Bay State Milling is using an idea developed by the Australian government to try to improve American public health.
The story goes back about 30 years, said Colleen Zammer, vice president of varietal solutions growth and corporate innovation for Bay State Milling, to an Australian government-led initiative to get its population eating healthier foods on a more regular basis.
One solution: A variety of wheat and a new way to process it that resulted in flour with significantly more fiber than typical flour, which can be beneficial to a whole host of health conditions, including heart disease, according to the company.
Bay State Milling used the concept to create a similar variety made in American soil. The resulting product is the company’s HealthSense Flour, a high-amylose wheat flour that the company says has 10 times the fiber of normal wheat, without any additives often used to bulk up flour content, Zammer said.
“We are coming to market to say you don't need that fiber additive anymore, you don't even need regular flour anymore,” Zammer said.
Bay State Milling was selected to be the U.S. partner by Australia about 15 years ago, according to Zammer, but HealthSense flour first appeared in the American consumer market in 2020. While adoption has not been rapid, the company sees itself as on the precipice of a wave of utilization.
"We feel like we're at a tipping point, but as a lean organization, it's taking us some time,” Zammer said.
Still, the company is seeing exponential growth in the curve of flour being used, she said. The business unit including HealthSense saw 130% growth in 2023, and expects 2024 to be in the triple digits, too.
Bay State Milling holds the patent on the process and product, and is the only company in the U.S. making this kind of product and allowed to take it to market, according to Zammer.
They see the product as having the potential to create growth opportunities at a 5th-generation family business in a traditional industry.
The flour is a brand new category of grain, according to Bay State Milling.
Getting the right environment to grow and finding partners and getting it to taste right and be adopted has been slow moving, but has potentially big impact on health, she said.
Bay State Milling doesn’t sell direct-to-consumer. The flour is part of products available at Honeygrow, 3 Farm Daughters, Noodles and Co. and roughly a few dozen other commercial partners, but you won’t find it on shelves at grocery stores like recognizable brands King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill.
The Quincy headquarters host Bay State Milling’s innovation center, where the company researches and tests its products. The company is currently also developing a high-protein oat milk.
The company’s CEO is headed to SXSW to speak on a panel about the benefits of this food technology.
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