Freedom Foods on the mark as Geelong Cats purr to its new protein powder

Freedom Foods is turning to sports nutrition as it seeks to rehabilitate its reputation and reposition its business.

Isaac Smith, Paul Tsapatolis, Max Holmes, Nick Stevens, Jeremy Cameron and Shaun Higgins. Geelong Cats unveiled their new recruits and their numbers. Picture: Alan Barber

As Freedom Foods battled its annus horribilis in 2020, one of its products formed part of a secret weapon that propelled Geelong to the AFL Grand Final.

The Geelong Cats — which lost the 2020 premiership decider to Richmond — have been quietly supplementing their players’ diets with Freedom’s new protein powder, PUREnWPI, under its Vital Strength brand.

Freedom says the product, produced in Shepparton, has up to 14 per cent more leucine — an amino acid that helps stimulate muscle recovery — than other protein powders, making it appealing to high intensity athletes like footballers.

Geelong began using the PUREnWPI at the start of the 2020 season and has committed to use it as its protein powder of choice in the 2021 season. For Freedom, the Cats’ uptake of the products comes as it is seeking to rehabilitate its image after the departures of its chief executive, chief financial officer and an accounting scandal — which included a $590m writedown — and aggrieved shareholders launching a class action.

The company is also being sued for $US16m ($20.8m) by Blue Diamond — a key supplier of Freedom’s Almond Breeze milk products — for breach of contract in the US.

But sports dietitian Dom Condo, of Deakin University who consults with the Geelong Cats, said players have responded well to PUREnWPI and said it helped play a part in the club’s success last season.

“We switched to Freedom’s (protein) at the beginning of the 2020 season. We were really looking for something that was a little bit different that not all clubs were using, that gave us a little bit of an advantage,” Dr Condo said.

“There are so many proteins out there on the market and what we really look for is the quality of the protein. And Freedom’s protein has a really high content of that leucine, and leucine is the main ingredient that helps with recovery.

“We got them batch tested to make sure that the players weren’t at any risk of contamination - which we knew there wouldn’t be but we had to tick that box - and so as soon as that happened we were able to start using it and the season played out the way it did.”

Covid-19 forced the suspension of the season in March and it didn’t resume until June. Then all the Victorian-based clubs relocated to Queensland, forming quarantine hubs. The need for fast recovery from players was also highlighted, with the AFL shoehorning 33 games across 19 days from July 29 to complete the home and away season.

“It (making to the grand final) was a combination of everyone doing the best they could but really found the nutrition that we had behind the players in that hub made a big difference,” Dr Condo said.

“I have no doubt that nutrition and the recovery and practices that the players were adopting really did help it getting to where we got to.”

Dr Condo said as well as protein being “absolutely essential to muscle recovery” and also stimulates muscle protein synthesis, which helps build bigger muscles.

But Dr Condo said the fact that there were no fillers or sugars in PUREnWPI, meant it helped players, particularly older ones, stay lean.

“There are protein powders on the market that taste absolutely incredible. Some like chocolate milkshakes that are the best thing you’ve ever tried. But you just know that there is a fair bit of sugar and additives to get it to taste like that because proteins shouldn’t (taste like that).

“The players have said it (PUREnWPI) is not the most incredible tasting protein they have ever had but they can really taste how pure it was. It doesn’t have that sweet aftertaste.”

Freedom hopes having Geelong on board will make a big difference to its business too. The company is streamlining its operations, focusing on dairy, nutritionals and plant-based proteins after it sold its core allergen-free cereal and snacks business to Arnott’s in a $20m cash deal.

The company is also seeking to raise $280m to repair its balance sheet and is in the midst of negotiations with US firm Oaktree Capital Management.

In the past three years, Freedom has invested $300m in developing a nutritionals plant in Shepparton, which was another reason the Cats sought out the company.

“Being the club that Geelong is, we really do like to support local industries and we know that Freedom’s PUREnWPI is all made in Shepparton, which is the regional Victoria epicentre of food manufacturing. So it was something that we could do to give back to the community as well as tick that box for the quality of protein that we needed,” Dr Condo said.

Freedom’s interim chief executive Michael Perich told The Australian in November — before the sale of Freedom’s cereal business — that its new plant at Shepparton was part of the company’s future.

“This is definitely part of the future of Freedom Foods and, as we look through Freedom nutritionals, really providing products with benefits to consumers,” Mr Perich said.