LETS GET REAL…. OUR DIETS NEED TO CHANGE!
The jury’s out… ultra-processed foods have been linked to an early death and poor health! Who’s read all the articles on this today?
We thought this would be a perfect opportunity to discuss our products, and the challenges we face as a small brand that’s trying to make a genuinely healthy difference.
We started Squirrel Sisters because we found that there wasn’t really anything available that was 100% natural and delicious; if it tasted good it tended to be full of hidden ingredients that have no benefit to our health whatsoever. We were getting fed up of brands producing processed, sugary foods and marketing themselves as something they weren’t…
Our mission was to create a product that was indulgent in taste, only using natural, whole ingredients and no added sugars or sugar alternatives. Being healthy doesn’t mean you should have to compromise on taste, and it’s our mission to prove that!
According to The Guardian ultra-processed foods tend to be formulated from industrial ingredients, blending starches, sugar, saturated fats with additives such as preservatives, binders, bulkers, sweeteners, flavourings and “sensory enhancers”. These foods make up half the national diet! (Read the full Guardian article here)
So lets get real…. our diets need to change!
Supermarkets have the power to make a difference… processed foods are having a detrimental effect on our health but so many supermarkets are still supporting big brands based on marketing budgets rather than consumer needs.
If you walk into most supermarkets you are bombarded with processed, sugary, unhealthy products towered up on stands, always offering amazing bulk deals. It’s impossible to resist when it’s promoted everywhere!
Small brands like Squirrel Sisters are trying to make a difference but visibility on the shelves often comes down to which brands have the biggest marketing budget… not what should be important!
It’s great to see some retailers like Waitrose supporting start ups and prioritising the needs and health of their consumers, not just making decisions based on how much a brand will pay them.
We are proud to be one of the ONLY healthy snack brands available that don’t add any processed ingredients such as syrups, pastes or sugar alternatives, which is why we have been certified by Sugarwise. So many health brands add processed sugars that sound much prettier than refined sugar like coconut nectar blossom, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, which is essentially just as bad- if not worse! We call these products ‘perceived health. But our products are genuinely healthy because we only use whole dates to bind and sweeten all our products. They are also a healthier choice because they contain fibre, vitamins and minerals.
We need more supermarkets and retailers to get real about getting healthy and support smaller brands like us that have an offering that can help make a difference to consumers health in order to help make a change to the health of the nation.
#TreatYourHealth
