The Waikato food-tech company putting science into breakfast

Waikato food tech company Radix was founded in 2013 with an aim to create nutrient-dense meals packed with 80 plus vitamins and minerals that could be ready in minutes with a bit of hot water.

The lightweight freeze-dried meals were primarily aimed for the adventure travel or outdoor activity market.

The aim was always to eventually apply the technology to the mainstream FMG market, company founder Mike Rudling told RNZ’s Nine to Noon.

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“We needed a test market that helped us get product feedback, develop the products, develop the manufacturing systems and our test market was outdoor recreational sports,” he says.

Radix products, he believes, are among 30 of the world's most “nutritionally complete products made by any company in the world".

“We think we've got the top nine products within those data sets for our current breakfast range which we're launching into everyday retail in New Zealand.”

They use data from agencies around the world to measure the nutrient density of their products, he says.

“We have about four million branded food products from around the world and then we do a lot of nutrient profiling through those systems to both substantiate where our products currently sit, but then how close we are to that scientific forefront of what is possible,” he says.

There are nine flavours in the breakfast range, four of which are now sold through New Zealand supermarkets, he says.

“They're like a muesli, one of our products gives you one and a half servings of your daily fruit.

“It's got seeds and whole grains which give that muesli type consistency and then we've got essentially all of the protein you need mixed in as well.”

It can be eaten cold or made into a porridge, he says, of the products which are manufactured at a purpose built Waikato factory.

Although technically a processed food. it is derived from natural sources, he says.

“There are various ways you can assess how processed the food is and we sit in the second to lowest category of that you know only below us would be a fresh piece of fruit or whole vegetables for example.

“We buy natural produce, we freeze dry it and we put it into our packaging and then seal it and pass it on to the customer, so although it looks a bit spacey it is essentially a very natural product where we've just brought together those ingredients in a convenient form for someone.”

Radix is now pushing into overseas markets, he says.

“We've been in Australia for a couple of years, we have distribution in the UK in Hong Kong and the big focus for us in the future will be getting into the USA and Asian markets, but we you know I think we'll be busy in Australasia for a while.”