Interview With The Protein Bakery

Protein, protein everywhere!

No matter how much you like to tell your friends you like eating chicken and rice (hell i love it -LEGIT-), and that you don’t want any dessert after your meal. From time to time, we all get a hankering for something sweet.

I’ve recently been enjoying cheese cake, flaphack. fresh baked cookies, cookie dough and brownies. We both know it sucks that these tasty ‘cheat’ foods are packed with sugars, and higher amounts of fats. Recently however, I covered some fantastic protein snacks in my Protein Bakery Review.

They sent me over a haul of goodies to try out. This haul included, brownies, blondies and cookies. In my review I spoke about the authentic taste that The Protein Bakery manages to bake into all of its good, whilst ensuring fats and sugars are kept to a minimum. How do they do it, and why do they do it are some questions I asked them when I interviewed them.

We’ve seen a lot of ‘protein’ snacks popping up in recent years. What separates the Protein Bakery snacks from the pre-packaged protein bars, protein cookies and various other protein snacks we see from many of the UK’s bulk supplement suppliers.

The key difference between the Protein Bakery and other pre-packaged protein bars is that ours taste amazing! Our products have a shelf life of 4 weeks, which means our products are fresh, preservative free and as an added bonus you can pronounce every ingredient on the back. We are also trans-fat free and wheat flour-free, combining natural ingredients like heart-healthy rolled oats, organic light brown sugar, and the finest chocolate. We bake small batches from scratch with passion and the same attention to perfection as we did on day 1, something pre-packaged protein cookies or protein inspired snack supplements do not have.

Where did the inspiration come from for the Protein Bakery?

Our founder Stephen Lincoln states his inspiration behind the Protein Bakery really started off as a hobby when he was a fitness instructor. His ‘magic moment’ for the creation in 1999, came when he was in the queue at Starbucks looking in the case for something to eat and he remembered thinking ‘I want protein‘ and there was nothing in this case that had protein in it so thought ‘what if we just added a little, not a lot like 50 grams because it would taste like chalk, but just a little’. From then, Stephen’s idea was to create something inspired by his Grandma’s cookie recipe, Martha Stewart’s best baking segment and then combine it with your high energy fitness gym that’s all about ‘you’. So, when those meet, that’s where the Protein Bakery lives.

What was the initial reaction from friends and family when you had the idea to add protein to ‘cheat’ foods. Its kind of contradictory, but it works!

They loved it!!! And that has been the same reaction we have had from everyone who’s tried our products.

Why do you think people love protein snacks so much?

The past few years have seen people’s awareness for health and fitness increase phenomenally. As a result of this, people are more aware of the food they put in their bodies.

It’s not just bodybuilders who can benefit from the Protein Bakery. Obviously getting more protein in your diet, or using protein as a substitute for something such as sugar is always a bonus. Explain a little more about how non-gym goers can benefit from eating the Protein Bakery over say a regular cookie from a supermarket.

Our products are healthier than what is out there- each product has 5 times more protein and 10% less carbohydrates than a typical brownie or cookie. The protein in the products prevents the sudden surge in blood sugar levels caused by sugar-laden treats. When protein is added to carbohydrate rich foods, blood sugar levels rise at a slower rate. Without the sugar high and its subsequent low, you’ll be les likely to crave more sugar to lift you back up again.  Everyone deserves a cookie, even a competitive bodybuilder. So why not have something different to a regular protein supplement, healthier, fresher, less processed, all natural, higher in protein and working for you instead of against you.

We just touched upon bodybuilding. I’m in my 2nd year of competing. I’ve yet to compete in a UKBFF show, but I plan on doing so next year. Protein Bakery will be at the UKBFF Grand Prix. Tell us about what you guys will be doing there.

We will be there promoting our brand and increasing awareness of our products! We’ll have samples available for people to try, as well as selling our gift bags! Importantly, we are supporting the athletes and will be providing the winners with Protein Bakery packs. We got introduced to UKBFF from Luciana del Giudice who won in her category bikini bodies, we are very proud to have her as a long term fan and to support her

Do you have any plans to strike partnerships with any other bodybuilding shows, federations, or events?

Not at the moment, but we are open to offers 😉

Tell us about the growth of the business, how many products did you launch with?

