Chia seeds are a hot food item now, but Joseph Enterprises was ahead of its time. They put chia seeds in millions of American homes starting three decades ago. Of course, there’s one key difference: we were all smearing those seeds on the exterior of a terra cotta animal, not sprinkling them on top of our breakfast granola. Until now.

Joseph Enterprises has finally caught up with the rest of the chia industry, and is selling jars of the same seeds that they’ve sold all these years to cover those famous pets.

We learned about this from a passing reference in Wall Street Journal story about growing the South American plant here in the United States. Cheese, and the people behind a company that tried to throw the plant in Kentucky had trouble with their first crop. Because this is Consumerist, we were more interested in the cheesy ’80s product aspect of the story.

The seeds’ actual brand name? “Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia,” of course. What else would it be?

The seeds are available at Walmart, Target, drugstores, and anywhere else that you would expect to find both as-seen-on-TV products and dietary supplements.

Me, I can’t wait till this comes full circle and consumers are able to buy a Chia Pet brand chia garden and harvest their own chia seeds at home.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia® Chia Seeds [Joseph Enterprises]
Beyond the Pets: Growing Chia Seeds in Bluegrass Country [Wall Street Journal]

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