An interview with Rachel Hugh and Neil Potts, founders of The Vurger Co, one of Forward Fooding’s top 500 Food Tech startups.

Rachel Hugh and Neil Potts, founders of The Vurger Co

It’s time to put a face to the name…

We asked our FoodTech 500 top-runners to give us a bit of insight into how they started out as a company and their thoughts on the role of technology in Food innovation. Meet Rachel and Neil, the power-duo behind The Vurger Co, a 100% Vegan fast food brand. Let’s see what they had to say.

So tell us a little bit more about you! Where did the idea for your FoodTech company come from?

Rachel: It all started out from a pretty personal place!

Neil, The Vurger Co co-founder, had actually suffered with a debilitating stomach illness for around 10 years. Having had so many tests, a series of different medications and so many appointments it got to the point where he was advised to have an operation. We sat thinking ‘well nobody is sure exactly what they are operating on’ and that was the point we decided to take it in our own hands and do a little research ourselves. It coincided with a big birthday and after taking a trip to California, we couldn’t believe how well you can eat plant-based foods – without any labels or stigma attached, amazing flavours, texture and people who were using veggies in innovative ways. We felt better than ever and returned to London figuring out how to adopt this lifestyle in the UK and we haven’t looked back.

When we returned to London, we had crazy busy jobs and started looking for a place to eat a plant-based burger casually, in a nice environment, just to chill out after work together and we couldn’t quite find what we were looking for.

There were many veggie options in the market, however we got sick of asking, ‘please remove the cheese, and the egg based mayo, oh and the patty with egg…’ nobody understood in London what vegan was. We felt ostracized for eating this way and in such a progressive city we couldn’t understand why Londoners who chose to eat this way couldn’t find a lovely environment to feel at home in.

It was a lightbulb moment, we thought if we’re looking for a restaurant like this, we guarantee others are too! This was all in June 2016 and set the wheels in motion to start our business The Vurger Co!

How is tech central to your business?

Rachel and Neil: Tech is without a doubt central to our business. The whole reason we began was because of the really low quality of products available to the general public only two years ago. Nobody was paying attention to this growing sector, and most brands out there were producing vegan food concentrated solely on making tofu / fake meats etc.

Now the product ranges are more exciting than ever, you can pretty much pick up your favourite comfort food ‘veganised’ in your local supermarket, and the level of innovation is increasing by the day.

From the data we use to make our core decisions, the new food innovations in the market place and the techniques we use using technological advances in cooking techniques – no matter what it is, technology has had a massive impact on our business.

Why do you think it’s important to see the food industry embrace tech?

Neil: There is no doubt in my mind that Veganism is the way forward. We simply need as a generation to be more mindful of how our daily decisions, in food and lifestyle can have an environmental impact for generations to come.

In a society where we have everything we want, at any time, whenever we want it, it’s so easy to mindlessly pick up your products in the supermarket without thinking twice about the impact of that decision.

That’s why the more enticing vegan products, restaurants and services can be using the latest in technology, the more normalized they become in our community’s buying habits making for smart ethical choices to occur in our everyday lives.

 

Want to know more? Check out The Vurger Co’s full profile here.

Congratulations again to The Vurger Co for ranking 4th in the “Next-Gen Food & Drinks” category of the Foodtech 500 list.

To find out who else made it into the FoodTech 500; the top Food Tech companies in the world, click here.

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