The Journey to Plant-Based: Q&A with the Rumble Creator Paul + Dietitian Rachel Dickens

Have you tried our two new flavours yet? They’re plant-based and 100% vegan, made with an optimal blend of hemp and pea protein, organic flaxseed oil, coconut cream, fibre, organic greens, and other premium natural ingredients. The best part? They’re actually delicious. 

It was no small feat to create a super tasty and super healthy vegan Rumble Supershake. In fact, it took almost two years of planning, sampling, and testing to get it just right.

We asked Rumble creator Paul Underhill, and Registered Dietitian Rachel Dickens to share the story.

Q: How long have you wanted to release vegan, plant-based flavours?

Paul: Believe it or not, 10 years! I was using a plant-based powder back in 2010, and wanted an ready-to-drink version that would taste better and include healthier fats and fibre. It has taken a while for the food science and formulation techniques to catchup to our vision.

Q: Why was it important?

Paul: Every ‘body’ is different, and more people are choosing plant-based protein for a variety of reasons, from personal health to protecting the environment. We heard from lots of people, including current Rumble customers, that they wanted a plant-based option.

Q: Rachel, you were brought on early to help create the new plant-based recipes. Why is plant-based nutrition important to you?

Rachel: There is a lot of evidence to suggest that a plant-based eating style can reduce our risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. We also know that plant-based proteins have a lower carbon footprint when compared to animal proteins. 

About 14% of our human-induced greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock, and it’s beef and dairy that account for the majority of these emissions (at 41% and 20% respectively). Most of these emissions are from the livestock’s feed production and processing, and also the methane production caused by the enteric fermentation in ruminants.

By switching to plant-based protein, we can greatly reduce our carbon footprint. 

Q: What work was required to develop the new flavours?

Rachel: This was the most fun part for me! It was an extensive and time consuming process, but it was exciting to learn from the experts on the different flavour profiles and options. You wouldn’t know it, but a lot of science and tasting goes into just choosing which type of coffee to use!

Q: What guided your decision-making on ingredients?

Paul: We always aim to be the healthiest and best tasting option. It was super important to us to have a high-quality plant-based protein blend, that would be both easy to digest and deliver crave-worthy taste.

Rachel: Not only that, but we set-out to make a plant-based protein drink that was lower in sugar and that contained whole-food ingredients - a very unique product! I helped brainstorm what these ingredients might look like, from a nutrition and environmental standpoint.

We wanted to add a new, more direct source of DHA, so each bottle of Rumble now has DHA from plant-based algal oil. Because plant-based diets are often light on vitamins D and B-12, we also wanted to make sure we included these vitamins in the new plant-based flavours.

Q: What was the biggest challenge you encountered?

Paul: Finding a truly good tasting protein blend with good mouthfeel. It took a while, but we found it!

Rachel: For me, keeping the sugars low. From a macronutrient standpoint, if the carbohydrates (sugars) are low, then you need more protein or fat to make up for it. Finding a balance that tasted good and was also good for our bodies was a challenge! But it worked, and I am so excited by the end result. [Rumble Cacao has only 8g of sugar, Rumble Latte has only 5g.]

Q: Who do you hope tries the new flavours? 

Paul: All of our vegan friends, the many incredible plant-based athletes out there, and anyone who is exploring plant-based options!

Rachel: Everyone! Swapping to a few plant-based meals or snacks per week can have tremendous benefits for our health. This is an easy swap, because the plant-based Rumble is delicious!

Q: What’s coming next?

Paul: If our plant-based offerings are well received, I hope we can offer a 3rd flavour!