This week we hand over to Ineke. The story of how Nourish got started is an inspirational. From busy NHS nurse with one child in 2015, to busy Food business Founder with 3 children, and a brand new qualification under her belt, that reflects her passion for health and wellbeing in Functional Medicine in 2022. Ineke is on a mission to Nourish the Nation!
Nourish started as a kitchen table project, much like I imagine many businesses do. If we rewind to 2015, I was a nurse, with a young daughter, passionate about food and I had various food intolerances. Finding a healthy snack, especially one that was gluten free, was a bit of a mission then. So many snacks that you could find were filled with sugar and additives instead of natural ingredients. Nourish really did start with making coconut macaroons for myself and our family… which soon spread to making them for colleagues and friends.
After lots of encouragement we approached a local store (Inside Out Health) and they wanted to stock us! You could say the rest is history, but really each step has been such an important part of the growth of Nourish, and my journey as a Founder. Every step has prepared us for the next celebration and the next hurdle to face. One thing to note if you want to start any small business is that there are massive highs, and lows to tackle!
After launching the product locally, I became a part of Entrepreneurial Spark which was part of a program initiated by NatWest. I was accepted, and each week would travel to Brighton to be mentored, and work alongside other entrepreneurs founding and growing their businesses. It was a great experience and helped form the base of building a business.
From the local store we soon gained listings in Selfridges followed by Wholefoods and Daylesford, and listed in our first Wholesalers in the UK.
Nourish continued to grow, and initially growth was organic as I continued to keep up my nursing practice, and wore most of the ‘job hats’ for the company. Over the past three years we have grown from being that ‘kitchen table project’ to a brand you will find on many shelves in the UK. We have a small but mighty team behind the growing number of Nourish products now find on the shelf, and everyone has an important part to play.
People often ask about why we are called Nourish.growcookenjoy. I’ll admit it certainly is a little long-winded and at times I have been tempted to change it, shorten it or re-brand. The background is really a passion to share with people the importance of food as medicine, the real meaning of Nourishment using clean, simple organic ingredients. This, coupled with a love for knowing where our food comes from (growing it), preparation of foods (cooking) and finally enjoying it. Food is there to be enjoyed and my desire is that our range of products and the information we share, encourages people to enjoy eat nourishing foods as they are provided for us in nature. I really do believe after working (and continuing to work) in the medical professional, that this simple pleasure of eating REAL food could alleviate and prevent so many conditions we are seeing in our health care system today. This is the why behind the Nourish story….
The other (often hidden) piece in the Nourish picture is a desire to make this so much more than just another food brand with a story. We want to make a big difference, which is why we are committed to becoming a profitable business that gives back. Namely to supporting Water for Good in their mission to providing clean water access (essential for life) to the poorest country in the world – The CAR (Central African Republic).
If we can make a food product that has minimal environmental impact (through the way it is produced and packaging) PLUS positively support healthy nutrition to those that purchase our products AND at the same time give to help the people of the CAR have access to water then as a company and team we have achieved what we set out to do.
Find 20% OFF Ineke's top 4 Nourish products until midnight, 26th of July.
NOURISHing the Nation, next steps in our next installment!