Ex-pro snowboarder Rob Mitchell didn’t plan to enter the female-dominated wellness and nutrition space. His professional career spanning over 15 years was dedicated to entering global sports competitions until continuous injuries took him on another path and led to a complete career change.

Fed up with being prescribed drugs and desperately seeking a natural remedy to overcome the strains of high-impact sport, Rob decided to take recovery into his own hands and, through his journey, came across a family recipe dating back to the 1880s for bone broth. And so Mitchells Nutrition began.

“I’d injured just about every part of my body at some stage of my career. No matter what the injury was, I would always end up at the doctors, where they’d prescribe me a bunch of drugs. Anti-inflammatories, painkillers, etc.

“Sure, in most cases, these are needed for the initial pain, but what you fuel your body and mind with in the rehabilitation phase of an injury is quite often a major factor in how you bounce back, and I wanted to investigate this.”

Loved for its endless benefits, bone broth is full of rich collagen, glutamine, glycine and proline, which help with ligament and muscle function and repair. The natural collagen in bone broth also reduces intestinal inflammation, leading to a healthier gut. It can support weight loss, immune function, even sleep.

After finding his traditional family recipe, Rob wanted to create his own version of the broth, something that would have greater appeal to the modern consumer.

“The problem with bone broth is that it’s bloody time-consuming. Making it from scratch takes at least two days, and then it has to be consumed quite quickly.

“After many attempts at making it with one arm in a sling, I started thinking there must be an easier way to get the goodness of bone broth into a more convenient form, so I worked on my own version, testing, trialling, failing and trying again.”

Mitchells is no ordinary bone broth. Perfected over generations, New Zealand grass-fed beef bones are slow-cooked with onions, carrots, celery, parsley, apple cider vinegar, black peppercorns, bay leaf, and rosemary. Finally, Mitchells gently dries the broth to remove water and preserve the nutritional profile, turning the recipe into a powder.

Now Mitchells Nutrition is building on its range of bone broth powder, collagen and bone broth protein powder by adding flavours including new addition chocolate.

“Being the first of its kind, we understand that the idea of a Bone Broth Chocolate Protein Powder might sound a little strange. But if it wasn’t for the benefits you’ll feel, you’d never know the difference as there’s no broth taste or feel. It’s as good as gold.”

Since launching, the company has had impressive growth selling across New Zealand and is now setting its sites on international markets.