Sharing details about their successful startup, Savvy Foods, Jonathan Drury and Katie Owens sat down with Crowdcube to discuss the company and its growth.
The brand, which was launched in 2013 by Jonathan Drury and Katie Owens, is described as a delicious and nutritious food source, designed as the perfect breakfast and snacking food and a much healthier sweet spread option.
While opening up about Savvy Foods, Drury and Owens explained:
“Back in Turkey in the early nineties, I recall watching carob syrup, thick, black and glistening, being stirred into a waiting bowl of fresh, golden tahini, then I tasted it… and I fell in love. Since that first experience, I’ve never looked back.
“Fast-forward to 2008 and I gave my fiancé a jar of my own ready-made tahini concoction based on that sacred blend and she’s hooked. Just a few more shared jars and ideas of world domination later, and we’re on stage giving a talk to 200 Sheffield dignitaries including the Lord Mayor and scooping a prize of £2,500 for our business idea; ‘The Elixir of Spreads’.
“Many more days of research and testing the public were to follow, so we attended fairs, markets and cafes to get a verdict. It was at one of these tasting sessions that we first met one of our investors, with a second following shortly after. Then it hit us and we knew it was crowdfunding time. I’d been watching start-ups raise equity on Crowdcube for just over a year and toyed with the idea of launching a round for Savvy.
“In May 2015, we were preparing for our wedding at the same time as the launch. Our honeymoon in Morocco and Spain was partly spent carob spotting and attempting to put the excitement of the launch at the back of our minds.
“After an independent valuation of £500,000 we had just 45 days to raise £50,000. The pressure (and excitement) was on. Not even two weeks in and we smashed our target and continued to overfund as the investment kept pouring in, no one could believe it!
“We closed the campaign a week early, ending with a massive £85,010, overfunding at 170%. So here we are today, with a crowd of 127 investors across nine countries who are just receiving the last of their rewards.”
Crowdcube noted Savvy Food’s achievements so far, which include:
- Has appointed the first permanent staff member
- Secured its first food-grade production unit (will be using contract packers as well)
- Full organic certification by Soil Association by Dec 2016. All products will be organic and vegan
- Exclusive distribution deal with a specialist organic carob farm in Australia (special because they only grow the sweetest of carob trees and is the only fully dedicated carob facility in existence)
- Talks were given at MADE Entrepreneurs Festival on scaling up
- Booked the London Health Show (including seminar on the return of carob)
- Exporting to Romania and Germany
- A genuine offer of acquisition
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