Food Founders Interviews: Recent Episodes

Froghop

Stories, experiences and advice from people who've started and scaled a food or drink business.

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Fudge Kitchen has been making artisan confectionary for 40 years. MD Richard Parson talks about its origins, the role shops play, being employee-owned and more.

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Gnaw Chocolate is a business that's scaling-up with taste innovation. Its ethically sourced, sustainably packaged bars (and more) delight in unexpected flavour pairings.

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Vybey founder Gordon Belch shares his journey in sports nutrition and functional brain health. Discover how they transitioned from a 'failed' drink concept to a successful meal-replacement brand, expanding from Australia to Europe.

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James Hagerty founded Presto Coffee with the belief that coffee drinkers shouldn’t have to choose between great taste, sustainability or accessibility.

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How do you build a business with maximum impact on health and minimum impact on the environment? Hear from Al Duffield of Vital Drinks to find out.

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Charles Redfern, founder of Realfoods by Organico, is stocked by Ocado, Amazon, Whole Foods etc. Hear his views on regenerative, hyper-processed, B Corp & more.

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A Bar Above's Chris Tunstall is a self-confessed 'cocktail nerd'. Hear about the flavours, formats, techniques and trends in the US craft cocktail scene.

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Oggs founder Hannah Carter is on a mission to remove unnecessary eggs from our food. How has she approached product development, scaling, marketing and more?

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Over The Moo founder Simon Goodman is on a mission to build the world’s tastiest vegan ice cream business. Inspired by helping Cadbury launch its first choc ice in his agency days, Simon set about bringing a delicious, plant-based ice cream to market. Listen in to hear about his manufacturing journey, expanding into Spain, Portugal and Dubai, Great Taste (and more) awards, great advice from a branding expert, the fundamentals of ice cream margins and lots more.

Learn more about Over The Moo, find stockists and get Crowdfunding information at www.overthemoo.co.uk.

You’ll find videos, guides, checklists and podcasts to help you with your product development and food or drink business on the Froghop website at froghop.co.uk/resources. If you’d like to talk about your product and its development, why not book a Discovery Call.

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Popcorn Shed makes delicious gourmet popcorn, the ultimate multi-occasion snack that’s tasty and versatile. The business has won Great Taste Awards and is growing fast. Find out how they’ve scaled up from home to factory, staying true to their artisan, handmade process across more than 30 flavours and diversified and grown sales through 15 channels.

Find out more about Popcorn Shed, find stockists and buy online at www.popcornshed.com.

You’ll find videos, guides, checklists and podcasts to help you with your product development and food or drink business on the Froghop website at froghop.co.uk/resources. If you’d like to talk about your product and its development, why not book a Discovery Call.

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Since 2006, Angel Food has been on a mission to make plant-based mainstream. Starting as an importer of vegan products, the New Zealand-based business scaled up and began to create their own dairy-free vegan cheese alternatives. Hear how founder Alice Shopland started, scaled and created products with the taste and texture to satisfy vegans and flexitarians alike.

Find out more about Angel Food at www.angelfood.co.nz.

You’ll find videos, guides, checklists and podcasts to help you with your product development and food or drink business on the Froghop website at froghop.co.uk/resources. If you’d like to talk about your product and its development, why not book a Discovery Call.

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Hear how Angel Food founder Alice Shopland is making plant-based mainstream, satisfying the cheese cravings of vegans and flexitarians alike.

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Ros Heathcote has grown Borough Broth to a 35-strong B-Corp keeping the taste and quality that has won a whopping 14 Great Taste Awards.

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Shocked by the additives and unrecognisable ingredients in so many products, Hunter & Gather help people cut out ultra-processed food.

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Learn how Mike Moore of Honestly Tasty created products like Bree, Shamembert and Blue and got listed with M&S, Ocado, specialists and more.

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Find out how Black Mamba founder Claudia Castellanos is creating products that are good for you, the planet and the people that make them.

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Hear how Juspy founder Leonie Lynch created the product, built the brand, pivoted, found funding, got listings, won a Great Taste Award + more.

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Nix & Kix, the refreshingly different soft drinks, give people better options for the 3pm slump. Hear how founder Julia Kessler is doing it.

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The Free From Food Awards are the UK’s only awards dedicated to free-free food and drink products and innovation. Hear all about the awards, how the free-from landscape has changed in that time and lots more with Cressida Langlands and Nicki Clowes.

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Hear how Better Nature's range of tasty, nutritious tempeh products has won listings in Tesco, Planet Organic, Selfridges, foodservice and more.

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Hear how Oatsu’s Lauren O’Donnell took her plant-based overnight oats from idea to Shopify, Holland & Barrett and a successful crowdfunder.

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Grow With Iris founder Amy Langfield's innovation and business journey began when her daughter Iris was born with multiple severe allergies.

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Jared Spencer founded Riddim Snacks to authentically represent the stories, flavours and ingredients of the Caribbean. Listen in to discover how he’s achieving that goal.

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Inspired by the tastes and experiences he'd had travelling the world, Chris Crocker has created a range of exotic, delicious coffee mixers. Hear all about his journey and how the business is doing good too.

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Turning a beloved family recipe into a product can be just the inspiration you need to start a food business. It was even more personal for Elaine Rémy, founder of Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes. Baked in small batches in Cumbria to a traditional recipe, they’re generously infused with the finest Jamaican white rums. Listen to […]

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Established by England rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson, No 1 Living creates delicious, living drinks for gut health and overall wellbeing.

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Being comfortable, even confident, with buyers and selling is key for founders. Karen Green has been on both sides and shares her experience. Find out more at www.buyerology.co.uk.

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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.

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Monica Martini left a career in architecture to launch Be100% - delicious snacks that boost gut, brain and immune health.

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Cornel Sampson founded Revive after turning to nature to boost his well-being and treat his aches and pains.

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Luxwells Great Taste Award-winning infusions combine wellbeing, taste, refreshment and luxury. Hear from founder Kristal Baker on the podcast.

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Find out how Origin Kitchen has gone from kitchen table to commercial kitchen with their delicious plant-based products.

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

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Hear all about Wildfarmed and how it's creating different ingredients, products and relationships with it's sustainable approach to farming.

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Snackzilla founder Marieke Syed tells us all about creating and scaling-up a food business.

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Triathlete Andy Welch founded Keeto Life because he was “tired of eating salads twice a day”. His Seriously Low Carb products are now sold in 15 countries.

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Ash and Oli founded Sipp’d in 2020 and are on a mission to create great-tasting drinks with quality, natural ingredients.

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Find out all about how Ros and Subha left their careers in banking to start Bodha Drinks, the innovative, Eastern-inspired soft drinks brand.

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Find out all about how Ros and Subha left their careers in banking to start Bodha Drinks, the innovative, Eastern-inspired soft drinks brand.

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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 listings with retailers and lots more.

You can find a wealth of videos, guides and checklists for food and drink product development in the Resources section of the Froghop website at https://www.froghop.co.uk/resources/. If you’d like to talk about your product and its development, feel free to get in touch.

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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 drink product development in the Resources section of the Froghop website at https://www.froghop.co.uk/resources/

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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 – from independent producers.

You can find a wealth of videos, guides and checklists for food and drink product development in the Resources section of the Froghop website at https://www.froghop.co.uk/resources/

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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 drink product development in the Resources section of the Froghop website at https://www.froghop.co.uk/resources/

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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 and checklists for food and drink product development in the Resources section of the Froghop website at https://www.froghop.co.uk/resources/

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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 website at https://www.froghop.co.uk/resources/

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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/.

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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/.

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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/.