We launched at the end of last year with just 4 products. We are still a very new business and our main aim is to get the brand known and people aware of the benefits of a balanced diet.

And how many do you sell now?

We now have a range of 7 products

The business has certainly grown as can be seen in your numerous press appearances.

What do you think it is about The Protein Bakery that has led into the main stream, and why haven’t other protein suppliers been able to break away from the bodybuilding crowd.

We taste good! Protein Bakery offers a balanced product that is healthy and tasty and appealing to a wider range of people who just want something gluten free or simply more balanced nutrition that fills you up and doesn’t spike the blood sugar levels.

What is the best selling product from the protein bakery?

Chocolate brownie.

Your goods are made in small batches to ensure freshness. How do you manage the logistics of cooking and sending out orders as to not over cook on a particular product?

We look at historical numbers, we bake in small batches and always offer the freshest products to our customers. Sometimes we have to get them to wait until baking day, but that’s never longer than 3 or 4 days from order!

Tell us more about the ingredients you use in your product range.

They are all natural ingredients, nothing artificial. The whey protein is 80% isolate and the sugar is non refined brown sugar

Some of your products are gluten free, tell our readers the benefits of this.

Gluten is an allergen that seems to be affecting more and more people. Avoiding it will help people feeling less bloated, less sluggish and overall healthier

Many of your products (if not all) are wheat free. Again, what are the benefits of this for the customer?

Similar to Gluten intolerance / allergy

Is this protein still easily digested after being heated when the goods are baked, as opposed to just drinking it as a shake?

Yes, it is a common misconception that whey protein gets damaged by baking. This is not true http://proteinpow.com/denaturing

The danger I always have with protein snacks is them tasting too good! Once i pop i just can’t stop. Tell us about any stories you’ve had from customers consuming mass amounts of your treats.

I was trying to explain to the owner of Gym’s Kitchen that each brownie is 2 portions and you get full easily to the point that you don’t want the other half, when he said that he ate 8 brownies one after the other when he received the samples we sent them!  Good job he’s a gym goer and burns everything up quickly.

Where does the inspiration come from for each new baked good?

Customers’ recommendations and preferred taste.

Often protein foods contain more calories than the regular version. Consumers blindly see protein in front of a ‘cheat food’ and assume its healthy. How should people enjoy The Protein Bakery goods who are looking to lose weight?

Enjoy every bite! Like we say and look at portion control. Each brownie / cookie is very nutritionally dense and satisfying. It’s easy to stop as people feel satisfied both in terms of hunger and taste.

And the opposite of that, how can people enjoy them who are looking to add lean muscle mass?

All our products act as great recovery food after exercise. The protein in each pack is not excessive and should be treated as an tasty addition to the routine. Barry’s bootcamp puts a brownie in the protein shakes in their gym! So that’s a way to make a protein shake even tastier and fuel up on all nutrients needed, as well as taste.

Do you consider your baked goods to be a niche product, or are they widely accepted among the mass market?

Still a niche product at the moment, but looking to expand to the wider market really soon.

What future products can we expect to see from the Protein Bakery?

We are not looking at new flavours at the moment, but I know that our HQ in America is looking at home mixes and other exciting developments.

Which products would you recommend to a first time buyer of the Protein Bakery?

All of them! All of our cookies and brownies are fantastic. However we do have some small packs for people who are just trying us out. We have trial packs that have one of everything, that’s 4 cookies and 3 brownies, and we also have gift bags that contain a brownie and a cookie, all done up with a pretty ribbon.

Protein shakes or protein bakery. Which should people have and why?

Both! Our products aren’t meant to replace something like cheap protein shakes. Cookies and brownies are still a treat but ones that will work with your workout and your protein shake rather than against them.

We’ve touched upon your presence at the UKBFF Grand Prix in July. What other events will you guys be at this year?

To name a few, we’ll be at the Valentine sevens ruby tournament in St. Albans on the 19^th of July , Brighton Aquathalon on the 12^th of July and a bit later in the year we’ll be at the Heath and Fitness Expo in Manchester on 11^th & 12^th of October

Where can our readers find out more about the Protein Bakery?

On our website; www.proteinbakeryuk.co.uk. Also keep up to date with our facebook page and twitter @proteinbakeryuk, as well as Instagram ProteinBakeryUK

You