An unlikely duo from San Francisco is giving the big boys in the European health snack market a run for their money — working from a base in Worminghall, near Thame.

Earlier this year, brothers Jamie and Greg Combs saw their wholefood snacks Nakd and Trek, produced by their company Natural Balance Foods, win favour for flavour with British Olympic athletes in Beijing. Then they came head to head with major producers at the prestigious SIAL food and drink exhibition in Paris — and carried off a top prize.

Managing director Jamie Combs, 37, said: “Major producers were amazed that a small company like ours could take them on and win. Now we are the fastest growing natural food company in the UK.”

The firm has achieved all this from a standing start in 2005 when Jamie — a fitness trainer, wrestler and pole vaulter with a strong interest in nutrition — decided that the UK (and specifically Oxfordshire) was the right place to start up a company to sell his new products. and moved, along with his fiancee Briona, He admits they miss the sunshine of his native California, but said: “We love the Oxfordshire countryside and its just great to be centred on Oxford instead of on London. And from a business point of view, the county is central and has excellent communications.”

But why leave America? Jamie, whose brother Greg was a vice-president of US fruit growers co-operative SunKist and an early investor in Natural Balance Foods, said: “I guess I was disgusted at the sheer size of the obesity problem in US. I thought it would be better to start here.

“Also I had experience of working in Europe. In 1997 I was involved in marketing new foods in the eastern bloc.”

He added: “We had been observing the bad snacking habits of Americans and, with nearly 70 per cent of them now overweight, we knew that we wanted to produce a snack that would appeal to the appearance conscious and the health conscious.

The foods of the new company, which now has a contract to supply the British Athletic Association, fall into two wholefoods brands: Nakd and Trek. They are made using raw ingredients only, minimally processed.

Jamie said: “The only rule is that our snacks must look good, taste good, and do you good.”

So why not eat fresh fruit, and cut out the middle man? I asked. After all, the company’s promotional strapline reads: “If it were any more natural you would have to peel it.”

He continued: “I wish people would, but many people want to buy snacks and ours broaden the appeal. Also they increase food’s shelf lives.”

He was coy about the turnover of Natural Food Balance, which employs six people in Worminghall, saying only that it was in seven figures — and that annual growth was in “the high double digit range.”

The secret recipe of success here — envied by many in the wholefood market — is the company’s ability to high-jump from the specialist health food sector into the mainstream business.

Jamie said: “I helped set up the Tesco wholefood section. But really our foods are not just healthfoods, or confectionary, but something in between: snacks that help people who want to drop down from real meals to healthy snacks.”

Now the snacks are available not just in Tesco but also in Sainsburys, Morrisons, Boots, Holland & Barrett, and many more major stores. The Nakd and Trek ranges are made and packed in Wales.

Trek bars come in three flavours — mixed berry, peanut and oat, and cocoa brownie. Nakd bars are simply raw fruit , nut and oats, cold-pressed together — never cooked.

The foods have won British national awards at healthfood trade shows in Harrogate and Brighton, but Jamie is full of praise for Government-funded help in breaking into the export market which he has received from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) in the South East.

He said: “Government-related people have been really helpful with their advice.”

Peter Warren, international trade advisor with UKTI in the South East, contacted Natural Balance Foods and signed them up for the organisation’s Passport to Export scheme, a tailored programme designed to to help new or inexperienced exporters find and target international customers.

The Passport programme includes a two-day Export Strategy Workshop and provides help in developing a detailed export action plan.

Natural Balance Foods tested first markets in Norway, Sweden, Ireland and the Netherlands. Now it exports regularly to all those countries and has also started doing business in France.

Jamie said: “British athletes were snacking on the bars long before we were involved with the British Athletic Commission, and their excitement for the product has been a huge fillip to the company.

“We are launching a separate website for BAC athletes, where they can buy products at cost.”

Now the company is planning to get its products into many more vending machines. Jamie said that in general snack foods in machines trail the drinks in machines — and drinks are becoming healthier.

He added: “We are particularly interested in schools. We want schools to offer healthy eating snacks, not processed sugary foods.

“This generation of young people needs sensible dietary advice, and we need to be sending them the right messages about healthy eating.”