Skip to content
You try to eat well. Yet in 2022, the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that just 4.2% of Australian adults ate the recommended serves of both fruit and vegetables on a typical day.¹ Between work, family and the 3pm slump, real food sometimes loses. So, when you turn a Whole Earth & Sea® pack over and read "Farm Fresh Factors®", it's fair to wonder what that actually means, and whether it makes any real difference to you.
Let's take a look.
What Are Farm Fresh Factors®?
Farm Fresh Factors® are the fresh, wholefood fruit, vegetable and herb ingredients that Whole Earth & Sea® uses in its formulas. In plain terms, it's the "food" part of a wholefood multivitamin.
Many of these ingredients are grown on Factors Farms®, harvested at peak ripeness, and processed without synthetic pesticides or GMOs. It's a farm-to-supplement approach, and it sits alongside the brand's Non-GMO, B Corp™ and carbon-neutral commitments. That's the point of difference: not a louder health promise, but a wholefood, plant-based philosophy about where nutrients come from and how they're grown.
You'll find this thinking across the range, including the Whole Earth & Sea® multivitamins where wholefood concentrates sit beside the vitamins and minerals on the label.
Why Can't We Just Get It All From Food?
In theory, we can. In practice, most of us don't. The World Health Organization recommends at least 400 grams of fruit and vegetables a day (roughly five serves) as part of a healthy diet. Yet in 2022, the ABS found that only 44.1% of adults met the fruit recommendation, and just 6.5% met the vegetable recommendation.¹ Poor diet is now one of the leading risk factors for ill health in Australia, with most of us not eating enough from the five food groups.
That's not a lecture; it's a reality of busy weeks, tight budgets and dinners that come together in fifteen minutes. Variety is part of it too. Eating "enough" veg is one thing; eating a wide enough range to cover every nutrient is another. Cooking, storage and long supply chains can chip away at what ends up on your fork. None of this makes you a bad eater. It just means the everyday gap between the ideal plate and the real one is common, and worth being honest about.
This is where a multivitamin earns its place. A multivitamin with wholefoods supports general health and wellbeing and helps to support adequate nutrient levels when your dietary intake falls short. It's a top-up for the ordinary days, not a replacement for good food.
Which Nutrients Are Australians Actually Missing?
More than you might think. Looking at intakes from food and drink alone, the ABS reported in 2023 that 63.7% of people didn't meet their calcium requirements, rising to 75.7% among women. Nearly half (46.7%) fell short on vitamin B6, and 22.9% didn't get enough vitamin A.
Iron is another one worth naming. In 2023, the ABS found 26.8% of women had inadequate iron intake from food, compared with 8.2% of men. These are the everyday shortfalls a broad multivitamin is designed for: it helps maintain nutrient levels in the body, and supports bone health where calcium and vitamin D are part of the picture.
Does that mean you personally are low? Not necessarily. But it does explain why a sensible daily multivitamin is such a common, practical choice: it quietly covers the bases on the days your diet doesn't.
What Does the Wholefood Difference Look Like in Your Multivitamin?
It shows up on the ingredients panel. Alongside the familiar vitamins and minerals, a wholefood formula lists the plant concentrates: the fruit, vegetable and herb material that gives Farm Fresh Factors® their name. The vitamins and minerals do the recognised nutritional work; the wholefood component reflects the brand's belief in nutrients delivered in a plant-based food form.
The same wholefood thinking runs through Fermented, Organic Protein & Greens, which pairs fermented plant proteins with fibre and organic greens. It's a food-style way to fill everyday nutrition gaps, a scoop in a smoothie on a rushed morning. If you're already leaning plant-based, our guide on getting more plant protein into your day is a good companion read.
With Wholefood or Without: Does It Actually Matter?
Both wholefood and standard vitamins and minerals deliver nutrients your body can use, and the best supplement is the one you'll take consistently as part of a balanced diet. The Whole Earth & Sea® point of difference isn't a claim to work "better"; it's a claim about sourcing some of its key ingredients: grown, harvested fresh, and carried into the supplement with as little between the farm and the bottle as possible.
For a lot of people, that matters for the same reasons they choose organic produce, non-GMO groceries or a B Corp™ brand at the checkout. It's about values, provenance and trust as much as nutrition. If that's how you think about the food you buy, a multivitamin with wholefoods is simply that outlook, continued into your supplement shelf.
How to Build the Wholefood Habit into a Normal Week
Keep it simple. A daily multivitamin works best as a foundation, one easy, consistent step, with a protein and greens blend to help on the days real food runs thin. Around that, small food wins add up: an extra piece of fruit, a handful of frozen veg tossed into dinner, greens you enjoy.
Vitamin and mineral supplements shouldn't replace a balanced diet though. Think of Farm Fresh Factors® as a safety net for busy life, not a shortcut around eating well. A multivitamin with wholefoods can be a genuinely good step toward covering the gaps, while you keep working on the plate itself.
Common Questions About Farm Fresh Factors®
What does the term "Farm Fresh Factors®" actually mean?
It's the Whole Earth & Sea® name for the fresh, wholefood fruit, vegetable and herb ingredients grown and harvested for its supplements, then blended in alongside the vitamins and minerals. It reflects a farm-to-supplement approach rather than a specific health claim.
Are supplements with wholefoods better?
They deliver usable nutrients, and the most useful supplement is the one you take consistently alongside good food.
Do I still need a multivitamin if I eat healthily?
Maybe not, but many Australians have gaps. In 2022, only 4.2% of adults met both the fruit and vegetable recommendations.¹ A multivitamin supports general health and wellbeing and helps cover shortfalls; it doesn't replace a balanced diet.
Where are Whole Earth & Sea® supplements made?
Many ingredients are grown and harvested on Factors Farms® as part of the brand's non-GMO, B Corp™ and carbon-neutral approach. For the details behind any specific product, check the current pack and the Whole Earth & Sea® website.
