Rebranding is a big undertaking and something to approach with caution and a lot of planning. But even when you do plan ahead, there’s lots of details to keep an eye on, lots of steps to take and potentially a few hazards to avoid. We recently rebranded, renamed and completely redesigned one of our projects. The Food Rush is now Eco & Beyond and whilst we’re really pleased with the end result – and it was definitely the right thing to do – we learned a lot in the process. In this solo episode Kylie and I talk through what we did, why we did it and all the things to consider when doing any kind of project like this. We get into some of the technical details about moving websites, domain names and hosting too so if you’re not changing your brand name but are moving web platforms, there’s some great advice about that in this episode too. We’re Pausing The Podcast As you’ll hear at the end of this episode, one of the lessons we’ve learned is it’s very difficult to focus on multiple projects at once and do them all justice. We will be pausing the podcast for the time being while we focus on building up the Eco & Beyond brand. Good Foodies may start up again or we may pivot it into a podcast for Eco & Beyond so watch this space. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Good Foodies - stories, struggles and successes from ethical and sustainable food entrepreneurs

Lessons Learned from Rebranding The Food Rush to Eco & Beyond with Guy Routledge and Kylie Ackers

Jenny Costa – the founder of Rubies in the Rubble – grew up on a farm in Scotland, surrounded by food. To begin with, her career took her in a different direction and she studies a masters in mathematics and economics. But after reading some research about the shocking stats surrounding food waste, she reconnected with her love of food. Jenny became obsessed with food waste and set out to create a brand that was fun and celebrated food whilst also tackling the issue of food waste. After some small scale experiments at a London market stall, she’s scaled the brand and diversified the product range and is now competing with big players in the condiments category. Tune in to this week’s episode of Good Foodies to hear the full story and how Rubies are creating value across the supply chain and taking the brand to new heights. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Fighting Food Waste with Relish with Jenny Costa from Rubies in the Rubble

Huel make a range of powders, pre-mixed drinks and snack bars that are nutritionally complete. Their core product is made from 6 ingredients: oats, rice protein, pea protein, flaxseed, sunflower and MCTs (a fat from coconut). It contains a pro-rata amount of all the vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids we need on a daily basis. And it’s super convenient. Could this be the future of food? Huel’s mission is to make food convenient and affordable with minimal impact on animals and the environment. They’re also the fastest growing food business in the UK. To find out how they did it, tune in to this week’s episode. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Building the Fastest Growing Food Business in the UK with Julian Hearn from Huel

Amatte is a new luxury coffee brand that embodies Africa’s rich cultures and history of storytelling. It sustainably sources the finest Arabica beans from female farmers across the continent to create delicious single origin coffee and blends in the UK. On this week’s episode of Good Foodies we speak to Amatte founder, Amani Kiflemariam about her entrepreneur story, the history and culture of coffee in Africa and her passion for empowering female farmers. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Empowering Female Coffee Farmers in Africa with Amani Kiflemariam from Amatte

Ellie Phoebe-Brown is the founder of Kinda Co, an artisan, dairy free cheese brand based in London. She used to run a popular food blog called “Kind State of Mind” which was all about helping people make great tasting vegan food. One of the biggest challenges of going vegan is finding a good alternative to cheese. After much experimenting, Kinda Co. was born. They produce a range of dairy free cheeses with some really interesting styles and flavours. They also run supper clubs and cooking classes teaching others how to live a life after cheese. In this episode we talk all about vegan “cheese”, experience marketing and scaling an artisan food product. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Vegan “Cheese” and Experience Marketing with Ellie Brown from Kinda Co.

Food waste is a huge issue and it’s something we talk about a lot on this show. Today we’re joined by David Jackson, the head of marketing for Winnow. They have an AI tech solution to reducing food waste in commercial kitchens and it’s now faster and more accurate than humans when it comes to recognising and recording food as it’s thrown away. Winnow have created a wonderfully simple solution to a complex problem. They’ve essentially put a supercomputer into everyday commercial kitchens in restaurants, hotels, cruise ships and other kitchens to collect data about food that’s wasted – for a whole variety of reasons. The kitchen teams can then use this data to make better business decisions, save money and save the planet. For the full story, tune in to this week’s episode! Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Using AI to Reduce Food Waste in Commercial Kitchens with David Jackson from Winnow

Down a doggy looking alleyway and under a railway bridge in East London you’ll find Renegade Winery. This urban winery makes some fantastic wine in unconventional ways. They use local grapes and those from further afield and are always experimenting with different production methods, design and packaging. We love trying new things on this show and celebrating brands and entrepreneurs who are doing something different and innovative. Wine made in London? I jumped at the chance to pay founder Warwick Smith a visit to see (and sample) their wines first hand. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Making Unconventional Urban Wine in London with Warwick Smith from Renegade

The food industry is an exciting place to be these days. There’s so much innovation, technology, data and all sorts of exciting products coming to market. Keeping up with all the trends is a full time job so we’ve gone straight to the cutting edge of industry news and insights. Julia Glotz is the managing editor of The Grocer, an FMCG trade publication based in the UK. The magazine has been around for almost 160 years and they have a growing digital offering too. Tune in to this week’s episode to get ahead of the trends, find out what’s hot in food and drink and a discussion of the looming challenges and uncertainty that Brexit will bring. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Hot Food Trends and How Brexit Will Affect FMCG with Julia Glotz from The Grocer

