How 1st Leaf Is Made: A Freeze-Dried Microgreens Supplement

Greens powders have exploded in popularity, but most are made the same way they’ve been made for decades — from dried grasses, fully grown vegetables, or synthetic vitamin blends. At 1st Leaf, we wanted to take a different path. Our supplement starts with microgreens the very first stage of plant life, when nutrients are at their peak, and we preserve that potency through a process designed for purity, not shortcuts.

Here’s how we do it.

1. Our Beginning: From an Urban Farm to a Global Mission

Like many stories, ours started small — inside a warehouse in Geneva, Illinois, where we built Urban Micro Gardens, a vertical farm for the Chicagoland. What began as a way to bring fresh, nutrient-dense greens to local health conscious individuals and chefs quickly grew into something bigger.

We discovered that microgreens — tiny plants harvested just 7–14 days after sprouting — aren’t just a garnish. They’re nutritional powerhouses, often containing up to 40× more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than their fully grown counterparts.

Chefs loved them for their flavor and visual presentation. Nutritionists raved about their health potential. But one problem remained: microgreens are delicate. They wilt quickly, making them hard for everyday people to enjoy consistently.

That challenge became our mission. How could we take the nutrition of our farm’s microgreens and make it available year-round, anywhere in the world?

2. Preserving Potency: The Freeze-Drying Advantage

Most greens powders are made by heat-drying or air-drying vegetables and grasses. The problem? Heat destroys fragile compounds — including the very antioxidants, enzymes, and phytonutrients that make greens so powerful in the first place.

We chose a better way: freeze-drying.

Freeze-drying works by gently freezing fresh microgreens at peak harvest, then removing water through a vacuum process at low temperatures. This protects the integrity of vitamins, minerals, and delicate phytonutrients.

The result?

• 97% nutrient retention compared to fresh.
• Bright natural color, aroma, and flavor intact.
• A shelf-stable powder without needing preservatives.

Instead of losing potency in transport or processing, our microgreens stay as close as possible to the living plants we grow on our farm.

When you open a pouch of 1st Leaf, you’re not just getting “greens.” You’re getting the exact nutrient density of freshly harvested microgreens — captured at their peak.

3. A Supplement Without Shortcuts

If you’ve ever looked at the label of a typical greens powder, you’ll see a long list of fillers, flavorings, and sweeteners. Many contain wheatgrass, oat grass, or alfalfa (cheap bulking agents), artificial flavorings, or non-nutritive sweeteners designed to mask bitter flavors.

That’s not what health should taste like.

At 1st Leaf, we decided early on to do things differently:

• No unnecessary fillers → Every scoop is packed with functional ingredients that deliver real benefits.
• No artificial sweeteners → Just the natural flavor of microgreens and carefully chosen whole-food ingredients to enhance the taste and experience.
• Whole food based → Instead of synthetic isolates, we use real plants in their most concentrated form.

This means when you mix 1st Leaf into water, a smoothie, or your post-workout shake, you’re fueling your body with nutrients the way nature intended — nothing added that doesn’t belong.

The Bottom Line

1st Leaf isn’t just another greens powder. It’s the result of years of farming, research, and commitment to doing things the right way — even when it’s harder.

• From our urban microgreen farm in Illinois…
• To our freeze-drying process that locks in potency…
• To our clean formula without fillers or artificial additives…

…every step is designed to give you the truest form of plant-based nutrition in a single scoop.

If you’ve ever felt let down by greens supplements that taste like lawn clippings or leave you questioning what’s actually inside, 1st Leaf is proof that there’s a better way forward.

Because we believe health should be simple, powerful, and honest — starting with the very first leaf.