Founded in 2005 by qualified naturopath, Narelle Plapp, Food for Health began when Plapp started handmaking muesli for her patients with coeliac disease. Twenty years on, the brand has grown into a household staple, stocked nationally in Coles and Woolworths. Food & Drink Business spoke with Plapp about building a major manufacturing company from one simple need.
“Two decades ago, I started Food for Health because I couldn’t find anything on the market I could confidently recommend to my patients,” said Plapp.
“Now, 20 years on, it’s incredible to see how far we’ve come and how many Australian households we’ve helped fuel with better-for-you breakfasts.”
Source: Food for Health
After building a loyal following with its reputation for Australian-made functional food, Food for Health had expanded to the point of needing a serious production facility. Plapp started Grain & Bake in 2017, which is now one of Australia’s largest producers of toasted muesli, granola, and snacks, all made at a purpose-built 10,000 square metre site in Melbourne.
Growing at 74 per cent YoY and pulling in $35 million annually, the company makes 100 million bars and 6000 tonnes of toasted cereal for big-name brands, both locally and internationally, as well as Food for Health.
Has there been any significant investments in equipment and expansion since starting out at Grain & Bake?
The initial investment at Grain and Bakes start-up was close to $8 million, and we have continued to invest in our infrastructure to support both growth and operational efficiencies.
Our second stage of growth was our muesli bar line, which was commissioned close to 2 years ago, now at an investment of over $4 million. This line has the capacity to produce 100 million muesli bars per year. We manufacture for many key brands on the supermarket shelves, not only my own brand Food for Health, but also brands like Aldi and Nestle.
How has the gluten-free market evolved in the past 20 years?
Twenty years ago, a coeliac disease diagnosis often meant navigating limited and poor-quality food options. Supermarkets carried few gluten-free products, which were usually dense breads or bland pasta alternatives, and eating out was a constant challenge. Many venues lacked understanding of cross-contamination or dismissed gluten-free requests as unnecessary.
Today, the landscape looks very different. Growing awareness, improved diagnosis rates, and strong advocacy from coeliac organisations have driven substantial change. Gluten-free options are now mainstream, with dedicated sections in supermarkets, and clearer menu labelling in restaurants and cafés. Many chefs and hospitality teams are better educated about safe preparation practices, reflecting a genuine cultural shift toward inclusion.
Attitudes have matured as well. While there was once a perception that gluten-free diets were simply a trend, there’s now broader recognition of their medical necessity for people with coeliac disease. Although challenges around cross-contamination and consistent labelling remain, the improvement in both availability and quality of gluten-free products, like Food for Health, has been significant.
What inspired the decision to start out with granola, and stick with it?
Granola was the natural starting point for the Food for Health range because it embodied everything I wanted the brand to represent – healthy, nourishing and genuinely good food made from real ingredients.
At the time, the market was saturated with so-called ‘healthy’ cereals that were heavily processed and high in sugar. I saw an opportunity to create something different: a product that delivered both nutrition and taste, made with whole grains, nuts, seeds, and botanicals. I created the recipe for a ‘liver cleansing muesli’ for my patients to take home and make as part of their meal plans, which was where my food journey began.
As a naturopath, I’d spent years helping people understand how food impacts their wellbeing, and I wanted to make that easier in everyday life. Muesli/granola felt like the perfect starting point. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so it needs to be healthy and fulfilling. It became the foundation for Food for Health’s philosophy – prevention is better than cure.
