The team at plant-based food producer The Brothers Green are on a mission to get more Kiwi farmers growing hemp and more people consuming it.
What got you started on the road to launching The Brothers Green? In October 2018, we entered a competition put on by Foodstuffs and the Ministry of Awesome. The idea was to try and bring food manufacturing back to the Garden City. We entered a plant-based, high-protein snack bar for gym goers under the brand Beefy Green. We won the competition but were advised to change the name, so we did, to Hempy Bar. We wanted to educate people about the benefits of hemp, both from a health perspective and as a cropping option for farmers. We targeted the hardest market of all – children’s snack bars. If we can get kids enjoying hemp, the flow-on effects for future generations will be immeasurable.
How are food trends changing? We aren’t experts in the food trend market but we do see a lot of our peers and colleagues switching to a plant-based diet. We would like to think a lot more people are becoming educated around hemp and its overall health benefits.
The Brothers Green is part of the swing to plant-based ingredients such as hemp. What is driving that? Education. People are becoming more aware of what’s in their food and where it comes from. Even so much as to what effects their food is having on our taiao (natural environment).
Was it hard to source your compostable packaging? Very hard. We had to go to the Gold Coast for the individual bar wrap, and China for the pouches. No one in New Zealand could offer us the compostable option, and if they could there was a six-month waiting list.
What do you see as the next phase in growing sustainable food locally? Community gardens, maara kai (vegetable gardens) and everyone slowing down and eating what’s in season. We hope that with the increase of hemp food found in the supermarkets that our farmers and consumers realise the benefits and positive impacts that hemp can have on them and our environment. Furthermore, that the increased demand for hemp will encourage local farmers to consider diversity and begin to cultivate and supply hemp.
How important are diet and nutrition in improving health outcomes in society? They are everything. As soon as we begin to realise that what we put in (and on) our bodies has a flow-on effect to how our bodies function, then I think people will begin to make better choices.
What’s next for The Brothers Green? We will look to release more healthy and delicious products using the goodness of New Zealand-grown hemp. Anything that ensures more hemp is in the ground for our farmers and more Kiwis eat well and care for their bodies is a win for us.