Often people say they had a lightbulb moment that inspired them to start their business. For me it was less of a lightbulb and more a series of sparks. Before I launched Fearne & Rosie I was a primary school teacher. There was a campaign led by Jamie Oliver which called for better food at school lunch times… but currently there is not enough support for school breakfast clubs. I knew that traditional jams contain at least 60g of sugar per 100g. I then had my children Fearne, Rosie (and George…) and started to learn about food in an entirely different way.
I wanted to create a healthier option for families and that was the catalyst for launching Fearne & Rosie.
Tell us about the business – what it is, what it aims to achieve, who you work with, how you reach customers and so on?
We make delicious preserves crafted with 70% fruit. You can find us in Asda, Co-op, Waitrose and Yorkshire Morrisons… with more news to come soon!
Tell us about the working culture at Fearne & Rosie?
Our brand values are; kind, happy and humble. My goal is to build a business that looks after people. Fearne & Rosie is a fast paced and rapidly growing startup. Our workload can be intense and the industry we work in often expects tasks to have been completed yesterday. It’s always a balance between working on business critical projects and those that are strategically important longer term. My aim is to help to build a working culture jam-packed with positive relationships our aim is to be a friendly, well disciplined, hardworking, and collaborative team. I hope we focus on lifelong learning… perhaps I will always be a teacher.
How are you funded?
We have raised investment twice. The first time through crowd funding platform Seedrs and our second round included Angel investment and VC backing from Ed Tech platform Twinkl. Where I come from people earn £20K a year. They do not invest £20K a year. It has been a journey to move from an ordinary and humble background to an industry that is used to working with larger numbers than I would expect to see. I hope that by building Fearne & Rosie I can inspire other founders from diverse backgrounds to follow their own business dreams. I’m always here if I can do anything to help.
What has been your biggest challenge so far and how have you overcome this?
My biggest challenge is always balancing a growing family that I love with a business I want to succeed. Family will always come first and when it gets busy I like to remember a metaphor written by Nora Roberts. Roberts said that we are all juggling 50 balls. Some are glass an others are plastic. Family is of course a glass ball but remembering that it’s the school bake sale and you need to make scones is plastic. To look after everyone you do need to look after yourself. No one can do it all so try to remember to be kind to yourself.
How does Fearne & Rosie answer an unmet need?
Jam is a category that sells on heritage. Most shoppers are second or third generation jam consumers who pick up the product from the shelf without really questioning what is in the jar, where that food comes from or the impact that it has on our bodies.
Fearne & Rosie (Reduced Sugar Jams) all contain 70% fruit. On average, our jams are 34-35g of sugar per 100g. Meaning switching from standard to Fearne & Rosie Reduced Sugar Jams will save a family of 4 over 800 sugar cubes a year. It’s a simple swap and one of the many things we can all do to help reduce our sugar intake, particularly for our children.
What’s in store for the future?
We are amidst our largest growth to date with more news coming soon. I’m excited to work more with BBC Children in Need and FareShare as well as start to develop our school support programme. I’d love to launch more products (so watch this space!) and do all that we can to make a positive impact and play our small part in driving healthy change.
What one piece of advice would you give other founders or future founders?
Yes you can!
And finally, a more personal question! What’s your daily routine and the rules you’re living by at the moment?
Generally, I am up with the children from around 6.30am. I’ll squeeze in an hour working before putting my phone away and helping them get ready for the day. I do the school run most mornings and try to make school pick up 3 times a week. I usually work in Yorkshire 3 days a week with 1 or 2 days further afield as the business needs. My first job is being a mum and I’m incredibly lucky to be able to build a business that also supports my family. I am so grateful to our customers and to our team for supporting Fearne & Rosie (and me!) as we grow. What a privilege.
Rachel Kettlewell is the founder of Fearne & Rosie.
