Health food is no longer just for hemp-knitting hippies. Raw, organic, cold-pressed and gluten-free are all now buzz words. Food and drink in those categories are flying off the shelves.
Several young entrepreneurs have spotted the trend and jumped on to the wave before it peaks.
Mitch Minton - whose late father, Tony, founded the bottled water brand Minton Water - established cold-pressed juice-making company Presscription last year. Cold-pressed juice (which is extracted using hydraulic pressure) first gained popularity in the US, where cold-pressed juice fasts are all the rage, before trickling over into our takeaway cups here.
"I've always had an eye on the US and Australia for food trends, and in my final year at Nottingham University studying economics, I saw the popularity of raw juice," says Highgate-educated Londoner Minton.
He had started seeing juice bars popping up in London. "None were doing a good job and I thought I could do it better," he says.
"Cold-pressed juice is typically made using traditional centrifugal juicers and blenders. This juice is already exposed to heat (from the blades and motors) and oxidation before it enters your glass, beginning to break down vital elements you want. Hydraulic cold pressing, which exerts 4,000lb of pressure on the fruits and vegetables, slowly ruptures their cell walls, liberating and retaining an abundance of nutrients, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and chlorophyll."
According to Minton, while other juices need to be drunk immediately for the best health benefits, properly stored cold-pressed juice stays fresh and vital for up to three days.
Presscription launched with six recipes, including Green Revive - cucumber, celery, apple, romaine lettuce, lemon, ginger and cayenne; and Mylk Make-Well - almonds, Medjool dates, Himalayan sea salt, vanilla bean and filtered water; as well as mini shots like Antidote - orange, turmeric, ginger, cayenne and lemon.
It takes 15 minutes to extract just 500ml of juice, which is reflected in the product cost, but he already sends out an average of 30 litres a day in Juice Cleanse boxes, which contain a selection of three litres of juices.
Make: Green goddess nutrient-packed smoothie
Twenty-six-year-old Jodie Brandman sells raw juices and smoothies from her restored vintage Citroën food truck.
Brandman trained as a psychologist and worked as a health-care assistant. She ran therapy groups before conducting research into depression."I saw medication used far too frequently. I saw patients who were drinking litres of coke and eating bags of sweets. We know the effect sugar has on mood and yet their diet wasn't even being considered," says Brandman, who had read up on macrobiotics as a way to cure herself of digestive problems and is studying a course in nutritional therapy at the Institute of Optimum Nutrition. She saw the benefits of juicing and a raw diet.
"Juicing organic green vegetables and vegetables in general is a great way to get greens into you and is a first step to healthy eating."
Brandman, who also spent time in the US researching, explains there is no magic formula to green juice. "You can use anything green: kale, cucumber, celery and green apples for example. Parsley and coriander are both also great for detoxing, but may be a bit hardcore for many of my customers."
She can travel to her clients, and also has a regular pitch at South Woodford station, where she serves up her juices and smoothies, hot tonics - tea blends with ayurvedic herbs - and raw snacks like millionaires' shortbread, truffles and energy balls.
Childhood friends Daniel Zachmann, David Ventura and Tomas Mesa took a gluten-free angle when they launched the cracker brand Mister Free'd. Ventura was diagnosed gluten intolerant at the age of 17 and Zachman has been gluten free since 2012. The three grew up together in Geneva but spent their twenties working in finance in different European cities.
"We wanted to start a food business together and could see the trend coming from the US for gluten free," says Ventura. "Two years ago gluten free choices in the UK were limited. We thought we could make something better than what was out there." The trio hired a recipe consultant/chef to help develop a crispbread recipe, which Mesa took and worked on for a few months. The recipe used gluten free oats, millet, brown rice flour, flaxseeds and ancient Ethiopian grain, teff.
"Once we had perfected it we approached several health food stores and distributors and formally launched in January 2014," says Ventura.
The crackers, which are available in four flavours - original, chia and sesame seed, cheese and pumpkin seed, and tomato and oregano - are now stocked in nearly 400 stores, and discussions are taking place with major supermarkets. Says Zachmann: "We started making the crackers in a small kitchen in Bethnal Green but quickly had to move to bigger premises and the crackers are now made in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, by a business partner."
Ventura and Mesa gave up their jobs two years ago to run the company full-time - a leap of faith that appears to be paying off. They also have their sights set on the European market, but feel we have some way to go before we catch up with the US, where entire stores stock only gluten free products.
If the US is anything to go by, healthy eating is a trend that is only going to grow, so these guys seem to have hit upon something.
