BrusselKale has all the hallmarks of a food trend: a mashed up name, serious nutritional value, limited availability and ties to two of the most-hyped vegetables on the market. The only question is when the superfood will make it big—and if people will be able to get a hold of it.
Also called kale sprouts, flower sprouts and lollipop kale, BrusselKale was developed as a hybrid between kale and Brussels sprouts in 2010 by a British company called Tozer Seeds. Four years later, BrusselKale -- which looks like a leafier Brussels sprout or kale arranged in a sprout formation -- is finally hitting foodies' sweet spots on both sides of the Atlantic.
The hybrid vegetable's growth has been hampered not by finding people to eat the veggie, but the high cost, intensive growth process and long growing period. However, the time seems ripe for growers, grocery stores and restaurants to invest in the veggie: kale is no longer the vegetable of the moment while Brussels sprouts remained a hit on restaurant menus this winter.
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The growing popularity of BrusselKale helped prompt Tozer Seeds to begin plans to launch the hybrid under a cohesive name this fall. With some U.S. grocery stores marketing the product as BrusselKale while other sell Lollipops Kale Sprouts, the product hasn't yet become a household name.
BrusselKale already has all the makings of a trendy superfood. In the coming months, we'll see if America bites.
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