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SAN DIEGO — Chocho, a nutritious, regenerative crop, is a primary component in a line of puffed treats created by Brutal Foods, a San Diego startup with Ecuadorian roots.

Also known as Andean lupin, the bean offers far more protein for every serving than salmon, tofu or chickpeas, with fiber, calcium and the nine crucial amino acids, and is cultivated at superior altitudes, in accordance to the brand name, which debuted at Natural Products Expo West, held March 8-11 in Anaheim, Calif.

Additional elements contain rice flour, avocado oil, cassava starch and seasonings this kind of as onion powder, garlic powder and sea salt. The churro-impressed puffs are sweetened with allulose and stevia extract. Cheeky Cheeze is a vegan choose on white cheddar taste, and Créme de la Bitter functions the brand’s spin on bitter product.

Brutal Foods was launched by married food items business veterans and indigenous Ecuadorians Juan Illingworth and Gaby Macias, who previously marketed and distributed bulk foodstuff elements. All through the pandemic, the pair started brainstorming new company strategies.

“Gaby generally craved junk/convenience meals, but in the previous six several years she’s been hunting how to equilibrium it in a more healthy way,” Mr. Illingworth explained. “We each needed to make something unique and to make it a lot easier to make improved options for everybody.

“Other beans and nuts by now had their second for a long time. It is chocho’s time to get the spot it deserves… So, we have been building these baked crunchy puffs and brand for nearly two several years and concentrated on the true things that we look at important devoid of sacrificing the pleasure of indulging.”

In addition to its dietary positive aspects, Mr. Illingworth said chocho is “a fundamental part of our historic and existing agriculture as a