Feature: California Born and Bread

Matt Chittock explores how US health specialist Food for Life is bringing a fresh wave of Victoria Beckham-approved sprouted grain products to the UK.

From wholefoods to meditation, many of the UK’s enduring wellness and nutrition trends started life being nurtured under the Californian sun. And the next to make a successful voyage across the Atlantic could be sprouted seeds, grains and flours.

It’s a trend that’s been baking for a while now. Both mainstream bakery names and innovative independents have tried out homegrown sprouted products, buoyed by the fact that they’re incredibly hard to make safely at home. But now well-established Californian brand Food for Life is hoping to see sales really start to rise with its Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted wholegrain breads, buns, muffins, cereals and tortillas. 

The brand’s already won ground with UK influencers after Victoria Beckham dropped a pic on Instagram of her using the bread for her morning avocado on toast. Like many shoppers over here, what she’d definitely have clocked is the Biblically inspired name. It refers to the Bible verse urging people to take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, ‘put them in one vessel, and make bread of it’.

“We are asked quite often if we are a religious company with a brand like Ezekiel 4:9 displayed on our packaging,” explains Gary Torres, marketing director at Food for Life. “And our answer is an emphatic: yes and no!”

Torres definitely describes the team as ‘students of the Bible’ — but the brand isn’t associated with any religious organization.

“We believe it is essential and right to put God first and to follow the core Christian practices even in business, which are commissioned to love our fellow man — treating others the way we want to be treated,” he says.   

“We take this seriously and hope that quality and care shines through in all Food for Life products.”

Sprouting for success

So what exactly are sprouted grains? In the industrial baking process most grains are milled away way before they’ve had a chance to sprout. Health advocates say that this takes out most of the nutritious goodness too. They also claim that letting the sprouting process run can activate the natural nutrients within a grain, making products richer in vitamins and much easier to digest.

Food For Life uses only freshly sprouted organically grown grains in its flourless loaves for maximum nutrition and digestibility. Torres says that the exclusive process ‘releases beneficial enzymes which break down antinutrients such as phytic acid found in grains, legumes and seeds, which are known to inhibit nutritional absorption and cause inflammation’.  

“Our breads are designed to be nutritious and easy to digest with an abundance of natural insoluble plant fibre which is critical for boosting gut health to keep the digestive system running smoothly.”

Of course, bread itself is not an uncontroversial category in health stores. While wholemeal bread has always been a natural stalwart, joined more recently by gluten-free loaves, the demonization that began with the Atkin’s diet has continued with today’s focus on keto and paleo regimes.

This means that bread brands have to work hard to cast everyday cereals in a more virtuous light. 

“With the recent rise in low-carb, paleo and keto diets, many are [seeing carbs as the villain],” says Torres. “In fact, complex carbs are what our bodies need, coupled with fibre, to help regulate hormones (like serotonin and melatonin) that play a major role in nearly every biological function in our bodies.”

Grassroots health seekers

The growth of social media has helped alert interested shoppers to categories like sprouted cereals. Torres believes that it’s ‘grassroots health-seekers’ who are driving a push for ‘more healthful organic options to help with not only weight management, but … diabetes, heart disease, IBS, inflammation, fitness, overall health and longevity’.

For these shoppers, purity is paramount. One of the ways Food for Life maintains this is by only using filtered water to remove any impurities. And because Ezekiel 4:9 bread doesn’t feature any preservatives the brand chooses to sell it frozen.

Striving for purity

“We strive to ensure our consumers have access to the purest form of natural breads without any additives to create a more natural product with a more balanced pH,” says Torres. 

“We believe the best way to do this is to freeze them immediately after packaging, ship and merchandise them frozen. This way there is no ageing and we are then able to lock in freshness.”

Food for Life started life back in 1964. Today, with over 60 products to its name, including gluten-free loaves and a four-strong line of breakfast cereals, it feels like a good time to introduce the brand to more consumers on this side of the pond.

Or as Torres puts it: “We would love to expand awareness of the brand in the UK to help health-minded individuals on their journey towards amazing and lasting health.”

By Matt Chittock, features writer