James Wilks, former UFC fighter and creator of the acclaimed documentary, “The Game Changers,” announced the launch of FȲTA™ (https://www.fyta.com/), a first-of-its-kind sports and active nutrition brand.
“My quest for the optimal diet for athletic performance started with the discovery that Roman Gladiators ate a predominantly plant-based diet based around grains and beans,” states Wilks. “After the release of ‘The Game Changers,’ I went on a hunt for high-protein plant-based products that were delicious, convenient and met international standards for optimized athletic performance, health and sustainability. But, I couldn’t find any.”
It wasn’t just Wilks; thousands of athletes around the world had written to him to share they were looking for the exact same thing.
Wilks brought together a group of elite sports dietitians and food scientists who tested hundreds of ingredients and combinations. His search for the perfect protein led him to EverPro®, the most soluble and digestible plant-sourced protein in the category, made from upcycled barley.
EverPro is the flagship product of EverGrain™, a St. Louis-based sustainable ingredient business that, through years of research, developed and acquired proprietary technologies to transform brewer’s spent grain into high-quality protein ingredients. EverPro is made from upcycled, homegrown American barley, a byproduct of beer production, which not only offers highly bioavailable amino acids, but superior taste and texture.
Beer production begins by separating the naturally occurring carbohydrates found in grains like barley and rice from their protein and fiber. The carbohydrates are then used to initiate the fermentation process, but the protein and fiber typically end up in landfills or as livestock feed.
“It’s amazing to think that such a high quality, highly digestible and highly versatile protein was being thrown away,” says Wilks, who was ranked #3 on Men’s Health’s list of “The 13 Most Influential Men in Health and Fitness.” “EverGrain’s efforts to upcycle a protein that would otherwise go to waste not only resulted in a truly unique product, but aligns with our mission to create a stronger, healthier population and planet.”
FȲTA, which derives its name from the Greek word for plants, launches this month with its Elite Plant Protein — an easy-to-mix, plant-based protein powder made from a proprietary blend of an ancient grain (sprouted barley, in the form of EverPro) and an ancient, soil-regenerating bean (whole lupin).
