Founder, Helen Wynn, hopes her cow’s milk kefir will bring customers the same positive health benefits she has seen in her own family.
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Helen, who is from Y Felinheli in Gwynedd, balances producing her kefir milk drink with her job as a television production manager.
She first came across kefir as a way of easing her husband Gwyn’s inflammatory bowel disease and since drinking it has seen an improvement in his health.
“He’d been managing his condition with medication, but about five years ago we came across an article about kefir, and so we set about finding how to buy some – it wasn’t easy as back then there wasn’t much talk about it.”
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Unable to source cow’s milk kefir locally, Helen decided to produce her own – and has felt and seen the benefits to herself and her family. Now she has decided to take the next step and offer her drink to the public.
She says, “We all should have perfect little healthy ‘rainforests’ in our guts full of good immune supporting bacteria called the ‘gut biome’. But these can be distorted by modern-day stresses and diets.
Drinking cow’s milk kefir daily can help to restore bacterial diversity and balance in your gut biome, and there is increasing evidence to suggest that the more diverse the bacteria in your biome, the better it will be for your health.”
Helen combines the live grains with non homogenised local cow’s milk from Llaethdy Llŷn in Pwllheli.
Helen adds, “I feel strongly that businesses in Wales should support each other.”
Kefir is a live product, similar to live yoghurt. The production process is comparable in principle to that of sourdough, in that it is the result of fermentation using naturally-occurring live cultures which – under the correct conditions – continue to thrive and multiply.
Originating from the Caucasian Mountains generations of families have been using the same strains of kefir.
Kefir Cymru is launching at an exciting time due to kefir’s growing popularity. It is a huge phenomenon in cities, and not just with health conscious younger people but with consumers who need something to compliment their busy hectic lives – with the bonus that it’s suitable for more or less everyone* – in abundance of forms.
There has been much research of late into gut health and the effect of diets that include a lot of sugary or processed foods. Also links between diet and conditions such as auto-immune diseases and other health issues.
Commenting on lifestyles of today, Helen said: “Today’s lifestyles can be stressful, and we eat the wrong things. People don’t have to deprive themselves of things, but I think they are beginning to understand their gut should be healthier than it is. If you look after your gut then hopefully the rest of you will look and feel better.”
Care for the environment is part of Kefir Cymru’s ethos too, and the drinks are sold in glass bottles and are sold online at www.kefir.cymru
In setting up her business, Helen has been working with Cywain – a Menter a Busnes delivered project that supports the development of growth orientated businesses in the food and drink sector in Wales.
“They have been amazing; they are so supportive. I’ve had help with branding, my website, and I’ve been to business workshops. Cywain’s help has been priceless, and I couldn’t have done it without them.”
