Founding Story of Let's Go Chia
For the last 10+ years we have made it a priority to eat healthy. It started from our days being high school cross country and track runners when we discovered, first hand, the difference in performance when consuming a healthy, nutrient dense diet versus eating whatever we wanted. In the running world, 2009 was a formative year for the rise of chia seeds largely due to the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. This book was released in our freshman year of high school and goes on to explain how the Tarahumara Indian Tribe used chia seeds to fuel their unbelievably long distance runs (sometimes a few hours long and sometimes a few days long). As any good distance runner did after reading the book, we both tried to incorporate chia seeds into our diets more consistently. We both consumed chia seeds on and off throughout our high school and our NCAA Division 1 collegiate running careers, but neither of us would say they were a true staple in our diet. There were two primary reasons for our lack of consistency; one, was not having a clear use case for taking chia seeds and, secondly, not having a go-to chia seed brand that aligned with our lifestyle.
At the start of 2020 we began to dive more into the benefits of chia seeds because we knew they were an incredible superfood ingredient, but we wanted to know more. We learned that chia seeds are a plant-based protein that contain all 9 essential amino acids, loaded with omega 3's, full of fiber for gut health, consist of more antioxidants per serving than blueberries, and are embedded with minerals for bone health. We quickly realized that the key with chia seeds is consuming them in the most bioavailable way; meaning the way that allows your body to receive all/most of the benefits. The two best ways to increase bioavailability for chia seeds are:
- to let the whole seeds soak in water/liquid for 15+ minutes
- ground/powder them to break down the fibrous outer shell
Allowing the seeds to soak in water/liquid was not revolutionary to us, but the ground/powdered form was new. We began to explore the ground/powdered form more. We began experimenting with the powder on our own and were amazed at how convenient it was to mix with other powders and incorporate into any beverage or recipe we desired. The powdered format also offered a unique, nutty taste profile that the whole chia seeds do not contain. Once we learned that powdered chia seeds were more bioavailable and easily incorporated into any beverage or recipe, we began to look for brands that were focused on delivering powdered chia seeds with other functional, superfood ingredients. We figured since Four Sigmatic had done it with mushrooms, Vital Proteins had done it with collagen, surely someone had to have done it with the best superfood on the planet (chia seeds) -- but we found nothing. There was not a single brand focused on delivering powdered chia seeds paired with other functional ingredients, so WE BUILT IT!
We created Let's Go Chia because we wanted to create a brand focused solely on delivering the best powdered chia seed products paired with other functional ingredients in the world. Our hope is that our chia seed-based blends can offer a better way for people to consume chia seeds more consistently and in their most bioavailable form. As you can see in our name, we want you to give you a reason to say "Let's Go!". There are so many beautiful places you can explore and we hope that our blends get you inspired to get outside and move.
Let's Go,
Lance & Kelli Capel -- Husband & Wife, Founders of Let's Go Chia