet more sustainable.

Overall impact

Being purely plant-based at Pure and Whole helps create “phenomenal health, pure beauty and longevity, mental clarity and strength, and food safety.” It is believed that meat consumption increases risk for obesity, diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. Frank believes that to some extent, plant-based diets can counter and reduce the rapid increase in worldwide preventable disease diagnoses.

Frank believes that animal-based products contain growth hormones and antibiotics which are not helpful to human beings and may even be harmful. “Looking at those poor poultry at factory farms, sympathy arises spontaneously. The fresh fruits on the trees and the adorable vegetables in the fields provide us with vitamins and fibers which will help us flush out toxins and make our bodies lighter and more relaxed.”

Business benefit

For the past 5 years, Pure and Whole has continued fueling and healing its customers. Pure and Whole’s passion for the transformation of humanity and the world continues to grow stronger with the ever growing customer base. In order to satisfy the demand of its clients, Pure and Whole has expanded, opening another two branches in Shanghai.

As a successful sustainable business model, Pure and Whole hosts innovative events designed to influence more and more people for good.

Social and environmental benefit

As a successful sustainable business model, Pure and Whole hosts innovative events designed to influence more and more people for good. For example, late last year, Pure and Whole launched a “90 Day Challenge.” To help people discover “what a plant based lifestyle can do for their overall well-being,” the 90 Day Challenge focused on nutrition, fitness, and mindset. Pure and Whole sponsored six candidates who were selected from over 170 applicants, and provided them with vegetarian meals every day for three months. Meanwhile, Frank coached the six candidates, encouraging a “mindset necessary to be extraordinary in life.”. After completing of the 90 Day Challenge, most of the candidates recognized that they were more powerful than they thought before, both physically and mentally.

Pure and Whole is planning a “4 Week Challenge” this year, so that more people can participate in the program. The workshops are designed to help candidates build strength in their life through “great diet, proper exercise, the right mindset.”

Frank has faith that “a whole foods, plant-based diet makes you more mindful, gives you a more positive outlook leading to emotional balance which leads to higher energy levels which helps you manage daily stress which makes you stronger.” He believes this because he has experienced it in his own body as he has tried to heal from his past substance addictions.

Interview

Frank Steffen, Founder