Asad Yusupov – Revolutionizing Restaurants Towards a Healthy Future
Asad Yusupov caught public attention when his partnered Japanese restaurant Haiku Tampa opened back in January 2021. A few months ago, Yusupov opened another health-targeted restaurant called Sweet Fish that serves Poke Bowls, Smoothies, Açaí & Detox Shots, leaving his followers to wonder if he intends to promote by these partnerships the adoption of healthier foods in restaurants.
In a recent interview, Yusupov revealed that he does indeed aim to promote health consciousness in the restaurant market. He said, “I think people are going to get more health-conscious after Covid, and I want to play a part in that transition.” He also thinks that advancements in the healthcare and technology industry will promote health consciousness all over the world, including in the US. This also explains why Yusupov chose to invest in this market after how badly the pandemic impacted restaurants.
Japan is remarkably one of the healthiest populations in the world. Controlled studies show that people of Japanese descent living in the US who have adapted to the American diet suffer from the same health problems as the US population in general, while individuals of non-Japanese descent living in Japan appear to have similar health metrics as the general Japanese population. This has led researchers to conclude that the superior health of the Japanese population compared to most other nations is partly, if not entirely, due to the Japanese diet.
The Japanese diet primarily contains fish and whole plant-based foods, two of the healthiest food groups. Yusupov says, “fish and vegetables are the perfect sources of nutrition with minimum calories.” While Haiku Tampa is rigorously a Japanese restaurant, Sweet Fish too is focused on fish and plant-based dishes.
Yusupov says, “I’m really proud of Sweet Fish. The traditional dishes we serve are focused on health and nutrition while being delicious at the same time. I love the idea of systemically promoting health through Sweet Fish.” His personality has direct parallels to his two partnered restaurants. He likes to describe himself with the words, “I’m an entrepreneur from Tampa, Fl, who is currently traveling the world trying to remind myself and everyone around me to just—live.”
He wishes to inspire an appreciation for life and a positive attitude towards living life to its fullest in others—and his partnered restaurants are two of the ways he’s achieving this mission. Yusupov himself loves to travel. He regularly posts pictures of the places he visits on his Instagram (@noigasad).