Parents are taking a fresh look at baobab - here’s why

When you're trying to feed a family, there's always another health trend doing the rounds. One week it's chia seeds, the next it's kefir. Then suddenly everyone's adding sea moss, collagen or mushroom coffee to their basket. So yes, the word 'superfood' can make you roll your eyes. 

Still, some ingredients have been valued for ages, long before they became a wellness thing. Baobab is one of them - and Mumsnet users can now try it for less. Use code MUMSNET25 for 25% off at UNROOTED (T&Cs apply¹). You can pick up UNROOTED's new GOOD FIBRE baobab fruit sachets on Ocado, Holland & Barrett, Amazon and from UNROOTED's website. 

What is baobab fruit? 

It's still fairly under the radar in the UK, but baobab fruit has been eaten in parts of Africa for thousands of years. It's naturally high in fibre (7x more fibre than oats), vitamin C (6x more than oranges) and antioxidants (2x more than acai berry), which is why nutritionists and health-conscious shoppers are starting to take notice. 

In fact, when Tanzania's Hadza tribe were studied by the BBC, they discovered the Hadza had the healthiest microbiomes on Earth - and baobab is thought to play a big role in that. 

What tree does baobab fruit come from?

You might recognise the baobab tree as Rafiki's tree from Disney's The Lion King. Often called the 'Tree of Life', you'll find these huge trees across parts of Africa, and they crop up in local stories and folklore for good reason. Some are enormous, with trunks so wide they look slightly unreal.

They're also unbelievably slow-growing and long-lived. A baobab tree can take up to 200 years to produce its first fruit and once it gets going, it can fruit every year for up to 2,000 years. Due to how long the trees take to grow, they cannot be commercially farmed - meaning they grow entirely in the wild.

This means baobab trees are naturally organic and live in harmony with nature. Their abundant fruits are collected by hand once they ripen and drop from the tree, and the trees are home to over 40 species, making them a keystone species. Communities have been harvesting the fruit for generations, and for a lot of people, that's part of the appeal.

A childhood fascination that became a business 

For UNROOTED founder Nathan Clemes, baobab has been a long-time obsession. Growing up in South Africa, he was drawn to the stories around these ancient trees.

"They felt almost magical," he says. "There's something incredibly powerful about a tree that can survive for thousands of years and continue providing nourishment generation after generation."

Later, after digging into the nutritional side of baobab fruit, Nathan decided to bring it to a wider audience. That became UNROOTED: products designed to make baobab easier to use in everyday life.

Since launching in 2020, the company has expanded from functional wellness shots into new formats aimed at making baobab simpler to add to a routine. 

Nathan has also ensured UNROOTED has a positive impact on the communities which harvest baobab across Southern Africa. In fact, he’s committed additional funds to support the children of baobab collectors going to school - in Zimbabwe, where UNROOTED source from, education isn't free. This programme has grown alongside the business, and in 2026, UNROOTED is proudly supporting 258 children through education.

You might recognise the baobab tree as Rafiki's tree from Disney's The Lion King

Why nutrition experts are talking about baobab

The renewed interest isn’t just because it has a good backstory. The fruit itself is nutrient-dense. 

Compared with some foods more familiar to UK shoppers, baobab contains: 

• Seven times more fibre than oats

• Six times more vitamin C than oranges

• Six times more potassium than bananas

• Twice the antioxidants of açai

Independent nutritionist Melissa Adamski thinks it deserves more attention.

“We need to talk about baobab,” she says. “It packs a nutritious punch with vitamin C, gut-loving fibre and powerful antioxidants. It’s a simple way to add essential nutrients to your everyday life, all from one fruit.”

The big headline for a lot of people is fibre. Gut health has been everywhere lately, but even with all that talk, most of us still don't get enough fibre day to day. Current estimates suggest 96% of people in the UK don't meet the recommended daily fibre intake.

For busy families, it's easy to see why. Between work, childcare, school schedules and everything else, complicated health routines don't tend to stick.

Parents are starting to discover baobab too

Baobab might still be new to plenty of UK households, but parents are already trying it out.

Discussions on Mumsnet over the past year² suggest users are coming across it via plant-diversity supplements, smoothie powders and fibre-focused products. Some weren't sure what it was at first, but many were curious about the nutrition side, and liked that it was easy to add to food they already eat.

