Chia Rebranded

On a recent tour of a whole/health food store, I came across a glossy display for a new wonder food, "Salba" tagged as "Nature's most powerful Whole Food". With a lot of bright packaging and glossy ads, Salba seems poised to be a big player in the nutriceutical world, promising many omega 3's, fibre and antioxidants. Salba certainly has had some serious marketing work! It takes some searching, but I did discover that the latin name for the plant is Salvia hispanica - in the mint family.

Turns out that the remarkable Salvia hispanica has already had a glorious marketing history. A google search, or a look at Wikipedia uncovers the fact that Salvia hispanica was wildly successful - as the fast growing seed in the Chia Pet!

It may or may not be a remarkable food, but it certainly has hefty marketing pedigree.