E015 - Myles Hopper from Mindful Chef

Quick word from our sponsor, 51tocarbonzero.com. If you're a CFO or board member staring down CSRD or Scope 3 and thinking, where do we even start? We at Sustainability Solved would point you to 51tocarbonzero.com. They turn complex, fragmented emissions data into something simple and give boards clear, audit-ready visibility on exactly where the reduction opportunities are. It's not another reporting tool that adds work. It's built so the data holds up when your auditor asks the hard questions. If that's a conversation worth having, get in touch with 51tocarbonzero.com, or just drop me a message and I'll point you in the right direction. Right, back to the episode. Welcome to the Green Element Podcast, where business and sustainability come together.

Hi Miles, thanks very much for joining the Green Element Podcast. Yeah, so tell us a bit about your business, who you are, what's your purpose, who you work with?

Sure, thank you for having me. So my business is Mindful Chef. We are the healthy recipe box company. So every single week we send all of the ingredients pre-portioned along with recipe cards to people's homes. So they can cook them up themselves. Everything can be done in less than half an hour. We're sort of the first company to do that, and then we're the first company who offer gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan options, and also options for one-person households as well. So we were sort of— when we set it up, we really wanted to make sure we were as inclusive as possible for everyone so that nobody is being missed out, because that was sort of the main thing we found where— There's a big market out there of people who wanted to use this sort of service, but nobody was catering for them.

Very good.

Yeah, we went down that route. And, you know, we don't use any refined carbs either, so no white pasta, white bread, no processed ingredients, but instead more root vegetables, good-for-you ingredients. So that's why we are the sort of healthier recipe box, I suppose.

Okay. So have you seen an increase in vegan recipe boxes, just out of curiosity?

There are a couple trying to come out. Everyone seems to be doing—

Oh, I'm talking about, sorry, I'm talking about more people buying off you.

Oh, buying off of us?

Yeah.

Sure. So we, I think we started offering our vegan options about probably 2 years ago now. We called them plant-based so we didn't scare anyone off because it was sort of at the beginning when people were like, ah, vegan, not too sure about that. So we called it plant-based and, you know, I'd still say the percentage of people solely getting a vegan box isn't anywhere near as high as people getting meat and fish or a combination. But what we did find was a lot of our previous customers started adding in a vegan meal every week, just because it's a really easy way for them to experience this sort of way of eating without thinking, oh, well, what can I eat? Is it just lettuce? Is it just broccoli? And being worried about it tasting delicious as well. That's sort of where the big uprise, I'd say, has been.

And do you post all over the UK?

We do, yes. We're as far up as Edinburgh. I think you might be around now.

I certainly am.

All the way down to Land's End, actually. So yeah, all over at the moment.

Okay, that's great to know. So could you tell us what your business superpower is, please?

The superpower. So I suppose, you know, it quite simply is making healthy eating easy for people. You know, the boom in sort of health and wellness at the moment and everyone being more aware of what's in their food or what they actually want to put into their bodies. Everyone wants to try and do that, but for a lot of people, it's just a bit too much effort or seems like too much effort or they don't have the time. So we just make it really convenient and easy for healthy food to be delivered. But at the same time, it is of the highest quality as well. So when we're talking about Mindful Chef, the clue is in the name. We really are mindful of our suppliers. where we're sourcing ingredients from, the type of ingredients we're using, all the way down to being mindful of our customers. You know, when we started the business, it really was just our friends and family who were buying from us. So we try and treat every customer like that. And as it's a small team, you can still sort of do that. So it works quite well.

OK. So can you tell us a bit about how you engage your staff, suppliers, customers with your mission and purpose?

