In the crowded marketplaces of food and retail, how do you carve out space for independent new brands? For Jenny Costa, founder of Rubies in the Rubble, and Alex Mezger, director at the family managed Jude’s Ice Cream, the answer lies in competing on the best quality products possible and relying on an authentic messaging.
Since 2011, Rubies in the Rubble has been producing high quality relishes and jams out of surplus produce that would otherwise go to waste. The business has gone from concocting recipes in home kitchens to selling in some of the UK’s leading retailers and nailing deals with giants like Virgin. It has been important, Jenny says, to bring an authentic vibrancy to the brand, ensuring the product did not get ‘lost in the supermarket shelves’.
Similarly for Alex at Jude’s Ice Cream, the priority is in delighting customers. ‘If it’s down to price and price alone, we’ll walk away,’ he says. The business began as a family-run affair and remains that way. ‘In terms of working wth family, it’s grounded in respect and knowing each others’ strengths, and working to these’, says Alex. Jude’s also ‘massively over-invests in innovation’ – leading to experiments like their black coconut flavour.
Listen to learn more about navigating supply chain difficulties, nailing brand messaging, managing the compromises between price and quality, and the secrets behind running successful food brands.
If the above player doesn’t work for you, you can also listen directly from our Soundcloud page.
Listen to similar episodes like this:
- Catch up – CrunchFund partner Susan Hobbs on making major career changes and storytelling for founders
- Catch up – John Lilly, Partner at Greylock, on ‘product intentionality’ and humility in venture
- Catch up – Eze Vidra, former general partner at Google Ventures, on building up Europe’s startup ecosystem
