We thought you might like to take a read of the most recent article about Nourish from our Wholesale partners at Wholegood. It's a great insight into how we got here, what we stand for and what's next for the brand.
We hope you enjoy!
Tell us about how the company began
Nourish began, not at a kitchen table, but in her medical practice. Founder, Ineke, was working as a Nurse and it was whilst trying to nourish herself on snatched, swift breaks between patients that she realised just how hard it was to find healthy free-from snacks made from real natural ingredients. Seeing that her patients were also struggling to find snacks that would satisfy and be good for them, she was inspired to make her own. Having always loved being creative with wholefoods she made a nourishing, free from, healthy, Coconut snack. Starting out producing our signature Coconut Macaroons for friends and family, it quickly became apparent that she was onto something and Nourish was born! Building the brand locally first, gaining an extremely loyal and supportive following, Nourish burst onto the snack scene, launching in some of the most prestigious stores from Selfridges to Wholefoods. From Ineke’s home kitchen to a small unit, and now to a purpose built commercial kitchen, it’s been a busy few years for both the family behind the brand, and our small but mighty team.
Who is behind the brand/get to know the team?
It’s that team that has helped bring Nourish to where it is today. At the heart of the team is Ineke and her husband Ryan (a full time teacher) and their 3 kids ranging from 1yr - 12yrs old. Alongside them is a close knit team of 6, covering production, marketing, sales and logistics. At Nourish everyone helps one another out; If there is a big delivery to pack, everyone works together to get it done, or if there is a massive order to fulfil, the whole team will work on it together. Nourish really is all about teamwork and family. Ineke has created a happy, flexible working environment where team members can flourish. With many of the team having their own young families it’s not unusual to see some of the older kids working on packaging deliveries in the holidays while their busy mums work on the brand. In the kitchen you’ll find Iz, Sarah and Flori making our products by hand. Did you know that Nourish products are almost all handmade by us? Then out and about, or based at the kitchen office you’ll find Caroline in Sales, Bex in Logistics and Kate in Marketing, with Ineke overseeing everything, and growing the brand.
Can you tell us about the ingredients you use and why they are so important to your brand?
A huge part of what makes Nourish different is the quality of the ingredients that we use. We’re Organic certified not because it looks good, but because we feel it’s imperative for sustainability and diversity within the food chain. You’ll only ever find clean, natural ingredients that are totally recognisable on our labels. We believe that if you don’t recognise it, you probably shouldn’t eat it! From the very beginning of the brand we’ve chosen coconut as the base for the majority of our products. Coconut is one of those amazing superfoods, that is full of healthy fats, low in carbohydrates and full of fibre. It keeps you satiated and when sourced organic and fresh is quite simply delicious! Our coconut being organic is so important to us as non-organic coconut has sulfites added to it to preserve it (and it doesn’t taste nearly as good!)
What makes the brand different to other brands in your category?
We’re rooted in the philosophy that you get out what you put in, so why not put something brilliantly nourishing in? Today, much of the snack market is saturated with products that don’t stand out for any other reason than brightly coloured packaging, and although you’ll find gorgeous packaging at Nourish, you’ll also find we’ve won awards for being passionately free from, tasting great and nourishing the nation! We’ve built a thriving, active community of customers and stockists who have helped us shape what we do and how we do it. We know they care about sustainability within the food industry and so do we, that’s why we invested in Home Compostable, or Home Recyclable packaging throughout our whole range of Bars, Bites and Macaroons. We donate 10% of all net profits to our charity partner, Water for Good. A mark of how important this is to our customers is that we received 100’s of pounds of extra donations in 2022 to help us raise a well for a community in The Central African Republic. Nourish isn’t just a good choice, it’s a great choice and with BCorp status on the agenda this year we’re continuing to strive to be better and better. With a founder who is medically trained and more recently trained in functional medicine we don’t just claim that our snacks are super for you, we know they are! We want customers to understand that snacking can be healthy, nutritious and taste fantastic!
What have been the biggest achievements of the brand so far/ What have been the pivotal moments in the brands growth?
Moving a business on from a kitchen table sounds like a story we’ve all heard many times, but that doesn’t make it any less inspirational, especially when you’re juggling a growing family. For Nourish one of the biggest moments was moving into a commercial premises that enabled us to scale up very swiftly. Imagine moving from a box room to a penthouse! From there we’ve been able to become SALSA accredited and that’s opened up even more opportunities for the brand. There have been brilliant partnerships along the way with some really inspiring stockists, big and small.
The pandemic, although hard, provided inspiration and our Bars were born whilst trying to give our direct customers something delicious and nourishing while we were all eating desserts and snacks at home and unable to go out. However when that was over we realised that we’d got a winner on our hands and since then our Bars have become one of our most popular products, winning awards and customer plaudits.
Ineke would say the biggest achievement so far are two things, knowing that we’ve made customers happy and that we’ve made a real difference to how they enjoy and approach food, and in turn supporting Water For Good to reach hundreds of people and provide clean water.
How has your interest in functional medicine influenced the brand?
Ineke - Pursuing a Functional Medicine qualification has been a long term ambition for me. My interest in food and nutrition, and how it can be used to our health advantage was a passion I felt compelled to study. After working with patients in the health care system I could see a confusion around mixed messages of what we should be eating and felt so passionate in making this clear in the brand messaging. Our brand is built upon a functional food model, but we want to do more than just make a product that is good for you, we want to educate people. Working with experts in the functional medicine/wellness space and using the knowledge I have learnt over the past months and years is helping us to do this. Our food philosophy at Nourish is recognisable ingredients, organic sourced, use of phytonutrients (colour), minimal grains, no refined sugars or oils and good clean sources of healthy fats and fibre.
What is next for Nourish and what product development can we expect to see?
Lots of exciting ideas have been floated and there are a couple of products in development, email us for more info! For now we want to grow the brand throughout the UK and abroad, as sustainably as possible. Loyal customers and stores are so important for us, and supporting them wherever we can is key for us in growing Nourish! We would love to hear from you if we can help support you and your customers!