The appearance of No Guilt Bakes (NGB) means that the UK ketogenic movement finally has a new treat hero that’s not another energy bar or liquid breakfast drink.
Whilst the UK ketogenic movement has undoubtedly been a little slower out of the blocks than its US counterpart (where keto is out-performing both GF and plant-based), the category’s underlying commitment to re-evaluate outmoded eating and champion healthier living, whilst rejecting needless carbs, refined sugars and lazy fillers, is slowly but surely gathering followers and momentum.
Young brands like No Guilt Bakes are bringing "appetite appeal" and indulgence to a food minority category historically stereotyped as functional. In recent weeks soaring online NGB shop sales have been accompanied by new listings (Yumbles & Borough Box, plus advanced enquiries with a number of discerning food retailers).
What began as a fun cottage industry hobby run by two best friends/cousins/ketogenic enthusiasts, has quickly morphed into a sugar-free treat movement which most recently saw No Guilt Bakes sign off new recyclable share bags whilst forging a long-term alliance with Sugarwise.
According to co-founder Taeya, "Having sampled a number of underwhelming ketogenic cake offerings and noted the dearth of real choice that existed online, we knew we had to turn our hands to baking, having experienced first-hand just how hard it is to give up sugar if there were no permissible treats to quell our FOMO (fear of missing out) urges and suppressed sweet tooth tendencies. As our business grew, we recognised that our packaging and brand identity didn’t reflect the quality of our cakes, a short-term oversight we’ve fully addressed."
Latest cake data (Neilsen, Dec 20) certainly reaffirms that whilst big celebration cakes are in freefall (lockdown, growth in home baking) there’s been a positive "lipstick effect" for tasty "feel-good" time-outs that make adopting healthier living regimes more bearable - and NGB has recently extended its ketogenic range to encompass bread, pancake and waffle mixes.
"Whilst we’ve nothing but admiration for traditional cake stalwarts, their reticence to look beyond one-size-fits-all eating occasions convinced us that that it was time for someone else to fulfil that need,’ Taeya concludes.
Noguiltbakes.com
