One of the original inspirations behind Oath Foods came from a familiar name many of you will recognise: Heck.
Their storm onto supermarket shelves was impressive especially compared to the junk-filled sausages that dominate most aisles (Richmond, we’re looking at you).
Heck made “healthy-ish” feel fun, and their branding was a refreshing break from the beige world of processed meats.
But branding only takes you so far.
While they carved out a niche with cleaner ingredients and some better options, there was still something missing:
Nutritional depth.
Principles.
And purpose.
That’s where Oath stepped in.
Why Oath > Heck (in our humble-ish opinion)
Heck got people thinking differently about sausages. Showing the UK that they can be a "format" for clean, tasty nutrition.
Not just a greasy dollop of poor quality meat.
But if they took it to 97%, we're taking it to 99% (meat content).
There is no reason a sausage can't be a powerful health food. But before they get there, there's a few fundamental changes that need to happen to the traditional banger (and Heck's for that matter).
1. Flavours
Lines like “smoky paprika” or “chicken Italia” might have taken the sausage on a step.
But what’s behind that flavour?
Yeast extracts.
Starch fillers.
Ambiguous “natural flavourings” (just tell us what it is...).
These can irritate sensitive guts and mimic MSG-style flavour hits without real food backing it up.
2. Seed Oils & Emulsifiers
Not all Heck products are equal. Some of their lines sneak in:
Rapeseed oil – if you're reading this you already know the well-documented problems with seed oils.
Emulsifiers – one of the cardinal sinners of the processed food movement, creating that pleasing but unnatural texture we've become too fond of.
These ingredients don’t belong in a sausage.
They increase inflammation and reduce cellular energy production.
3. Lean Protein Bias
Heck loves the “low fat, high protein” label especially in their chicken and plant-based options.
But messing with nature's ready made (and already perfect) protein to fat ratios is never a good idea.
Doing so can throw off:
Hormone health.
Satiety.
& fat-soluble vitamin absorption.
True nourishment comes from whole animal cuts, including collagen, fat and connective tissue not isolated lean protein.
As ever, nature got it right first time round (we'll never get tired of saying that).
4. Vegan and Veggie "sausages"
Let’s talk about their plant-based lines…
Isolated pea/soy proteins.
Gums, binders, synthetic fortification.
These are ultra-processed products with a health claim, a long shelf life and a long list of fake ingredients.
You would never see us sacrifice our integrity to hitch brand to a bandwagon for a quick buck.
6. Nutritional Labelling Games
“97% pork”? That sounds great, but what about the other 3%?
Well, here it is...
“Seasoning (Salt, Spices, Gluten Free Rice Flour, Sugar, Preservative (Sodium SULPHITE), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid))”.
Moreover, where’s the info on rearing, feed, or type of fat quality?
What about soil connection and carbon sequestration?
7. Low Organ Content = Low Nutrient Density
The clincher.
There were no commercially available organ meat sausages out there (until we came along).
No liver = no retinol.
No heart = no CoQ10.
No kidney = no selenium or heme iron.
In short: no organs means limited nutrient density.
At Oath, we follow the ancestral model with a nose-to-tail approach.
But for those who still don't fancy the idea of organs, we're about to release the "99% range".
99% regeneratively raised, grass-fed meat.
1% organic seasoning (salt, pepper, thyme – that's it).
No fillers, no flavour tricks, no shortcuts.
No low fat / high protein jargon…
Just nature, in sausage casing.
Whether it’s pork, lamb, chicken, or beef we’ve brought them back to basics, without cutting corners.
Sausages the way they were supposed to be made.
A modern ode to ancestral nutrition.
We don’t have Heck’s budget or supermarket connections. And we’re not in a rush to. We're growing slowly like the animals we raise, the soil we support, and the products we're proud to share with you.
Speak soon,
R, J & N
Their storm onto supermarket shelves was impressive especially compared to the junk-filled sausages that dominate most aisles (Richmond, we’re looking at you).
Heck made “healthy-ish” feel fun, and their branding was a refreshing break from the beige world of processed meats.
But branding only takes you so far.
While they carved out a niche with cleaner ingredients and some better options, there was still something missing:
Nutritional depth.
Principles.
And purpose.
That’s where Oath stepped in.
Why Oath > Heck (in our humble-ish opinion)
Heck got people thinking differently about sausages. Showing the UK that they can be a "format" for clean, tasty nutrition.
Not just a greasy dollop of poor quality meat.
But if they took it to 97%, we're taking it to 99% (meat content).
There is no reason a sausage can't be a powerful health food. But before they get there, there's a few fundamental changes that need to happen to the traditional banger (and Heck's for that matter).
1. Flavours
Lines like “smoky paprika” or “chicken Italia” might have taken the sausage on a step.
But what’s behind that flavour?
Yeast extracts.
Starch fillers.
Ambiguous “natural flavourings” (just tell us what it is...).
These can irritate sensitive guts and mimic MSG-style flavour hits without real food backing it up.
2. Seed Oils & Emulsifiers
Not all Heck products are equal. Some of their lines sneak in:
Rapeseed oil – if you're reading this you already know the well-documented problems with seed oils.
Emulsifiers – one of the cardinal sinners of the processed food movement, creating that pleasing but unnatural texture we've become too fond of.
These ingredients don’t belong in a sausage.
They increase inflammation and reduce cellular energy production.
3. Lean Protein Bias
Heck loves the “low fat, high protein” label especially in their chicken and plant-based options.
But messing with nature's ready made (and already perfect) protein to fat ratios is never a good idea.
Doing so can throw off:
Hormone health.
Satiety.
& fat-soluble vitamin absorption.
True nourishment comes from whole animal cuts, including collagen, fat and connective tissue not isolated lean protein.
As ever, nature got it right first time round (we'll never get tired of saying that).
4. Vegan and Veggie "sausages"
Let’s talk about their plant-based lines…
Isolated pea/soy proteins.
Gums, binders, synthetic fortification.
These are ultra-processed products with a health claim, a long shelf life and a long list of fake ingredients.
You would never see us sacrifice our integrity to hitch brand to a bandwagon for a quick buck.
6. Nutritional Labelling Games
“97% pork”? That sounds great, but what about the other 3%?
Well, here it is...
“Seasoning (Salt, Spices, Gluten Free Rice Flour, Sugar, Preservative (Sodium SULPHITE), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid))”.
Moreover, where’s the info on rearing, feed, or type of fat quality?
What about soil connection and carbon sequestration?
7. Low Organ Content = Low Nutrient Density
The clincher.
There were no commercially available organ meat sausages out there (until we came along).
No liver = no retinol.
No heart = no CoQ10.
No kidney = no selenium or heme iron.
In short: no organs means limited nutrient density.
At Oath, we follow the ancestral model with a nose-to-tail approach.
But for those who still don't fancy the idea of organs, we're about to release the "99% range".
99% regeneratively raised, grass-fed meat.
1% organic seasoning (salt, pepper, thyme – that's it).
No fillers, no flavour tricks, no shortcuts.
No low fat / high protein jargon…
Just nature, in sausage casing.
Whether it’s pork, lamb, chicken, or beef we’ve brought them back to basics, without cutting corners.
Sausages the way they were supposed to be made.
A modern ode to ancestral nutrition.
We don’t have Heck’s budget or supermarket connections. And we’re not in a rush to. We're growing slowly like the animals we raise, the soil we support, and the products we're proud to share with you.
Speak soon,
R, J & N