Protein, Protein, Protein! An Interview with CEO Darcy Haggith Explains Why and How to Get It
Recently, Darcy Haggith, CEO of Polar Joe-maker of protein-infused powdered beverages- was interviewed on The Shift with Patty Handysides on AM800 CKLW in Windsor-Essex. Listen here for the interview. Below is a transcript of that interview:
Patty Handysides (PH): You may have heard about the growing awareness of protein. You’re seeing protein drinks on the shelf. You see protein powders. Maybe you're going to the gym you're hearing about adding more protein and as you get older you should be adding more protein. But what? Why? Suddenly why this proliferation of so much information about it? I know it's been around a long time but why are we talking about more.
Darcy Haggith is CEO of Gruppo Nutrition right here in Windsor and is joining me here in the studio. Hello, Darcy.
Darcy Haggith (DH) : Hi. It’s nice to be here.
PH: So, you have been doing this a long time.
DH: I have since 2006.
PH: Wow. So long before so much talk has come out about it and suddenly cases of protein drinks are on shelves and it's everywhere and we’re talking about why is protein so important. Why is adding protein to our diet important?
DH: I think we're getting more in tune with the research. Lots of research has been done, specifically with an aging population. So, as soon as you turn 40, after 40 there's a thing called Anabolic Resistance, and I don't want to get too science-y. What it means is that It just takes a little bit more protein to do the job that a lesser amount used to do when we were younger. So, it still works, but you need more protein to hang onto your muscle mass.
PH: Now, protein obviously is found in certain foods, in a lot of different foods, but when we're talking about adding protein, you know, how do we do that without eating a lot more? I mean, do we just change everything into steak and eggs?
DH: That's one approach, for sure. I'll be the first to tell people to get all your protein from real food if you can do it. So, figure out what your target is.
A good target for most listeners, 40 plus, or anyone highly active is 1.6 grams of protein per kilo of body weight. So, I'm 80 kilos, 180 lb, I need 130 grams a day, and timing is really important.
So, you need to space that out throughout the day. So, if you can get that with real food, so at breakfast, if you can eat 30 grams of protein at breakfast, that's a lot of eggs. That's five eggs. Most of us don't have the time, so breakfast is often the one that you'll see people supplementing with where you might add a protein powder like what we do. There are various ways of doing it. So, yeah, it's just I think we're more in tune with our bodies and with the research that's been done in the last 20 years. It's becoming a little bit more mainstream, and I think it's good for us.
PH: So, it's more education-based that we have to think about the things that have more protein, not just things we like to eat.
DH: Correct.
PH: But there’s a lot of things we love to eat that have protein like a lot of protein-
DH: Of course.
PH: So, those are the things we should be aiming towards, and I guess what you're saying is not all at one meal because we don't stockpile it. Right? I can’t do 100 grams at breakfast. I won't have to worry about the rest of the day.
DH: Yeah. Absolutely. So, if I could get a couple points across. We can store fats, and we can store carbohydrates. Our body has a mechanism of doing that, but most people don't know that we don't store any protein. Protein is only available to do the job of building or rebuilding muscle if it's floating around in your system. And, when it floats around, what I mean by that is you have to take it frequently. So, take it in the morning. Take it at lunch. Take it after dinner. Maybe after a workout.
If the protein and, specifically, the amino acids that come from the protein aren’t available floating around in your tissues, then you're not going to build muscles. So, just think that you have no sink-heat sink. Like, you just have no storage of protein. That's why it's super important that you're taking it frequently throughout the day-not just the right amount. Make sure it's timing is there.
PH: Ok, I remember years ago I was tested for vitamin D and it was a week after I'd come back from Central America. I was, like, well how can I be deficient? I had so much sunshine. Kind of the same thing. Your body doesn't store it for weeks on end. Just because you got a lot of sun one week, it’s not still there, you know, a week later. So, yeah, you know I understand the whole process that some things just don’t…Fat. Yeah, it’ll stay around forever. But some things are gone in a day.
DH: Yeah, listen. I have enough fat, probably to cycle out to Calgary from here as long as I get enough water and electrolytes, I could probably get there with the amount of fat on my body. I am not an overly heavy guy, but that's just the way it works. It's a good energy source. But, protein, there's no storage. Really important for people to know
PH: Is that why, so you're talking over 40 especially or people who are really active, but over 40 because of the loss of muscle we start into?
DH: Absolutely. There's a really good metaphor-I work with Dr. Stu Phillips. He's one of Canada's best researchers, world-renowned in skeletal muscle health and the effects that protein can have on that and resistance training. And, he uses this metaphor of a brick wall. So, think the brick wall is just like your muscles. And, there's bricks coming out, naturally coming out of that wall all the time. It's a natural process to lose muscle. So, bricks coming out of the wall. What we need to do is make sure we’re putting an equal amount of bricks in the wall to maintain our muscles. The only way you can do that is if you're taking enough protein and you’re stimulating that muscle. So, you’re doing a little bit of resistance training or moving ‘cause it's a combination of protein and movement that allows you to create what's called Muscle Protein Synthesis. And, that is just a fancy term for building muscle.
