Author: Andy Vatavu

If you have a gut, you need to look after it. That’s why The Kernel (aka Cathy Moseley) started Boundless in 2017. Whilst suffering with her own gut issues she decided that enough was enough – our guts deserved more. Taking snacking matters into her own hands, Cathy spent hours in her kitchen perfecting flavour combinations and activation methods ready to take them to a manufacturer. The journey was a tough one – nobody had tried to do quite what she was doing, on this large a scale – but she got there eventually and it’s been a whirlwind ever since.

At Peter’s Yard, we combine Swedish tradition with British craft and natural ingredients. From small beginnings importing the crispbread from a bakery in Sweden, we started to gain recognition from top chefs and won numerous awards. Demand soon grew and we needed a bigger bakery. Our range is now made in our artisan bakery in the UK, following the original Swedish recipe.

Rheal is one of the newest brands here at DIFG and below is their story as told by Charlotte Bailey, Co-founder. In 2012 I was studying for my A-levels and juggling a part-time job in retail with a busy dance schedule. Being busy was nothing out of the ordinary for me, however, my body for the first time felt like it was barely surviving and certainly not thriving. I quickly began losing weight and was struggling so badly with fatigue,

BEPPS is founded by female entrepreneur Eve Yankah who was inspired by her then 4-year-old daughter to produce a healthier, more inclusive crisp for children to enjoy.  Using black eyed peas as the main ingredient, a food Eve herself grew up eating during her childhood, Eve produced our award-winning pea popped snacks in a range of delicious flavours.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important globally, and no less for catering managers, especially as customers are shifting towards environmentally friendly options. Read about five sustainable practices that UK catering managers should consider going forward in 2023, along with examples of UK catering companies that have successfully implemented these practices in the past.

XITE Energy was founded in June 2017 by entrepreneurial couple Oliver Bennett and Megan Jones and has taken the UK market by storm. The company manufactures “better for you” energy drinks and protein bars with nootropic ingredients – which are now successfully sold into 5000+ locations in the UK (petrol forecourts, high street retail, convenience stores, offices, universities and gyms).

A few words from Steve Bessant, the founder of Boostball, about their story, inception, goals and vision - with a focus on Keto products. Innovation is the key for small business! As Boostball continues to evolve and innovate to survive, it has been a rollercoaster ride, so being brave and innovating has kept us alive! As we launch our new website, I thought I would share with honesty, our journey so far.

NOCCO, a delicious range of tasty performance energy drinks, was founded in Sweden in 2014 and brought to the UK market in 2018.

“We set out to create a caffeine enhanced drink with similar benefits to the best protein-enriched drinks on the market at the time, but with added functionality, better taste and zero sugar.” says Maria Ledesma, Trade Marketing Manager @Nocco

Curious about more vegan options? Flower & White is best known for our range of great tasting, low calorie snacks. Like many small businesses, our journey began at home, where Co-Founder Brian started experimenting in the kitchen with bakes, whilst also looking after the children! Co-Founder and wife, Leanne soon joined the venture and the business has gone from strength to strength, winning awards, moving to bigger premises (and out of the garden shed!) as well as expanding our range of light and indulgent snacks. We take the pleasures of sweet snacking seriously and everything we do is driven by our philosophy to live lightly and brightly.  

Hip Pop is a gut-health soft drinks brand that started due to one of the founder’s tummy issues. They produce multi-award-winning kombucha and living soda and their mission is to save humanity from gut gremlins by craft-brewing soft drinks that taste good, do good and look good.