Husband-Wife Team of Christianto Putra 鈥�16, 鈥�21 and Raissa Yona 鈥�15 Launches Proven Provisions
Image by Ed Brennen
Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences alum Christianto Putra '16, '21 and his wife Raissa Yona '15 recently introduced Wise Waffle Mix, the first gluten-free, high-protein product from their Proven Provisions business.
03/12/2024
By Ed Brennen
That鈥檚 what the husband-wife team of听Christianto Putra听鈥�16, 鈥�21 and Raissa Yona 鈥�15 did to fine-tune the recipe for their gluten-free, high-protein Wise Waffle Mix, the first product from their new business,听.
鈥淭he first few months of trial and error, those waffles didn鈥檛 taste good at all,鈥� laughs Putra, a听Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences听alum who launched the mix in January after striking a satisfactory balance between health and taste. 鈥淭urns out developing a gluten-free product is quite challenging.鈥�
It can also be quite lucrative. With the听听of celiac disease, a chronic digestive and immune disorder that damages the small intestine, the global market for gluten-free foods is听projected to 听to $13.7 billion by 2030.
The global market for pancake and waffle mix, meanwhile, is听听$723.9 million by the end of the decade.
鈥淚f you can penetrate just a small fraction of that market, that鈥檚 a lot of money,鈥� says Putra, a native of Jakarta, Indonesia, who earned an M.S. in clinical laboratory science and a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from UML.
Image by Ed Brennen
Christianto Putra spent 18 months tinkering with the chemistry of his gluten-free waffle mix in his kitchen in Lowell.
A self-described 鈥渇oodie,鈥� Putra has been interested in nutrition for as long as he can remember. His family has a history of type 2 diabetes, and his 鈥渄ream鈥� was to find a cure for the disease. For his dissertation, he researched the exposure of a common food additive called titanium dioxide 鈥� the basis for an article that was published in the Journal of Nutrition.听
Since completing his Ph.D., Putra has worked as an R&D scientist at seqWell, a biotech company in Beverly, Massachusetts. While he 鈥渃an鈥檛 think of a better place to work,鈥� he realized he wasn鈥檛 putting his nutrition know-how to use. So he decided to start Proven Provisions on the side.
鈥淯Mass Lowell鈥檚 motto is 鈥榣earning with purpose,鈥� and I wanted to use my education for a purpose,鈥� says Putra, who got a taste of entrepreneurship and business as a grad student by participating in the听Rist DifferenceMaker program听and听Mill City Consulting听student organization.听
When a friend鈥檚 mom who is highly sensitive to gluten told Putra how difficult it was to find gluten-free products that actually taste good, he began taking stock of grocery store shelves. He saw an opportunity in gluten-free waffles, a 鈥渇un鈥� breakfast item that could also deliver a healthy dose of protein.
Image by courtesy
Alumni Raissa Yona and Christianto Putra, who were married during the pandemic in 2020, have a 1-year-old daughter, Eleanor.
The key ingredient, Putra discovered, is casein, a protein found in milk and other dairy products.
鈥淚t digests slowly, so you feel full longer. And it releases amino acid into your bloodstream more consistently,鈥� says Putra, who tinkered with formulas in his kitchen for months, adding oat and corn flour to help with the waffle batter鈥檚 consistency.
For his first taste test, he invited his former Ph.D. adviser, Assoc. Prof. of Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences听Kelsey Mangano; his former lab mate, Lindsay McGrail 鈥�18, 鈥�22; and Ph.D. student Lisa Merrill.
鈥淭he hardest part of a taste test is getting them to tell you the honest truth. I told them, 鈥業f it鈥檚 not good, you must tell me!鈥欌�� says Putra, who heard that his mix was 鈥渢asty鈥� but 鈥渁 little bit on the chewier side.鈥�
Image by Ed Brennen
Christianto Putra's gluten-free Wise Waffle Mix has 14 grams of protein and 11 grams of carbs per serving
Once he was happy with the formulation, Putra contracted with a branding agency to develop a company name and logo, as well as packaging and a website. He also rented space from a commercial kitchen in Woburn, Massachusetts, where he now spends Saturdays mixing ingredients and filling 6.3-ounce packages with Wise Waffle Mix.
Putra is growing the business while starting a family. He and Yona, a听plastics engineering听alumna who works at energy storage company A123 Systems, were听married during the pandemic听in 2020 and live in Lowell. They have a 1-year-old daughter, Eleanor.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lot of things cooking,鈥� says Putra, who works on the business for three hours each weeknight after getting home from seqWell. On Sundays, he and Yona produce social media content for the company.
While the waffle mix is available from the Proven Provisions website and on Amazon, Putra hopes to one day get into stores such as Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe鈥檚 and Costco. Until then, he plans to bootstrap the business by cooking up samples at farmers markets and gluten-free food expos. He also plans to add cinnamon and chocolate varieties and eventually to expand into cupcake mixes.
鈥淒eveloping the business is even more challenging than I thought, because it鈥檚 a very crowded space and nobody knows who you are,鈥� says Putra, who has received guidance and investor funding from an uncle in Indonesia.
鈥淭he pressure is high, but UMass Lowell taught me that if you鈥檙e under pressure, just keep your head down and keep doing the right thing,鈥� Putra says. 鈥淲hatever life throws at you, you can always persevere.鈥