Aussie Chia Thrives Abroad

Australian-grown chia can now be found in loaves of bread throughout the United Kingdom as the booming super-grain continues to make international in-roads.

In a win for Aussie farmers, Australian company The Chia Company has partnered with Hovis Bread to produce a chia thrives seed bread for the British market.

Farmer and chief executive officer John Foss founded the company in 2003, after researching the properties and benefits of the ancient grain.

During the course of his research he discovered the climate of the Ord irrigation area in Western Australia was perfectly suited to growing chia, and convinced farmers to start growing it.

He has now built a global supply chain for chia. In 2010 he made a deal with bakery chain Bakers Delight to offer chia-seed bread.

Chia has its roots in Central and South America. However, Australia is now home to the world’s largest scale sustainable chia farms.