Eureka Moment?
I had been researching food waste and discovering the scale of the problem and its impact but it wasn't till I saw, with my own eyes, pallets of perfectly good looking fruit and veg destined for the bin - not because anything was wrong with it, but simply because it was surplus or the wrong shape, size or colour.
Cycling home, thinking about the value in what we discard, the name came to me before the business plan did: Rubies in the Rubble.
Finance
It started as a passion project funded from my own pocket, selling small batches at London markets. We've also crowdfunded twice through Seedrs - raising £2.4m in 2019. Our first crowd campaign was so oversubscribed we actually had to close it early and turn investment away.
Regrets?
The wrong turns taught us the most. If I'm honest, we spent our early years in the wrong category: beautiful small-batch chutneys that sat in the gift aisle, when the real opportunity to shift food waste was in everyday staples like ketchup and mayo that people buy every week.. But every stage, including the slow ones, built the foundations we stand on now.
What would you have changed?
I'd have backed the bigger vision sooner. We were cautious in the early days - making everything ourselves, growing step by step - when moving faster into mainstream condiments and partnering with manufacturers earlier would have accelerated both the business and the impact. I'd also have hired ahead of the curve rather than behind it. What I wouldn't change is the mission. Fighting food waste with products that win on taste first has been the constant from day one.
