‘My chutneys are made from unwanted fresh fruit and vegetables’
JENNY DAWSON, 31, IS FOUNDER OF RUBIES IN THE RUBBLE, MAKING CHUTNEYS AND KETCHUPS FROM UNWANTED FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, WHICH WOULD GO TO LANDFILL.
✢ THE IDEA
I WAS WORKING IN INSTITUTIONAL SALES FOR A HEDGE FUND COMPANY. ONE EVENING, ABOUT SEVEN YEARS AGO, I READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT HOW WE WASTE TONNES OF FOOD EACH YEAR. I WAS SO STRUCK BY THE ENORMOUS NUMBERS, THE NEXT MORNING, I WENT TO NEW COVENT GARDEN MARKET TO SEE IT FOR MYSELF. IT WAS STAGGERING TO SEE JUST HOW MUCH FRUIT AND VEG IS THROWN AWAY, OFTEN JUST BECAUSE IT’S NOT QUITE
THE RIGHT SHAPE, AS WELL AS THE VAGARIES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. I WAS SO INCENSED, I STARTED DOING RESEARCH ON WHAT COULD BE DONE TO CUT DOWN. I REALISED COOKING AND PRESERVING IT WOULD BE ONE WAY. I WENT BACK TO THE MARKET A FEW DAYS LATER AND ASKED IF I COULD BUY ANY VEG THAT WOULD BE GOING TO WASTE. I WAS SOLD A BIG PALLET OF KENYAN MANGETOUTS FOR ABOUT 20P, SOME SQUASHY TOMATOES AND APPLES AND PEARS. I MADE SOME CHUTNEYS AND SOURCED FREE GLASS JARS FROM LOCAL RESTAURANTS. I FILLED ABOUT 100 AND SOLD THEM AT A LOCAL MARKET CALLED CABBAGES & FROCKS. I THOUGHT OF IT AS A HOBBY BUT WHEN I SOLD OUT ON THE FIRST DAY, MAKING ABOUT £100, IT GAVE ME A REAL BUZZ, SO I DECIDED TO DO IT AGAIN. WEEKS TURNED INTO MONTHS AND I BECAME HOOKED. ✢ COULD IT BE A BUSINESS? I RESIGNED FROM MY JOB IN SEPTEMBER 2011 AND THOUGHT I’D GIVE MYSELF SIX MONTHS TO MAKE A GO OF IT. I’D SCRAPED SAVINGS TOGETHER AND MOVED INTO A FRIEND’S SPARE ROOM. I SOURCED LARGE CATERING PANS AND BORROWED KITCHEN SPACE IN RESTAURANTS. I HAD NO FREE TIME OR SOCIAL LIFE: ALL I THOUGHT ABOUT WAS CHUTNEY, DEVELOPING RECIPES ACCORDING TO SEASONAL PRODUCE. I STARTED WITH APPLE CHUTNEY AND RHUBARB AND GINGER, AND STOCKED A STALL AT BOROUGH MARKET, LONDON. I THEN MOVED TO A PURPOSE-BUILT MOBILE KITCHEN IN EAST LONDON, AND GOT A SECOND STALL. I EMPLOYED TWO TO THREE PEOPLE ON A PART-TIME BASIS, AND I PARTNERED UP WITH A FRIEND WHO SHARES MY VISION FOR SOCIALLY ORIENTED BUSINESS.
✢ WHAT FINALLY WORKED
IN 2012, WE WON BEN & JERRY’S JOIN OUR CORE COMPETITION, FOR BEST YOUNG SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS. THEN IN 2014, WE WON THE VEUVE CLICQUOT NEW GENERATION AWARD. THIS BOUGHT US TO THE ATTENTION OF WAITROSE, FORTNUM & MASON AND SELFRIDGES, AND WAS THE START OF A PERIOD OF RAPID GROWTH FOR US. WE MADE THE LEAP TO DEAL DIRECT WITH FARMERS AND WE ALSO NEEDED TO MOVE TO PROPER MANUFACTURING PREMISES. WE ALSO SECURED £150,000 OF INVESTMENT FROM MUSTARD SEED IN 2016.
✢ BREAKTHROUGH MOMENTS
THERE WERE THREE. WHEN FORTNUM & MASON AGREED TO STOCK US IN 2012; THEN WAITROSE TOOK US ON A FEW MONTHS LATER, WHICH WAS A HUGE BOOST TO OUR CONFIDENCE. ALSO, WE SENT A SELECTION TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE ADDRESSED TO THE QUEEN AND RECEIVED A LETTER BACK FROM ONE OF HER HOUSEHOLD STAFF SAYING SHE’D REALLY ENJOYED THEM.
✢ WHERE I AM NOW
THERE ARE THREE OF US WORKING FULL-TIME ON THE BUSINESS. WE’D LIKE TO EXPAND INTO THE OVERSEAS MARKET, AND WE’RE ALSO WORKING ON DEVELOPING PICKLES AND KETCHUPS.
TIP LEARN TO LET GO OF IDEAS THAT AREN’T HAPPENING, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEM.
“I thought of it as a hobby – when I sold out I got a real buzz”