Hi from OMG! Food Company in Los Angeles

[omgfood]

Hi! My name is Jenna and I'm new to this website! I'm from Pacific Palisades in between Santa Monica and Malibu. I'm going to be a senior at UC Berkeley, studying Food and Nutrition.

I am interning for a start-up organic food company this summer in Culver City called OMG! Organic Meets Good. I am trying to develop an organic protein powder for people like me and you guys, who are active, healthy and trying to supplement their diet. The powder is going to be organic, vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO and kosher.

If anyone uses organic protein powder, could you give me some feedback on what your ideal one would be? I would like to know what kind of protein you like (Hemp, Pea, Brown Rice etc), do you like protein in a powder form or another form (like a gel, a bar etc), what other ingredients you think are important (Maca, Spirulina etc), what kind of package you like to buy it in (bag, container, doesn't matter, etc), and any other feedback you might have.

Thanks so much!

[beforewisdom]

When I want to boost my protein with a supplement I prefer Lewis Labs Brewer's Yeast because it is a real food and not an isolate. It has many other nutrients not just protein and this brand is grown directly for humans so the taste isn't as bad as other brewer's yeast brands.

If I want more protein I get Naturade Soy-Free Veg
http://www.naturade.com/Naturade-SOY-FR ... z-p82.html

Which I like because
- it is soy free ( I eat enough soy )
- they try to balance the amino acid mix to make it more complete
- it has some other nutrients in it.

My concerns with a protein powder is how much protein do I get per calorie, is it vegan, is it cruelty free and the cost.
I would buy an organic protein powder for the sake of the environment if there wasn't much of price difference, but I would not if the price difference was significant.

I might be interested in a trying a new protein powder that came with other nutrients vegans are advised to watch:
- b-12
- calcium
- vegan vitamin d3
- iodine
- zinc
- omega 3 EPA and DHA

only though, if the price was competitive with me buying those separately.

I'm not particularly interested in fancy ingredients like hemp, spirulina, etc.. Isolate protein, is isolated protein as long as the amino acid mix is the same. Those other things are just marketing and I get turned off by people trying to fool me or make a product into something it is not.

HTH

Steve

[loveliberate]

Hello & Welcome Jenna

[Fallen_Horse]

My concerns with a protein powder is how much protein do I get per calorie, is it vegan, is it cruelty free and the cost.
I would buy an organic protein powder for the sake of the environment if there wasn't much of price difference, but I would not if the price difference was significant.

I might be interested in a trying a new protein powder that came with other nutrients vegans are advised to watch:
- b-12
- calcium
- vegan vitamin d3
- iodine
- zinc
- omega 3 EPA and DHA

only though, if the price was competitive with me buying those separately.

I'm not particularly interested in fancy ingredients like hemp, spirulina, etc.. Isolate protein, is isolated protein as long as the amino acid mix is the same. Those other things are just marketing and I get turned off by people trying to fool me or make a product into something it is not.

HTH

Steve

+1


I think a rice+pea blend would be best for amino balance, but rice is grainy and pea tastes terrible, so you have your work cut out for you! I also prefer isolates, since if I am going to be eating a processed food, I would rather it be highly effective at providing me the synthetic nutrient I want without a lot of calories or fluff.

I would LOVE an alternative to Clif Builder bars, but I have given up hope of finding another vegan protein bar with 20g+ of protein and at less than $1.50 per bar.

[beforewisdom]

Jenna,

If your company goes the protein bar route one thing many vegans have been turned off by is the use of palm oil and saturated fat that we have noticed in some of them. Palm oil harvesting is responsible for deforestation and killing orangutans. Though some companies claim to "source it responsibly" there is little verification and much doubt. If you're company is just starting off with a product marketed toward vegans you are better off just not going there.

Thanks for collecting the input.

[Talyn]

If you company goes the protein bar route one thing many vegans have been turned off by is the use of palm oil and saturated fat that we have noticed in some of them. Palm oil harvesting is responsible for deforestation and killing orangutans. Though some companies claim to "source it responsibly" there is little verification and much doubt. If you're company is just starting off with a produce marketed toward vegans you are better off just not going there.

Not this again?

Better still, don't use any products at all because all farming leads to devastation of someones natural habitat.

[beforewisdom]

If you company goes the protein bar route one thing many vegans have been turned off by is the use of palm oil and saturated fat that we have noticed in some of them. Palm oil harvesting is responsible for deforestation and killing orangutans. Though some companies claim to "source it responsibly" there is little verification and much doubt. If you're company is just starting off with a produce marketed toward vegans you are better off just not going there.

Not this again?

Better still, don't use any products at all because all farming leads to devastation of someones natural habitat.

Talyn, no disrespect but if I didn't care about such things and if I didn't believe that that doing something is better than doing nothing, I wouldn't have become a vegan in the first place.

As far as "Not this again" goes, your reply to my post is making a new conversation on this topic happen, not my answer to a marketing interns' question about what I on behalf of a group might want in a product.

[Talyn]

Talyn, no disrespect but if I didn't care about such things and if I didn't believe that that doing something is better than doing nothing, I wouldn't have become a vegan in the first place.

As far as "Not this again" goes, your reply to my post is making a new conversation on this topic happen, not my answer to a marketing interns' question about what I on behalf of a group might want in a product.

Fair point mate.

Don't want another conversation about it, so I will pipe down!

Just wanted to make the OP aware that not everyone thinks it's a dealbreaker...

[meli]

When I buy a protein powder I look at the price and the amino acido profile - if it is organic, and has some added vits and minerals (see post above by beforewisdom) that would be a nice extra .

Gimmicky ingredients and corny advertising puts me completely off... like vegasport.

[omgfood]

Ooo interesting point about advertising Meli What kind of advertising are you (or anyone else) attracted to the most/ what pulls you to buy a particular product?

[Hiking Fox]

Not this again?

Yeah, I get really peeved when people start going on about palm oil as well. Food companies use palm oil because the alternatives are hydrogenated oil, or butter.

The vast majority of vegans eat palm oil!

[baldy]

It seems people really want to discuss if palm oil is vegan, I have split the thread -> viewtopic.php?f=7&t=24262
Please take all palm oil related chat to the new thread.