Two babes. One obsession. The Wild Brand. It’s not every day that you meet two individuals like Melisa and Romana who are as passionate about the hemp industry as I am. They’ve eaten their way around the world and turned their love of health foods into a full time booming business. Let’s get wild!
Have you always been interested in hemp as a superfood or is it only since its legal farming in Australia that it has come to your attention?
I was vegan for a couple of years so I discovered hemp protein at the time because of its comparable protein to animal foods. As a vegan I felt it was important to be conscious of protein, vitamin and minerals that I was getting from food, so hemp won my heart. I’m no longer vegan but hemp is still as important in my diet as it ever was. These days I like to sprinkle the seeds on a salad, use protein in a smoothies or flour in cooking!
The Wild’s granolas and mueslis already boast a plethora of ingredients with amazing health benefits: goji berries, coconut, buckwheat, chia! What do you think Hemp brings to the table from a health perspective?
Hemp brings plant based protein, like no other, to the mix. It is one of the best ways, hands down, that we can think of to boost the protein, vitamin and mineral content of our blends.
As a source of plant-based protein, how does Hemp compare to soy or pea protein?
In my opinion hemp is easier to digest than soy and pea protein – it contains an easily digested protein called Edestin that is known to repair DNA! Yep mind blowing. Another incredible thing about hemp, compared to other proteins, is that it contains all essential fatty acids and amino acids in correct ration required by the human body.
The Wild’s Hempnola has been one of your bestselling products since its release – why do you think people are so excited about hemp?
I think hemp is winning a rightful place in Aussie kitchens mostly because of its high protein, vitamin and mineral content – in 3 tablespoons you will get 10g protein and half your daily requirement of magnesium and is also high in iron, zinc and many other vitamins and minerals. It’s truly a superfood!
Are there any challenges involved in working with an ingredient that is relatively new to the Australian food landscape?
I see opportunity, not challenge with hemp in food. The Australian food scene loves a new ingredient especially an ingredient that can be labelled as a superfood. Since hemp has been available in many food applications over the last decade – seed, powder and flour, it really is just a matter of getting creative about where we can take hemp now. This excites me!
Thanks to its popularity, does the Wild have any more hemp-inclusive products in store for us in the future?
Yes we are currently working on a couple of hemp based products so expect to see some highly delicious and nutritious hemp products in the coming months.
Finish this sentence: Hemp to me is…
A GAME CHANGER, both for our health and our planet. since researching hemp I was so excited to discover that there are about 25000 uses for hemp – from food to rope, fuel, clothing skincare even bio-degradable plastic. I’m hopefully that hemp will become a primary resource since it can be used to make almost anything. It thrives without the use of pesticides or herbicides, plus it’s drought resistance so great for Aussie farmers.