Eat the Ball® – Bread of a New Generation
Press Text (July 2015)
Eat the Ball® – An Innovative Company
Eat the Ball® is an innovative company from Salzburg, Austria. It launched the world‘s
first ball-shaped bread, introducing a new category of branded bread to the market.
It began in 2007 with a simple question: Why are there no real bread brands? A food
product as important as bread is still only sold in generic categories rather than being
sold as a distinctive brand with individual quality features. The founder Michael Hobel
and his business partner Norbert Kraihamer were intrigued by the idea of creating a
bread brand and after five years of development, they introduced Eat the Ball ® to the
Austrian market in 2012. In 2013 the company made first steps into Germany and
the United States. The goal is to establish the world’s first real bread brand, based on
a specifically developed technology enabling to produce bread in ball shape. But the
eye-catching ball is only the shell of a new technology that will revolutionize the
bread market: fermentation instead
of baking.
“Our technology combines gentle production, 100% naturalness and a long shelf life.
This combination paved the way to an entirely new bread concept, says Eat the Ball®
founder Michael Hobel. By the way, the brand name Eat the Ball® came up when the
then two year old son of Michael Hobel tried to bite into a plastic ball.
2015 – Eat the Ball® Starts Out in the Pacific Northwest
Starting July 2015, Eat the Ball® will be available in the freezer and bakery sections of
178 selected Safeway stores in Washington State and Alaska. Safeway, with its
dedication to supporting local communities and the commitment to offering healthy
food options, is an ideal partner for the launch. Eat the Ball® is partnering with
Safeway as the first United States grocery chain to carry the ball-shaped bread.
The Bread Market Revolution
Eat the Ball® is a new generation of bread with product features that offer unique
advantages. The gentle Eat the Ball® production process pro.ferment.iced® uses only
the highest quality ingredients.
Wheat flour, water, butter, yeast, salt, malted barley flour and malted wheat flour,
and sugar. The company’s decision to do without GMOs and artificial ingredients such
as emulsifiers, colorings and flavorings makes Eat the Ball® a 100% natural product,”
explains Michael Hobel.
The team around company founder Michael Hobel and Norbert Kraihamer is exploring
new territory on the bread market. Eat the Ball® is bread fresh frozen. After thawing,
this premium bread completely retains its freshness for at least 24 hours and its full
flavor for up to three days.
pro.ferment.iced® – The Gentle Eat the Ball® Production Process
Natural fermentation guarantees the highest quality and
the best possible taste. Eat the Ball® is fresh bread that
has been frozen.
This new technology will give bread back everything it has
been losing in a world of mass production, decreasing
grain quality and increasing price pressure: naturalness,
the best flavor, moistness,
a long shelf life and interesting shapes.
Athletes Love Eat the Ball®
„Nowadays innovative food technology
becomes more and more important.
Supplying enough food to the world’s
population will become a large issue in the
years and decades to come. That’s why
I’m supporting the work of Eat the Ball®,
which with its long-lasting all natural
bread is making an important contribution
towards minimizing bread waste and
developing sustainable food technologies.“
RUSSELL WILSON
When it comes to nutrition, pro athletes stick to a balanced and healthy diet. Eat the
Ball® is very proud to have Seattle Seahawks Quarterback and Super Bowl winner
Russell Wilson supporting the brand. Russell and other professional athletes such as
New York Islanders player Michael Grabner, and Bayern Munich soccer star David
Alaba love Eat the Ball® for its innovative concept, nutritional value and fun shape.
“We’ve created a product that combines nutrition with play, making bread interesting
and exciting for young trendsetters, as well as raising the respect and awareness
such an essential grocery as bread deserves,” says Managing Partner Norbert
Kraihamer.
For more information about Eat the Ball®, please visit our website at
www.eattheball.com.
Isabelle Winter
Phone: +1 646 232 2849
E-Mail: i.winter@eattheball.com