Yeah, so our staff, you know, I suppose a lot of them have either, you know, when you're running a startup, obviously you might not necessarily have a lot of money in the early days, so you have to bring people on interning or whatever it might be. So all of our staff who are with us now actually came just offering help and just wanting to get involved in the whole project. We're trying to change the way that food is actually bought by consumers so that instead of it going, you know, in supermarket warehouses for weeks on end, you know, it's coming direct from the farms to you and it's reducing food waste. So this was something that lots of people really get behind and we've actually found all of our staff come to us having either been customers or having followed us across social media or really engaged with the brand first. So we're quite lucky in the sense that they're already quite engaged in, in sort of the business mission. But other ways we do it, you know, we had a big values session at the beginning of the year. We already had our values, but we thought, you know, it's been 3 years, let's bring the whole team on and really try and narrow down who we want to be, where we want to go. So we actually ran that as the health and wellness brand Lululemon at their flagship club, went in there for a whole morning, took all of the staff And just did a yoga session first thing and then followed that up with a couple of hours of value setting and really trying to hone in on who MasterChef was, not only as a business but for our— We sort of engage with the staff and then in terms of suppliers, myself and Robin Giles, who founded the business, we make sure to go and meet all of the suppliers ourselves and make sure that they actually fit in with Mindful Chef ethos and values. And we'll also have a supplier code of conduct that we like them to sign, just making sure that they're fitting in with the beliefs. And we're sourcing, you know, there's complete transparency in that whole sourcing element for the customer as well. Not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes.

Yeah.

So yeah, the suppliers get on board as well. And then in terms of customers, You know, it's just really trying to engage with the community in any way possible. So we run customer events in the office, cooking events, things like that. We have a closed Facebook group. And if you haven't done one of those, I'd suggest doing one of those. Your customers really, really go for that. They get all of their pictures of the food each week. If you want to post something about new packaging that you might be running, Environmentalists, you know, they all put their thoughts and feedback down there. So it's really engaging.

Okay, and we'll definitely be posting a link to your Facebook group on the show notes at the end of it.

Thank you.

So when it comes to running an ethical and sustainable business, what's been your biggest struggle so far and how do you think you've overcome it?

Biggest struggle? I would say, well, we haven't quite overcome it yet, Will. Getting to profitability would probably be the first one. Fresh food is a bit of a nightmare. We thought we should have done a toothbrush or something that, you know, that could sit in a warehouse for a little while. Fresh food, you know, when you're buying high-quality ingredients and when it isn't just fillers, you know, like white pasta, these sort of processed ingredients that can just sit for for months on end. When you are buying fresh stuff and it is healthy, it just costs more. So we're the premium service in the space. We buy high-quality meat and fish all from the UK. Our protein element is on average about 25% bigger than the other guys, so we're giving bigger portions of food as well. And with that, it becomes slightly smaller margins. And when you're also trying to be ethical, sustainable, you know, you're trying to lead the way on things like packaging or the food, the supplies you're using, it all just costs a little bit more. So when you want to follow these beliefs, you know, sometimes your roadmap might take you a little bit longer to get where you want to get to. But I, or we believe, that's the right way about going about business and trying to do it because then, like we said earlier, engaging with your customers and bringing them on board, that's sort of— those are the businesses that people want to buy from now. And also it just allows you when things get hard, you know, you can think back, oh, why are we doing this? You can think back to that sort of element, know that you're trying to do something good. So that would be sort of one of the difficulties. The other one That we're trying to tackle now would probably be the packaging side. So recipe boxes are fantastic for food waste. I think a third of food globally is wasted, and in the UK it's about 7.3 million tonnes of food that we waste every single year, which is just crazy when you think of the amount of people who have nothing to eat. And also, we're having to burn a lot of this food. It's doing a lot of damage to the environment as well. So fantastic on food waste because there's no wastage at the end of your week with your food. But packaging, you know, you have to package a lot of individual items. If it was up to us, we would just send them in bags, most of them not wrapped in anything, but sometimes the freshness— You have to play that sort of seesaw balancing act with the customers and make sure they're receiving the produce the way they would expect us to receive it.

It's really hard, isn't it? I was chatting to a kitesurfing company a couple of months ago, and they are trying to reduce their packaging when they send out their kites from their factories. So they started to stop using as much plastic, and people were complaining because they were they were putting them into cardboard box. It was getting wet on the way over and the kites were looking more used when they arrived in people's shops and houses. And they've sadly had to start using more plastic again. And it's not that the product itself was any different. And I guess, do you think— I mean, I don't know the answer to this and maybe you will, but Do you think the product changes if you were to use different packaging? Or so therefore it's all about perception, so people want to have that packaging because they want their food to look like that? Or do you think it genuinely actually helps the food? Do you know?

Yes. I think for food, plastic does an exceptionally good job. of keeping it fresh. It does what it's meant to do.