PH: Building muscle. And, you know what is interesting about that is that I go to a gym now. I have a trainer and it is mainly like working out, not just on the treadmill.
DH: So, it is like resistance training.
PH: All of it is resistance, sometimes very painful the next day. But, you know, I go regularly now. But, my best friend is very studious in her working out. Started very heavily at just before 50, and she's fantastic. She's the one who has always had protein powders. She and her husband do protein drinks. They're very healthy eaters, but she was never a big fan of protein powders and stuff. Her husband was, like, yeah, whatever. And, she was like “I don’t really like that one. I don’t like that one”... She was the one who said, "You have to try this Polar Joe” ‘cause I had tasted a few with her too. And, I was like, no. She, “well, this stuff is great. It’s like an iced coffee in the morning. It's a cold brew.” And, I'm, “Ok. I’ll taste.” She gave me a little packet. And, I'm like, “this stuff is amazing. I love this.” Shake it up for a few seconds. It's perfect. There's no aftertaste. And then I found out it's made right here in Windsor which was, like, yay. So excited to hear that.
DH: Yeah, we're less than a kilometer from you. Right?
PH: Yes. You're right over there on McDougall. So, how did you get into making protein powders?
DH: So, I had this business that started supporting Ironman athletes and stuff like that. We were very lucky that the folks that support our Olympic athletes here in Canada reached out to us to help them fuel our national athletes. So, those that are going to the Olympics. Because we were working with them, we were working with a really high quality of protein. And, that just became the backbone of everything we did. So, we had this really good protein.
To solve a problem for me, personally, I was trying to get more protein in my diet. I am a coffee guy. I’ve got a fancy espresso maker at home. Make a couple shots of espresso, put some protein in, maple syrup, and cream. And, I was making the most incredible iced lattes at home. So, friends and family became aware of it, and it was just my way of getting a little bit more protein in my diet because I follow the research. I knew I needed more. I needed to get to that 130 mark. And, embarrassingly, Patty, I did not do anything with that for a long time. For 2 years I sat on that, and finally in 2017, the idea popped in to my head-Hey, let’s make a dry powder that we can sell to the mass. One of our first biggest customers was Movati, here in town. They're headquartered here in Windsor. They took us on November 2017, and it's gone from there. Like, when people try Polar Joe, they don’t even taste that there’s any protein in there. They think it’s just a good iced coffee.
PH: Yeah. That's what’s amazing. The thing is that sometimes some of the other stuff that I've tried you kind of have to bury it in a smoothie or something.
DH: Yes.
PH: And, this is nothing. Water mixed with this powder, and it's completely dissolved. It’s beautiful. It’s smooth, but it’s a cold brew in the morning. But, now I have also tried your Mocha Latte. And, I’m like, at first I'm like, oh no. Oh wait a minute. Yeah, I think I like that one too. You’ve got a few now. You’re getting into some other flavours out there obviously just to appeal.
DH: Yeah. We just listened to our customers. First was cold brew. Then we were asked Hey, can you do a decaf version? I want to do it in the afternoon. Then, I’m not a tea…I'm not a coffee person. Would you do this with matcha? What is matcha? So, then I learned all about matcha, did a deep dive on that. And, now, we do a matcha latte. It's probably our second favourite product.
PH: Wow.
DH: We do a Vanilla Latte. We do a low sugar. Yeah, we just kind of listened to our customers with it. We're really proud of the brand and excited about its growth.
PH: And you know I'm sure there a lot of people who we see are advertising out there and don’t realize that it's here in Windsor because we get bombarded by different things out there. And it's like, oh that sounds a great thing and you've got your little retail outlet right there on McDougall and people can just go in or they can order and pick it up there which is great.
DH: Yes.
PH: And, you do have for the cold brew you have it in little sample packets you can buy too which i think is great for people not that aren’t that committed yet. They’re not sure they're really gonna like it. That’s is how I started. I started with one of those little sample packets that my girlfriend gave me. I went, “You're right. This is the best.” That's why I wanted to have you on. I knew you were a specialist too in learning about protein because I had questions. Why do I need to keep adding this to my diet?
DH: Yes. There is a site we put together that can elaborate on the protein need. It's called Protein Per Day.com. They can go there. We talk about real food there. It's not sales-y at all. It's all about getting the right amount of protein in your diet-through real food and how you can do it.
So, people can go there. If anybody wants to come by for a free single, just come by 1540 McDougall. You’ll see Polar Joe and Gruppo. Come in, and we’ll give you a free single. We're really confident that once people try it, good things happen for both of us.
PH: Very good. Well, it's great to know exactly why we should be doing this ‘cause you know, people hear about it-this is why now. Now we know why we need to do this. Darcy, thanks so much for coming in and congratulations on such a great business.
DH: Well, thank you.
PH: Love the fact that it is right here right in our backyard.
DH: Thanks for having me.
PH: That's Darcy Haggith, CEO of Gruppo Nutrition on McDougall and check it out online. PolarJoe.com and Gruppo.com