Dairy-free and full of flavour: we chat to Camilla Barnard, co-founder of Rude Health

January, the month of New Year's Resolutions - New Year, new me, as the saying goes. Your friends are indulging in alcohol-free cocktails while others delve into Veganism for the month, but what if you could still indulge in the rich flavours you habitually enjoy in your everyday life but without the guilt we often feel. 

Rude Health have created an array of healthy snacks, cereals and dairy-free milk - they believe that food can still be healthy, dairy-free and full of flavour. 

We spoke to Camilla Bernard, one of the founders of Rude Health about the production of their products and what makes them stand out in the crowd. 

What inspired you and your husband to start Rude Health?

The simple idea that healthy food should be delicious. Starting with muesli, which tended to be a real workout for the mouth, rather than a pleasure.

So, we created The Ultimate Muesli, bursting with flavour from 23 ingredients. Eight years after that, we started transforming dairy-free drinks too and now, fifteen years later, we have more than 60 foods and drinks alongside it.

Are you heavily involved with the creation of your products?

Yes, and so is the whole team.  We all suggest ideas for new foods, taste recipes and help develop the pack designs, then hand over to the innovation team to pull it all together. Every food and drink is a real team effort.

The Vegan lifestyle has had quite the resurgence in the last few years, have you noticed a change in the market? 

We have seen more and more people questioning food choices for sustainability reasons and for some this means reducing the amount of industrially farmed food they buy. At Rude Health we’re widely known for the quality of our ingredients and celebrated for our taste. We have a lot of very loyal customers whose main reason for choosing our dairy-free drinks is flavour. They love the variety of choosing almond drink in their latte, coconut on their cereal and oat in their porridge. 

Do you think Rude Health will delve into other branches of the food industry? 

We love food and are always coming up with ideas so it’s possible, but we are really focused on making the best dairy-free drinks and cereals in the world, which is enough. 

What Rude Health products do you personally love and or would recommend to someone new to the Rude Health brand? 

I am currently eating The Ultimate Granola for breakfast most mornings. We use date syrup for a really rich flavour and subtle sweetness, that I find irresistible with yoghurt and berries.

What steps are you taking at Rude Health to ensure you keep your carbon footprint low, especially when making your dairy free milk?  

We continue to source fabulous ingredients from suppliers who care. Our almonds, for example, are all from Italy, not California. Same with our rice. We make most of our dairy-free drinks in Italy for this reason, and because the spring water in them runs right off the mountains and into the factory.  

How does Rude Health compare to its competitors? What makes you stand out? 

At Rude Health it’s all about flavour. We don’t make pale imitations of milk. Our dairy-free drinks transform your coffee, tea, pancakes, cereal, porridge... you name it. Our bright and bold packs reflect the flavours inside and look good in your fridge and cupboard.

What advice would you give to a small health food startup? 

Just do it. Try it. It might work, it might not work. But you have to try.

During the course of building your business, what have been some of the ups and downs that you have encountered? 

The biggest ‘up’ is still going into a shop and seeing people put Rude Health in their baskets. That feeling will never get old. 

The first few years we had to work really hard as the whole concept of Rude Health didn’t chime with what people wanted. Healthy and tasty didn’t exist in the same food universe, until young people started getting really into healthy food, and sharing it all over social media.

What steps have you taken to ensure the longevity of your restaurant during this pandemic and do you feel the hospitality services will recover once this pandemic is over? 

We kept The Rude Health Café open for take away as much as possible so that our staff could keep working and we could be there for the community. We turned part of it into a shop, where everyone could stock up on Rude Health and other essential food and drink items. And we’ve created a brilliant partnership with Age UK where our team cooks and delivers meals for isolating and elderly members of the local community.

What things have you done to stay centred throughout lockdown? 

I’m very lucky. I have my family. And I’ve finally been doing the yoga I wish I’d been doing all my life. I should have started 30 years ago!

All answers by Rude Health Co-founder and Brand Manager Camilla Barnard