As many of the Mother City’s health and fitness fanatics will know, Fria’s Superfoods – a locally owned delicatessen specialising in wholesome treats – makes a variety of delicious and nutritious nibbles that can only be found in select Cape Town outlets or ordered online via the company’s website. Until recently, that is. Now, anyone looking for a nourishing fix of Fria’s healthy cheat treats need only visit Wellness Warehouse Lifestyle on Kloof to get their hands on a few of their favourites.
Fria’s Superfoods was born from a passion for cooking, but at the same time trying to maintain a healthy eating regime. Having “fallen off the wagon” in favour of sugar, white flour and additives several times Fria Hiemstra decided to try and “healthify” the treats she ate, and what started as a hobby turned into a small business when friends, family and colleagues tried her creations and loved them.
Owner of Fria’s Superfoods, Hiemstra says: “I’m not a qualified nutritionist but I’m passionate about knowing what you put in your body and keeping it clean. What I know of healthy living and superfoods is self-taught. I tend to go through phases, which often become little obsessions, and I’ve found that it is the best way for me to learn and to offer the finest products I possibly can.”
Everything out of Fria’s kitchen is fresh and, as far as possible, naturally dried whole foods – she sprouts or activates her own buckwheat, black beans, almonds and chickpeas before adding them to her treats (or little “works of art” as she calls them). She also adds a high quality, vegan protein powder to some of her treats to make them more nutritious.
Hiemstra continues: “I’ve tried a little bit of everything from sprouting to fermentation and ‘aquafaba-ing’. I went through quite a serious beetroot phase … which turned into a juicing phase, which turned into a sprouting phase, which turned into a superfood phase and then back into a baking phase. And here we are, years later, with a line of healthy-living products that are loved by many. It’s been such an amazing journey.”
A journey which has seen Fria’s slowly start entering the mainstream health market with a selection of treats now stocked at Wellness Warehouse on Kloof Street from Monday to Sunday. So, what exactly will you find in the fridge on any given day? Think lemon bliss balls, matcha mint and liquorice balls, sweet potato brownie balls, black bean truffles, the coffee choccie workout bar, banoclate cake cups, peppermint mousse cake cups and best-seller, snickers cake cups.
With such an extensive line as her first entry into the market, it’s a wonder Fria gets any sleep: “By day I’m in actuarial work, by night I am Fria’s Superfoods recipe creator, patisserie, dish washer, marketing manager, stock buyer, investor, personal assistant, accountant, web developer and delivery service, but I wouldn’t change a thing!”
In addition, Fria’s Superfoods is now open for the healthy dessert business when it comes to catering parties and film shoots after pulling off one almighty task of feeding twenty five crew members over the course of five days when shooting The Bull Short Film. “Working on a film was such a mammoth task but at the same time such an incredible experience. I’ve also worked on a few parties and I absolutely love catering for kids because you can have so much fun in the kitchen being creative, and they always love what you put in front of them as long as it’s colourful.”