Right.

Now, the problem that comes in is we're just not set up very well as an infrastructure to deal with plastic in the UK and recycling. You know, there are 7 different types of plastic. I think most places will only recycle 2, maybe 3. Yet virtually all of them could be recycled. So, and it really depends what borough, what city you're in, in terms of the type of recycling plant you have. So I think that could do with a lot more money going into that side so that we can recycle more efficiently. But there are also— sometimes things do get overpackaged, but you know, you go to the consumer and you say, well, would you mind if it turned up, you know, slightly wilted, or would you rather that you had the plastic packaging there and it turned up in perfect pristine condition? And 99% of the time they'll say that. So it's about just just trying to find new ways of sending that packaging. So, you know, we pledged to go plastic-free by 2019, and especially single-use plastic. But, you know, there's lots of new inventions now in terms of the compostable films, biodegradable films. So we're looking into those sort of solutions and weighing up what the best route is. Because if you change from plastic to a cardboard tray, let's say, You know, actually it's a lot heavier to transport cardboard. So, you know, sometimes your emissions go up as a result. So it's that trying to figure out what the negative outcomes are and balance them up and try and find the best route.

Have you, have you looked at carbon footprinting your products and, um, yeah, and seen comparisons, or is that not something you've thought about?

We have thought about it and we've started doing it. So predominantly we are looking at our Courier network at the moment and trying to find efficiencies within that. So you're dupling mileage, transportation as well. And then we are also looking at, yeah, sort of the carbon footprint of the actual boxes. So if we can reduce the total amount of packaging within the box, fantastic.

Okay, okay. If you could offer one piece of advice to our listeners which could help them with their purpose, what would that be?

So we started Mindful Chef, or conceptualized the idea, in about August 2014, I think. And then, you know, we didn't actually sell any boxes and the limited ones to family and friends we did was sort of April 2015.

Right.

You know, we took that time up until January 2015 was spent just deciding who Mindful Chef would be and what we would stand for. And I think if more people did that at the beginning of their business journey and didn't have to necessarily switch halfway in or whatever it might be, then you can set out those beliefs and values that you really want your company to stand for and hold dear, and sort of it will help you in the long term. So when we started, you know, we knew— we thought recipe boxes were great. They were still in their infancy, especially in the UK. There was only really HelloFresh and Gousto, and I think that was it. And, you know, we decided, well, we like the idea, we just want to do it better. So we'll always source from Britain. You know, there will be some items like limes or avocados you just can't grow here, so we'll have to go abroad for those. But, you know, meat and fish especially, and majority of our vegetables are from Britain. And, you know, we said, well, we'll be gluten-free, dairy-free across everything we do. And, you know, we won't use processed ingredients either. We'll keep it healthy. And, you know, if we change some of those, if we just said, oh, let's put dairy in, let's put some cheese on this pasta, this courgetti chicken, whatever it might be. Yes, we might have had a few more customers, but we would have just become like everyone else. And also that stems down into our suppliers and sort of who we wanted to use. We wanted to use local British farms and support those guys. And I think if we just changed that and sort of gone, okay, well, we won't be premium, we won't be quality, let's just go and source meat at the cheapest sort of price we can get, use one of these big sort of corporations that amalgamate lots of farms, then, you know, people, the consumer would also notice that. And then we'd just be another run-of-the-mill recipe box. And it makes us a little bit more defensible when we can say, well, look, this is how we started. These are the principles we've stuck to. And, you know, you can be mindful of the environment as well and how you're doing business, then we just think that's managed to help us stick around a lot longer than we might have done had we not have done that at the beginning.

Yeah, okay, that's good. I love how you're bringing the word mindful in on a fairly regular basis as well.

Well, it's a horrible type of, uh, yeah, pun, isn't it? We have to say it, but it's— I suppose, you know, we could have— the different names we nearly called ourselves. I mean, we wouldn't be here now had we gone down that route. You know, when Mindful Chef, when we thought of the name, it was actually that sort of, ah, that actually fits in with everything we want to do. It's just a nice sort of soft word, but it has a lot of meaning to it.

Yeah.

Apply it in different areas of your business.

Yeah, can you tell us a bit about how you approach environmental management and your carbon footprint at Mindful Chef?

