Three Wanaka locals have teamed up to launch a bread product which allows buyers to easily make a nutritious loaf from home.

A neighbourly chat between neighbours Bob and Rita Bateman and Zac Strauss last year has led to the creation of ‘Powerbread’, a make-at-home bread mix designed for maximum nutrition. 

“I was really just sent by my partner to ask if we could borrow their kayaks, but within the first five minutes somehow we ended up talking about bread,” Zac, who is now the manager of Powerbread, said. 

Zac and Bob ended up chatting about Bob’s previous experience as a bakery owner in New Plymouth, and his experience making super nutritious bread, originally something he began working on when his daughter was getting into competitive sport. 

Since his retirement in Wanaka, Bob had continued to make the bread at home, and the pair saw an opportunity to refine the product and share it with the health-conscious local community. 

Since teaming up, the Batemans and Zac have reworked Bob’s formula for a plant-based diet, and ditched dairy for plant-based protein. 

“We use two main plant proteins to ensure a full complement of essential amino acids, a good amount of fibre and adding B12 into the mix, a vitamin, which is something plant-based diets are often lacking,” Zac said 

After settling on the recipe the next challenge was making sure it was easy for buyers to make the loaf.

“Bob’s bread always tasted great," Zac said, “but it's one thing to buy a health product, it's another to make it yourself. After several attempts we have come up with a simple set of instructions that even a first time baker can follow and enjoy."

Working on the Powerbread project made for a busy 2020, and Bob first started making the nutritious bread more than 10 years ago - so Powerbread has been, in some ways, a decade in the making.

“As a local Wanaka-based start-up that is hoping to take off, we have seen how Kiwis are willing to support the local economy and believe now is the time more than ever to come together and break bread,” Zac said. 

He said he was excited to share that Powerbread was now available for purchase. 

The Powerbread team hopes to move into a retail space at a later date. 

PHOTO: Supplied