Food Founders Interviews

Understanding retail buyers and getting comfortable, and even proficient, with selling is a critical skill that food founders need to master. The latest food founders interview features Karen Green, someone who’s been on both sides of the negotiating table. She began her career as a retail buyer with Tesco, then Boots, before working in Commercial roles for a range of food businesses. As well as s...

What is 'shopper stalking' and what does it tell you about consumers, their habits, preferences and how they buy? Hear it all from Tessa Stuart.

Monica Martini left a career in architecture to follow her passionate belief that ‘we are what we eat’. She’s launched Be100% as a range of nutritious vegan snacks that boost gut, brain and immune health – rooted in ancestral wisdom and backed by evidence-based science. Irresistible snacking with cellular hacking, as she calls it. Find out more at Be100% . — You’ll find more videos, guides, checkl...

Cornel Sampson founded Revive after turning to nature to boost his well-being and treat his aches and pains. Friends and family were soon asking for his secret, and Revive was born. Hear all about Cornel and his mission “to change a million lives one juice at a time”. Find out more here and follow Cornel on Instagram . — You’ll find more videos, guides, checklists and podcasts to help you with you...

Luxwells infusions combine wellbeing, taste, refreshment and a little bit of luxury. Each handmade drink is infused with real flowers, botanicals and other plant-based ingredients. Founder Kristal Baker started as a “complete novice” driven by the need for a tasty alternative to water that would keep her hydration on track. Hear how she had the idea, how she’s developed and launched them, plus sal...

Origin Kitchen has gone from kitchen table to commercial kitchen with their delicious plant-based products. Co-founder and Operations Director, Leah Brown joined us to share how they’re creating naturally healthier products, preserving the goodness and freshness with gentle heat treatment, offering their plant-based production to other producers. Find out more about Origin Kitchen here . — You’ll...

Launched at Borough Market in 2008, Cinnamon Tree Bakery has been trading there ever since and selling in South London and beyond.

Wildfarmed was founded in 2018 by Andy Cato, George Lamb and Edd Lees with the aim of “fixing the planet by fixing food”. Their methods prioritise soil health, leaving it rich for future harvests. It also means that produce will be chemical-free and nutrient-dense. Forty farmers are growing under contract with Wildfarmed, and 230 businesses are baking, cooking and educating with Wildfarmed flour....

Snackzilla founder Marieke Syed talks to Froghop’s Development Manager Jo Povey about creating and scaling-up a food business. Marieke’s going from strength to strength with investment (from Warburtons), retail listings (with the likes of Sainsbury’s and Ocado), awards, apps, recruitment and more. Find out how she’s approached it, what she’s learnt along the way and what’s next for Snackzilla . —...

Triathlete Andy Welch founded Keeto Life because he “got tired of eating salads twice a day” after setting out on his own keto journey. He had embraced the diet to help improve his stamina and power and ended up developing his own keto versions of bread (and cake) that are now sold in 15 countries. Seriously Low Carb products help customers with diabetes management, endurance training, and other l...

Ash and Oli founded Sipp’d in 2020 and have been on a mission to create great-tasting craft sodas with quality, natural ingredients ever since. It hasn’t always been a straightforward journey, they’ve pivoted and learned along the way. The twist is that, somewhat rare for a drinks startup, they built their own production facility from the off. Find out what they’ve learnt, how they made the change...

Ros and Subha left their career in banking to start Bodha Drinks . Their innovative, Eastern-inspired soft drinks are refreshing and packed with intriguing contrasts. Find out all about their journey is this episode of the Food Founders Interviews podcast. You can try them for yourself and get free delivery using the code ‘FROGHOP’ at their website (offer ends 11/03/2022). — You can find a wealth...

Cheeky P’s are Vegan, gluten-free, protein-packed snacks made from chickpeas. They’re based on a Malaysian street snack (Kacang Putih) with some lip-smacking British-loved flavours added. Founders Gracia and Gregory are on a mission to “bring a bit of mischief” and get more people eating the nutritious, tasty chick pea. They tell Mel about starting the business, developing the product, getting lis...

Catrin Burr founded Aurosó Chocolate after moving to a low-sugar lifestyle. She was frustrated by the lack of options for genuinely indulgent filled chocolates that still tasted divine. Find out how she’s successfully developed, launched and promoted her reduced sugar luxury filled bars, solid bars and bonbons, all from home. — You can find a wealth of videos, guides and checklists for food and dr...

Consumers are increasingly passionate about independent food and drink, and they expect the products they find in independent farm shops, delis and cafes to taste great, have a story and meet their needs. In this episode Tara Mei of Mahalo Supplies (and Bread & Jam ) talks about her experience of founding a wholesaler, as well as her thoughts on what independent retailers want – and need – fro...

Lexi’s Treats founder, Alexei Khatiwada, shares his experience and tips of launching a new product “with a small budget and no team”. This session is packed with tips, recommendations, ideas and tons on energy. You can buy the full range of tasty, gluten-free, vegan, crispy treats at www.lexistreats.com . (Recorded October 2020) — You can find a wealth of videos, guides and checklists for food and...

Helen Yates is packing Rootles full of vegetable goodness. They’re grab-and-go chocolate-covered biscuits that are ‘deliciously unconventional’ and based on the idea that if we put vegetables in cakes, why not in biscuits too! Listen on to hear her story from idea, development and manufacturing challenges, to pitching, branding and marketing the product. — You can find a wealth of videos, guides a...

Trent Scanlen co-founded Truth Origins with his friend Dr Harrison Weisinger (aka Dr Harry). Both Trent and Harry have successfully overcome cancer and have used their research into plant science to create a ‘radically transparent’ natural supplements business. — You can find a wealth of videos, guides and checklists for food and drink product development in the Resources section of the Froghop we...

Steve Swindon co-founded LoveSeitan in 2017 and is on a mission to reduce the consumption of animals and animal products. They knew this meant developing vegan products that “blow people’s minds”. Find out how they’ve done it. — Watch our webinar about developing Vegan products to find out more about at https://www.froghop.co.uk/kc-developing-vegan-food-products/ .

Food founder Marieke Syed tells us about how she came to launch Snackzilla, making healthy snacks for children, getting funded and developing a tasty family favourite recipe that’s HFSS compliant. (Recorded December 2020) — Watch our free webinars to learn about developing products within HFSS guidelines – go to https://www.froghop.co.uk/kc-developing-around-hfss/ .

Thea Brook, founder of award-winning plant-based restaurant, The Brook, shares her experiences and advice for founders. She’s successfully turned a restaurant menu into an award-winning food business. — If you want to find out more about food product development, you can contact us via our website at https://www.froghop.co.uk/contact/ .