OUR STORY

It started with a simple question:
could better nutrition
make for better days?

The story of a thesis, six months of self-experimentation, and a simple idea that became Hol Food.

01 / THE BEGINNING

Why do some days feel better than others?

While studying neuroscience in university, Hol Food founder James Juras was fascinated by a basic question: why do our energy, focus, motivation, and mood vary so much from one day to the next?

The brain does not operate independently of the body. Cognition and emotion emerge from a biological system whose function depends on metabolism. And metabolism, in turn, depends on a continuous supply of nutritional substrates.

James began wondering whether making those nutritional inputs broad, balanced, and consistent could remove one important source of variability and improve his day-to-day cognitive function.

02 / THE TEST

He put his theory to the test — on himself.

For six months, he lived exclusively on an early (and very bad tasting) version of Hol Food — providing his body with a broad, consistent spectrum of nutritional inputs day after day.

What began as an experiment became difficult to ignore. He noticed a significant improvement in the consistency of his energy, motivation, and subjective well-being.

The experiment reinforced his conviction that a stable nutritional foundation could influence the physiological state from which we think, feel, and perform.

By the numbers

01

DRINK

The original version of Hol Food — one broad, balanced nutritional input

06

MONTHS

A sustained self-experiment in reducing one major source of biological variability: nutrition

01

RELIABLE BASELINE

Improved day-to-day energy and well-being

03 / HOL FOOD IS BORN

Friends started asking for a bag.

James never intended to make this a company. The drink had just been an experiment he had made for himself.

But friends began asking what he was drinking and whether they could try it too. And so in the summer of 2015, he began mixing small batches.

Hol Food was born.

02 / THE TEST

The formula has changed.
The goal hasn't.

In the eleven years since that first experiment, we've improved nearly everything about Hol Food: the taste, texture, fibre, protein, micronutrient profile, and the breadth of nutrition in every meal.

Today, Hol Food delivers 35+ essential nutrients in a balanced, filling meal that takes about 30 seconds to make.

But the motivation underlying Hol Food remains remarkably close to where we started: by providing your body with a carefully formulated nutritional input, we aim to improve your ability to perform mentally and physically on a daily basis.

“I built Hol Food because I wanted a nutritional system that could improve my daily cognitive performance. Today, that goal remains the same.”