Nix & Kix produce a range of adult soft drinks with a cayenne pepper kick. In 2014 co-founders Kerstin and Julia set out to create a brand with a difference to remove some of the stigma and boredom that surrounds soft drinks. Breaking into the pub and bar scene with a non-alcoholic beverage has proved challenging so far but is still very much the end-goal. In the meantime you’ll find these delicious drinks in supermarkets, in canteens and internationally as export has become a big part of their growth strategy. With zero food and drink experience Kerstin and Julia had to take a “just in time” approach to starting and growing the business. Tune in to this episode to hear the full entrepreneur story. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Removing the Stigma and Boredom Surrounding Soft Drinks with Kerstin Robinson from Nix&Kix

Content marketing is the most effective way to attract and engage customers whilst inviting them into your brand story. It’s a very popular marketing approach - used by 91% of B2B marketers and 86% of B2C marketers - and it’s founded in providing valuable, inspirational or educational content for a targeted audience. In a world where social media moves at lighting speed, content marketing allows you to go deeper and provide value to customers that serves them and you for the long term. In this bonus episode Kylie and Guy talk about some of the what, why and how of content marketing and outline 5 simple steps for getting started. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

5 Steps to Getting Started with Content Marketing with Guy Routledge and Kylie Ackers

When starting a food or drink business the job description is “do whatever it takes”. Dalston’s Soda started in an East London nightclub on a payday loan. Over the years they’ve navigated their way through a number of challenges to scale up whilst maintaining a craft approach and focus on quality. By using top quality ingredients and adding nothing weird or nasty, they've created a range of soft drinks that taste like real fruit. And with sustainability at their core and no plastic in sight, they're doing their part for the planet too. Listen now for the full story from Dalston's founder, Duncan O’Brien. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

The Challenges of Scaling a Drinks Brand with Duncan O’Brien from Dalston’s Soda

Your food business is growing and it’s time to scale up – particularly if you’ve run out of space on your kitchen table and you need more space! Finding kitchen space is a real challenge but this week’s guest has a wonderfully simple solution. Kitchup can be thought of as airbnb for commercial kitchen space. They help startups, brands, caterers and others find affordable kitchen space that can be rented by the hour, day, week or month. To find out everything you need to know about what Kitchup do and how you can take advantage of their service, tune in to this week’s bite-sized episode with Kitchup founder, Charlie Jones. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Finding Commercial Kitchen Space that Doesn’t Break the Bank with Charlie Jones from Kitchup

I’ve yet to meet a food entrepreneur that’s had a smooth ride on their business journey but today we’ve got a story that’s full of ups and downs. Primal Pantry was started on a credit card. They experienced explosive growth in the early stages but struggled to produce enough product to meet demand. They had numerous cash flow issues and ran out of money on multiple occasions. But the story has a much more positive ending! Learn how Suzie Walker went from a £10 website to a paleo brand worth £10 M in 6 years. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

From a £10 Website to a £10M Paleo Bar Business with Suzie Walker from Primal Pantry

BOL produce a selection of fresh, healthy food for a number of eating occasions. They’re pioneering a plant-based movement and are on a mission to “sex up veg”. Their initial concept was born inside Fruit Towers at innocent drinks and after successfully launching BOL in 2015 Paul and his team built the business to 10M in just two years. But in 2017 Paul made a huge decision which literally halved their business overnight. And he says it’s the best decision he ever made. Tune in to this episode for the full story. Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Pioneering a Plant-Based Movement with Paul Brown from BOL

A few weeks ago LUSH UK made an announcement that they would be shutting down their social media accounts. This caused quite a stir in the social media and marketing world and prompted much debate at Sapling HQ. Join Kylie and Guy in this solo episode where we look at both sides of the question “is social media a waste of time?”. We’d love to get your input too. What do you use social media for? Do you find it effective? Does it provide a good return on your time, effort and money invested? We’d love to get your input too. Chat to us on FB Messenger or get in touch via Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn to share your thoughts. (Yes, we’re still on social so you can still reach us that way!) Get the shownotes and more resources at goodfoodies.co.uk.

Is Social Media a Waste of Time with Guy Routledge and Kylie Ackers

Good Foodies is all about the people, brands and businesses doing good in the world of food. Learn from heroes of the food industry about what it takes to build a thriving business – one that puts people and the planet ahead of profit. Each week we’ll share inspiring interviews, tips, tricks, hacks and tools to help you build a food business that will make a real impact. You'll hear about amazing brands who are making a positive difference. From ethical farming to sustainable ingredients; from healthy snacks to indulgent drinks; from social enterprises to early-stage startups, you'll learn from those on the cutting edge of the food industry. If you're an innovative food startup with a desire to make a positive impact, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch via our website: https://www.sapling.digital/get-in-touch. We can't wait to hear from you!

hubhopper

Good Foodies - stories, struggles and successes from ethical...

hubhopper