Yeah, so we are only a small team, so it started off with 3 of us. We are about 3 and a half years old now, grown to about 15 in the office, you know, predominantly people looking after customer service, logistics, A bit of marketing, that's for Si. So looking at the sort of environmental impact has always been in our minds, but we've never dedicated one set person to it. It's only been within the sort of last 6 months that I myself have sort of moved over to really looking after that side of the business. So tackling how do we deal with the packaging? how do we deal with our carbon footprint in terms of our suppliers, in terms of delivery, in terms of the ingredients we're using, all of those sorts of things. So now it's me, Will. But, you know, yeah, that's— it's great. We managed to put some more time towards it. You know, we applied for B Corp status as well, which we Going to pass any day now, which is fantastic.

Oh, brilliant. You know, we're a B Corp, Green Element.

Yes, I do indeed. Yeah, it's, you know, when we'd sort of heard about it about 3, 2 years ago, I think, and thought, oh, it's quite a nice idea. But, you know, at that time we were just, let's make sure we survive and we can think about these things later. And, you know, we already thought, well, we're already doing a lot of this in the background, so— but it's a nice way, I suppose, of actually somebody holding you accountable to those sort of standards that people have.

That's a great, great standard. Is there any advice or learning that you'd like to share with anyone listening to this podcast?

Well, you don't want it from me, Will.

What would I say?

I would say, you know, take the time at the beginning to really figure out who you are and what you want to be. It will help with your decision-making throughout the whole process. We were very lucky that we set a board up early, you know, within sort of 7 months of trading, I'd say we put a board in place and put some experienced heads there, and they sort of helped keep us on the straight and narrow. And also, when you have those values and beliefs as well, then all your decision-making can centre around that. So that just helps you stick to your morals.

And did you find those, the board members, through your own network, or did you find them— how did you find them?

So initially, one was a a very astute angel investor who actually works, does investments within the health and wellness space, who approached us and, you know, had a lot of knowledge within this sort of sector. So, you know, we brought her on board and then we thought, well, if we're going to set up a board, who else would really add value? And we managed to get a chief marketing officer who used to work at Interbrand. through a sort of loose family connection. And he is extremely experienced, very good at marketing and brands. So we thought, okay, let's try and get him on board. And yeah, actually he agreed to do it. So we brought him on board as well. And they've really, really helped us out over the years structuring how we should run the business, how we want to portray ourselves, and make sure we stick to our principles.

Brilliant. Okay, that's great. Thank you so much for this. So how can we learn, you know, what's the best way to connect with you? Where can we find out more about you? What's—

yeah, just tell us more. So best way is probably at the website, so www.mindfulchef.com, and then across social media we are @mindfulchefuk. You know, we put all of our supplier videos, cooking in the kitchen, recipes, all of those go online and on YouTube, so you can just search Mindful Chef They're all up there. And then probably our biggest channel is Instagram at the moment. That's where we push most of our content out, so you can get recipes every week, see what— see some of the suppliers we use, all those sorts of things.

Brilliant. Well, thank you very much for this today. Thank you. And yeah, I look forward to seeing more from you and what you're doing. So thank you very much for joining the show.

Thank you for having me on. Thank you.

Thanks so much for listening. We created this podcast for you, so we'd really appreciate any feedback you want to give us. You can do that by rating and reviewing on your favorite podcast, or for iTunes, visit www.greenelement.co.uk/apple. If you'd like to keep in touch, then we invite you to join our free Facebook community, which is everything to do with sustainable and ethical business. Lots of daily conversations, themes, and great ideas. A really great place to work and network with like-minded individuals. If you open Facebook and search for The Green Element, hit the group search function, we will let you right in. All of the show notes, any links, any references to the— on this podcast will be featured on our website, greenelement.co.uk. As a special thank you for listening, please head over to www.greenelement.co.uk/podcast2018 and you can pick up a free guide on how to green up and environmentalize your business or organization. That's greenelement.co.uk/podcast2018. Thank you very much, Will. Finally, I would like to thank Ben Chatwin for writing the fantastic opening music. He is an amazing artist with a phenomenal following. It was a privilege he said yes to even write it for us. We look forward to seeing you next week and hope you have a wonderful day.