Getting to Grow Getting to Grow

Eoin Keenan, founder of Goodrays, shares his journey in the CBD and medical cannabis industry and the development of his brand. He discusses the importance of sleep and mental wellbeing, as well as the need for science-backed CBD products. Keenan emphasizes the value of building a community around the brand and creating spaces and events for education and support. He also talks about the challenges of entering the CBD market and differentiating his products from competitors. The development of Goodrays's CBD drinks is highlighted, with a focus on unique flavour and accessible pricing. In this conversation, We discuss the confusion and misconceptions surrounding CBD and its differences from marijuana.

Takeaways


CBD can have a positive impact on sleep and mental wellbeing.
Building a community around a brand is important for long-term success.
Entering the CBD market can be challenging due to regulatory issues and misconceptions.
Differentiation from competitors can be achieved through science-backed products and unique flavours.
CBD drinks offer an accessible and enjoyable way to consume CBD. CBD is often misunderstood and confused with marijuana, but it does not have the psychoactive effects and can provide benefits for anxiety and sleep issues.
Hemp has a long history and has been used for food, medicine, and building materials. It has the potential to be a sustainable crop.
The CBD industry faces challenges due to regulations and the need for transparency and sustainability in the supply chain.
The future of CBD includes a shift towards well-being and functional products in supermarkets and bars/restaurants.
Starting a brand requires taking risks and overcoming self-doubt, but it is important to give it a try and seek support from others.

Please follow @gettingtogrow on Instagram!



Season 3 kindly sponsored by


The Coconut Collaborative, https://coconutco.co.uk/
Sam Lawrence Recruitment, https://lawrencerecruitment.com/
Sweet Thyme Foods, https://www.sweetthymefoods.co.uk/

On episode 42 of Getting To Grow, I sat down with Harry Mayhew - Co-founder of Ember Snacks🎙👂 😀



Jack and Harry are two brothers who grew up mucking in on the family farm in Suffolk. Raised on real nutrition and hearty meals, they wouldn’t have their biltong any other way.



When they founded their snack company Ember, one thing was for sure: factory farming was giving meat a bad name, and they wanted that to change.



Having both competed in triathlons such as Ironman, they soon realised that biltong made for a great snack during training. But with these air-dried strips of beef and other meats originating in South African countries, the selection on offer in the UK was seriously lacking.



Using their farming experience, and desire to create a product that's healthy, and good for the planet, they launched their range of British biltong.



To find out more at visit  www.embersnacks.com

and follow them on Instagram @embersnacks

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a like and a review as it really helps support what I do.

Make sure to follow @gettingtogrow on Instagram

See you guys next time!

Zoe

On episode 40 of Getting To Grow, I sat down with Jon Walsh - Co-founder and CEO of Bio & Me 🎙👂 😀



Founded by Dr Megan Rossi (The Gut Health Doctor) and Jon Walsh, Bio&Me is the UK’s first dedicated gut health food brand backed by credible science.

Bio&Me brings clarity and credibility to the world of gut health and is the only brand that carries the prestigious ‘Good for your Gut’ health claim, due to the EFSA-approved ingredients used!

With a focus on Delicious Diversity, in November 2019 Bio&Me launched its first range of gut-loving granolas containing 15 of your recommended 30 weekly diverse plant-based foods and prebiotic* fibres to help your mighty microbes thrive.  Following on from the success of the granolas, the brand launched its gut-loving porridges and muesli in January 2021, further establishing its credibility in the cereals’ aisle.  With a passion for creating accessible, great tasting, natural gut-health products, recent product launches from Bio&Me sees the brand in a strong position in the chilled category with its range of four, delicious prebiotic* gut-loving yoghurts, containing over 700 billion live and active cultures and the on-the-go market, with their ‘just add water’ plant-based porridge pots.  After all, they’re on a mission to help make looking after your gut deliciously easy!



To find out more at visit  www.bioandme.co.uk

and follow them on Instagram @bioandmeuk



If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a like and a review as it really helps support what I do. 



