MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT
Louise TayLor, 46, co-founded Purition in 2013, which makes meal replacement drinks. Today, the business turns over £2 million a year. she lives in shrewsbury, shropshire, with her husband edward and their three children, aged 15, 13 and ten.
WHEN my husband Edward and I decided to try to lose weight in our late 30s, we became frustrated with diet and protein shakes.
Most are really unhealthy, full of highly processed products — synthetic vitamins, minerals, powders and artificial sweeteners. Liquid junk food, in effect.
Then my sister-in-law, Philippa, came back from travelling abroad, where she’d found a natural shake that was high in protein and fibre. After a week, it had cured her digestion problems.
She bought some for me to try. Within weeks, I no longer craved sugar and carbohydrates.
The weight loss gave me the confidence to start exercising and, in another six weeks, I had dropped from a size 16 to a 12.
Our lightbulb moment was realising we could create our own natural, nutritional shakes in the UK, offering an alternative to meal replacements with real food and healthy fats.
Near to where we live there’s an agricultural college with a food development kitchen, and they give a year’s tenancy to businesses starting out for a fairly low rent.
My father-in-law and I were doing the manufacturing, while Edward worked on sales and the website. And, at first, I was filling bags and sticking on labels by hand.
We lived on our savings, but were lucky enough to get European funding a year later to buy some larger manufacturing equipment.
In 2013, we had a tiny stand at the Natural & Organic Products show in London and met the buyers from Whole Foods Market and Planet Organic, who took us on board.
Today, we have 12 staff and sell in health food retailers and online.
Purition is made with a blend of seven nuts and seeds, and comes in flavours such as macadamia and vanilla, strawberry, and coffee and walnut — all using real ingredients, not flavourings. You can make shakes in 30 seconds or stir the powder into yoghurt or porridge. All products are gluten-free.
The pumpkin seeds come from a Greek farmer, but the chia seeds are from a local farm in Essex.
Purition works for anyone looking to better manage their weight.
It was a leap of faith, but we knew there was a need for the product. We want to make shakes more accessible to all.