- faithfultoGeorgeMichael 

A few users mentioned stirring baobab powder into porridge, smoothies and even savoury dishes as a straightforward way to bump up fibre without overhauling their diet. 

- magicmermaid

Taste came up a lot too. Unlike some ingredients that take over a recipe, users generally described baobab as mild and easy to mix in. One person said they liked it on avocado toast. Another said it had a subtle savoury note that worked well sprinkled over veg-heavy meals.

Easily add the new powder sachets to your smoothies or breakfast bowls

What Mumsnet users say

"Really impressed with the sustainable packaging, I had over night oats this morning and they were extra delicious, going to make again tomorrow and will photograph. Didn’t look very pleasing in Tupperware today." - MilkyMamma

"Tried the fibre today in my bowl of porridge, didn’t add to the taste and felt so good eating something even more nutritious." - MumtoAnya

"Sachets arrived yesterday. Lovely, premium feel to the packaging. The sachet opened easily and didn’t spill at all. Used this morning for the first time. Simply mixed it into my porridge with a banana and a touch of strawberry jam. It was actually really good. I initially mixed it into the porridge and it thickened it and I tried it like that. It was slightly too tart tasting. Then I added more milk, which took away the tartness and then I could barely taste it. Really very enjoyable! Going to try it with strawberry overnight oats next I think." - Groundhogday2025

"I have tried out a few sachets now. The inclusion of the recipe cards really helps. I've added the sachets to porridge and smoothies and I am very pleased with the flavour and texture. They have helped with my occasional constipation too." - Terminatrix

"Tried this in my overnight oats today. It was easy to mix into the bowl last night before popping it into the fridge, and I had to remind myself I had put it in there as I couldn't taste it as much as if drunk straight like the previous times, so that was a nice bonus as I would have hated for my lunch to have been bitter!" - Magpie2310

How you’d actually use it as a parent

This is where baobab's versatility becomes particularly useful. Unlike some wellness ingredients that require specialist recipes or dramatic dietary changes, baobab powder can simply be added to foods families are already eating.

Its mild citrusy flavour works well in smoothies, porridge, yoghurt, overnight oats and homemade snacks. Parents can stir it into porridge before the school run, blend it into a smoothie after a sports club session or add it to yoghurt for a quick breakfast. For more high fibre recipe ideas, check out UNROOTED’s recipe blog..

Recognising the need for convenience, UNROOTED recently launched Good Fibre Baobab Fruit Powder Sachets. Each single-serve sachet contains 100% wild baobab fruit powder and delivers 3.2g of fibre - around 11% of an adult's recommended daily intake - and 23% of your RDA of vitamin C.

Increasing your fibre intake and supporting your gut health benefits you in numerous ways: from aiding digestion, to feeding the beneficial bacteria that keep your gut ecosystem thriving and diverse for the best nutrient absorption, to keeping your energy levels steadier throughout the day by slowing down blood glucose absorption.

For parents looking for practical ways to support family nutrition, it's designed to be less about adding another task to the to-do list and more about enhancing routines that already exist.

As Nathan explains: "Supporting your gut health doesn't require you to change your whole diet and relearn how to cook. We designed these convenient, 100% pure baobab fruit sachets to bridge the UK fibre gap, delivering this highly nutritious fruit in the most versatile and easy-to-use way."

An ancient ingredient for modern family life

Perhaps that's what makes the story of baobab so compelling. In many ways, it feels like the opposite of a modern wellness fad.

The fruit comes from trees that can live for millennia. It has been consumed by local communities for generations. It grows wild rather than being intensively farmed. Yet somehow it speaks directly to one of the biggest challenges facing families today: how to nourish ourselves well when time is in short supply.

For parents looking for simple, realistic ways to support their family's health, that may be exactly the kind of superfruit worth discovering.

About UNROOTED

UNROOTED is proud to champion wild-harvested baobab fruit and support the ecosystems and communities where they come from. By including baobab in every product UNROOTED makes, UNROOTED is bringing the goodness of the wild to people’s everyday lives, nutritionally and sustainably.

¹ Terms and conditions: 25% off discount code MUMSNET25 applies to all UNROOTED products excluding bundles. One use per customer. Valid on one-time purchases only. Valid until 4 June 2027. No cash alternative. Discount cannot be combined with other offers. 

² Conversational analysis by mumsGPT, 4 June 2025 to 4 June 2026