Satislent 2021: Complete Food in a Shake

We spoke with Carlos Ucha Lozano, CEO of Satislent – a Spanish company specializing in nutritionally balanced meals in the form of a shake or bar – about this practical, yet healthy way of eating.

Tell us more about Satislent…

Satislent is an e-commerce business that launched about five years ago. We’re the go-to for Complete Food in Spain.

We manufacture our own products – a complete formula that provides your body with all the nutrients it needs from a meal. We source our ingredients locally, too, as much as we can.

What is the definition of “Complete Food”?

Complete Foods are commonly mistaken for food supplements. While the latter provides additional nutrients that may be missing in your diet, Complete Foods provide full meals with a balanced nutritional profile – so the right amount of carbs, protein, fiber, fat, vitamins, and minerals, etc.

Complete Foods could be considered as the “new way” to good nutrition – they’re fast, affordable, and easy to prepare, with minimal impact on the environment. The formulae of Complete Foods are regularly adjusted to the recommended intakes of all the nutrients according to international standards.

Do you cater solely for the Spanish market?

We started out by targeting the Spanish market. We wanted to establish ourselves as the leading company providing Mediterranean Complete Foods. However, right from the start, we envisaged expanding into the rest of Europe – we now sell to 24 countries on the continent.

There are many Complete Food companies in Europe, but we operate on a smaller scale and differ from the others because of the use of Mediterranean ingredients in our products, including extra virgin olive oil and gofio (toasted cornmeal from the Canary Islands), for example.

Which products are your bestsellers?

Our bestseller is our Satislent Original powder shake. We have two different Complete Food formats – bars and shakes. The powder shakes sell better because they’re cheaper and more nutritious.

Additionally, there are lots of options in terms of flavors, and also specialty blends such as Keto, for example. The Original is still the most popular, however, our Sport shake is a close second.

What can you tell us about your ingredients?

We first focus on the products being vegan – which means they’re also lactose-free. We also try to source our ingredients locally.

The addition of gofio is unique to our products and it’s highly nutritious, rich in dietary fiber, and helps with blood-sugar regulation and the feeling of fullness.

Another very important ingredient in Complete Food is the source of fat. We use the very best found here in Spain – extra virgin olive oil from Andalusia.

How do you see the future of veganism in Europe?

In recent years, we’ve seen that customers are more responsible about what they eat. The decrease in the price of vegan alternatives and the global concern about sustainability, together with awareness brought about by social media and television, are clearly helping to drive this change.

I believe that most people are more aware and conscious of their diet, and most make a concerted effort to reduce the amount of meat they consume.

When it comes to Complete Foods, most of them are vegan. In fact, it’s easy to go vegan when consuming Complete Foods, as everything is provided for you. You don’t need to spend all your time in a supermarket buying the ingredients to come up with healthy, balanced vegan meals.

As for the future of veganism, I don't necessarily think everybody will become vegan, but I do feel that people will become more responsible in their choices. This is what we should focus on.

Do you feel the European model of Complete Food is similar to the American version?

US Complete Food company Soylent is known to use GMOs in its products. The company artificially produces its own ingredients in factories with the use of biotechnologies.

Here in Europe, we’ve rejected these food technologies and instead strive to keep the product as natural as possible. We prefer to use organic and GMO-free ingredients. So I would say Europe and the US tend to go about manufacturing the same product – just from different perspectives.

We know there’s part of the population in America that would prefer to go down the more organic route in terms of Complete Food. We intend to tap into this market in the near future.