Make sure to follow @gettingtogrow on Instagram

See you guys next time!

Zoe 

On episode 40 of Getting To Grow, I sat down with Ivo Devereux - Co-founder of Sapling Spirits 🎙👂 😀



Sapling Spirits are the world’s first climate positive British-made spirits brand. They uses local ingredients to reduce transport emission, and the brand produces both Vodka and a London Dry Gin range and for every bottle sold a tree is planted. Sapling Spirits was co-founded by Ed Faulkner and Ivo Devereux after unveiling a gap in the market for sustainable drinks, their mission is threefold: creating best in class spirits, leading the way on sustainability and injecting some fun into the sustainability conversation.



They began by tree-planting projects in Scotland and really struggled to get volunteers from the local area and beyond. They decided to start a small music festival with cocktail bars and realised they could get a much bigger and more diverse group of people involved in sustainability by offering them something fun to do alongside it. They started planting a tree for every bottle at the bar so that their drinks fitted the ethos of the festival – that was where it all started!



To find out more, visit https://saplingspirits.com/

and follow them on Instagram @saplingspirits



If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a like and a review as it really helps support what I do. 



Make sure to follow @gettingtogrow on Instagram

See you guys next time!



Zoe 

On episode 39 of Getting To Grow, I sat down with Sarah Wasserman - Director of Food for Mallow & Mildreds 🎙👂 😀

Sarah Wasserman AKA the Queen of vegan cooking!

Sarah moved to London to study art and supported herself by working as a chef. She came to Mildred’s when she was a student at the Royal Academy of Arts and gradually, the skills she learned in art school to develop and defend ideas married with her work in the kitchen.



She has gone up the ranks massively and has been a kitchen manager, head of pastry, head of central kitchen, development chef and author of two cookbooks with Mildred’s: mildreds the cookbook and mildreds vegan cookbook, in which she shares some of her ideas to help you create inventive plant-based food at home. Sarah’s passion and knowledge for plant based food is unparalleled, bringing you a unique, beautifully crafted menu which shapes the mallow experience.



“My favourite thing is when someone tells me they’ve brought a non-vegetarian person to the restaurant and that they couldn’t believe how much they enjoyed the food.”



To find out more, visit https://www.mildreds.co.uk/ and follow them on Instagram @mildredsresturants



If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a like and a review as it really helps support what I do. 



Make sure to follow @gettingtogrow on Instagram

See you guys next time!

Zoe 

On episode 38 of Getting To Grow, I sat down with Helen Pattinson Co- Founder of Montezumas Chocolate🎙👂 😀

Helen along with her husband Simon started Montezuma’s in 2000 with only a kitchen sink sized machine, huge enthusiasm, spades of naivety and most importantly, a broad ideal to bring chocolate innovation to a boring and staid British chocolate market.  With the exception of that first machine, little has changed and the childish enthusiasm they shared exploring South America in 1999 largely wakes up them up every morning!

Being lawyers turned self-taught chocolate makers has meant steep learning curves and often re-inventing the wheel but everything they do is carried out with a passion for creating chocolate they want to eat in an environment we enjoy.  What they certainly didn't train for or indeed expect in our wildest dreams was that a business started on a shoestring would become arguably Britain's most innovative chocolate brand with a reputation far bigger than our actual footprint!

For a long time, it has been their dream to become Britain’s Greatest Little Chocolate company. By this they mean that everyone should be able to enjoy Montezuma’s chocolate so they should be available wherever you feel the need for chocolate! But they also treasure their entrepreneurial, values-led approach to business, encompassing short lines of communication inside and outside the business, accountability, independence and family values. Just because they are growing doesn’t mean they can’t hold on to these, in reality it means we hold on to them even tighter!


To find out more, visit https://www.montezumas.co.uk/ and follow them on Instagram @montezumaschoc

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a like and a review as it really helps support what I do. 

Make sure to follow @gettingtogrow on Instagram
See you guys next time!
Zoe 
#podcast #gettingtogrowpodcast #health #food #startup #entrepreneur