Health benefits, kudos plentiful for Lentiful

BROOMFIELD — Ben and Brooke Bacon discovered that they “just plain feel better” when they shifted to more plant-based foods in their diets and cut back on meats including, of course, bacon.

The discovery, born when they sheltered in place during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and started raiding their home pantry, has turned into a profitable Broomfield-based business, Lentiful LLC, that has nabbed BizWest’s 2025 IQ Award in the natural products category. Its lentil-based instant meals are plant-based, high in protein and fiber, and designed to be quick and easy to prepare, eliminating the need for traditional lentil cooking.

But why lentils, a legume commonly used in stews and soups?

One night during the pandemic, the couple writes on their website, “Brooke pulled out a neglected bag of lentils, found a recipe from the Pinch of Yum blog, and Ben devoured five servings of it over the next few days — and in the process discovered lentils for the first time and how amazing they could be.”

The high-fiber legume is high in protein and fiber, packed with micronutrients such as potassium, iron and folate, and is a slow-digesting carbohydrate that helps people feel fuller longer.

“But the best part about lentils, in our opinion, is how they’re a flavor chameleon,” the couple wrote. “They simply absorb the flavor of whatever cuisine’s spices and ingredients that you cook them in. And we know, because we’ve tried them all!”

The company started with four flavors, then added some low-sodium options in response to more than 1,000 customers who asked for it. It launched two low-sodium options, vegetable harvest and tomato Bolognese, in 2023 and added cilantro lime chile and three-bean chili last year. Lentiful’s classic line of flavors includes Thai coconut, Mexican green chile, French mirepoix and cinnamon apple, and then homestyle chili and pineapple chorizo were added.

Lentifuls are sold in microwaveable cups — just add water.

When Lentiful won Naturally Colorado’s pitch competition in 2024, it expanded its retail presence by more than 500% and hit annual e-commerce sales of more than $1 million. Lentiful also won Naturally Boulder’s pitch slam and People’s Choice Award.

“As anyone who’s made the switch knows, it ain’t always easy, especially with four kids, two dogs, back-to-back calls during the day and endless afterschool activities at night,” the couple wrote. “We’re constantly searching for easy, tasty, plant-based ‘things’ that will fill us up for a few hours. Easy, right?! So we scratched our own itch and created these Lentiful ‘instant meals’ as our little hack to healthy eating on the go — not only for us and our kids, but for everyone out there trying to eat less meat and improve their own health.”

The product’s name, the Bacons wrote, comes from the word “plentiful — this idea or feeling that you have more than what you need and are willing to share it with others. And it’s something that we try to teach our kids — to have an abundant mindset over a scarcity mindset. We tell all four that we don’t care about their grades so much as what kind of humans they are becoming.”

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