It’s no secret that within the world of food, there are a lot of secrets. From ingredients to origins, consumers are frequently mis-informed and misguided about what they’re eating. But one company are questioning why we’re putting up with what we put in our bodies, starting a revolution back to basics. We spoke to Hunter & Gather, a British company founded by Amy and Jeff. Two total foodies, they truly believe the importance, both mentally and physically, of eating real, nutrient-dense foods, which are free from sugars, grains, and harmful fats.

Thank you for speaking to us! Could you tell us what products Hunter and Gather do?

We’re innovating the condiments and oils categories with simple, quality and delicious products. We produce Europe’s only Keto and Paleo friendly mayonnaise. It’s made with 100% avocado oil, British Free Range Eggs, Apple Cider Vinegar and Himalayan salt — and that’s it, simply four ingredients.

We want to enable those with allergies, or those with lifestyle requirements, such as Vegan, Keto and Paleo, to enjoy food, with simply no compromise on taste or health.

So where did the idea behind Hunter & Gather come from?

As a lifelong Coeliac, I’ve always grown up cooking food from scratch, and having to really scour the ingredients on everything I eat. It wasn’t until Jeff and I met as teenagers, and Jeff had his own issues with food, that we started to make big changes in what we were eating. When Jeff removed sugars, grains and harmful fats from his diet, he saw huge improvements in his health and wellness, and I think the seed was planted that these dietary changes could fundamentally benefit people. After years of researching the Paleo, Keto, and real food lifestyles, we began making our own mayo, to support our real food diet. After all, we didn’t want to make compromises just because we wanted to eat healthily. We soon realised, however, that it wasn’t just us — there were a lot of other people wanting quick, clean and real food products to support their healthy lifestyles. What was currently on the shelf just was not cutting it, and so, Hunter & Gather was born.

Did you face any obstacles when setting up the business?

We sure did; we originally wanted to call the business Primal Revolution, however after having the name fully trade marked and labels printed, we received a stern letter from a company in the U.S asking us to stop using this name — even though we was trademarked already! It was a case of potentially going to court to fight for a name (which as a start-up we just did not have the funds to do), or to pivot and change.

We went back to the drawing board and realised that our values are to eat similar to how our ancestors would have in the ‘Hunter Gatherer’ times. My family tree has a line of Hunts and Jeff’s has a line of Gathergoods — it felt like it was actually meant to be! It seemed like the change we needed to overcome that obstacle…and so here we are!

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the food industry?

I would say relax, there are some big headline grabbing articles out there that say 9 out of 10 food businesses fail in the first year. I know how daunting those statistics can be, especially when you face any sort of start-up difficulty. My advice would be to focus on the headlines too much, and just focus on your own goals. Also, cash flow is key and if you keep this in mind and don’t pretend to be bigger than you are — with an expensive flashy office and a huge team of people twiddling their thumbs — then you can pivot, change direction if needed and keep the business afloat until the next opportunity comes along — which it will.

What’s something you’re most proud of when it comes to your mayo?

How innovative the recipe is of our classic mayo — to use literally 4 ingredients and have an ambient product with an 8+ month shelf life is amazing. We also source the finest liquid eggs from St Ewe in Cornwall — we don’t compromise on quality at all.

How do you envisage the future of Hunter & Gather?

We want to reach and educate as many people as possible — therefore within the next 3–5 years, we can see ourselves in grocery stores, farm shops, and delis, as well as exporting to multiple different countries. The need for Free From healthy alternatives is only growing and we hope to be an authority and educator in this space.

It’s always great to chat to start-ups who share our willingness to question the ordinary, and to challenge the way we see and interact with every-day food items. We loved talking to Amy from Hunter & Gather — you can read a bit more about them on their socials on Twitter here (@hunterandgatheruk) and on their website here (www.hunterandgatherfoods.com).

If you’d like to join Hunter & Gather and be part of a community which powers the FoodTech revolution and strives for a future of sustainability, come and be part of Forward Fooding’s Global FoodTech Map here.Forward Fooding

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This article has been written by Mathilde Redshaw

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