Full name: Jeremy Hibbert-Garibaldi

Role: Co-founder and CEO of Caprera 

DOB: 05/10/1987

Birthplace: Paris

Website: https://caprera.com

Fun Fact: Every so often, Jeremy goes off the grid by attending Burning Man – first time in 2010

Jack: So let’s start at the beginning. As I understand it you come from a law and finance background, working in ‘big finance’ before starting this thing. Could you give us a little backstory about your journey up to just before the founding of Caprera? Was a food and drink career always on the cards, or is this something that came to you later in life? Did being the great grandson of Giuseppe Garibaldi have any bearing on this (…turns out he was quite the agriculturalist, right?)

Jeremy: The pleasure’s all mine! I really hope that through this you get to understand not just how great a team I work with, but also how amazing Caprera is as a company – not least because of how passionate we are about making some incredibly positive changes in people’s everyday lives.

Yes, that’s right. After I completed my law degree, I moved into a more financial and accounting advisory type of role. I’ve been working to help companies fight white-collar crime, and more specifically, corruption.

Food, on the other hand, has always been a real passion, one of the most important things in my life. The best memories I have all involve food, such as family dinners in the south of France or Italy, feasts with friends…

You might think these were two totally separate things. But actually, there is a real link between them both. In finance and through other personal engagements I’ve always been trying to improve the way companies are doing business, and most importantly to help them make a positive social impact.

And Caprera is actually a way of continuing this mission – by trying to change the way people eat and at the same time how businesses are working together. Good food should be accessible to all, and the time has come to truly change the way the food supply chain is working, eradicating all the excess and the unnecessary, such as chemicals, mass production and the tons upon tons of waste.

Not to mention all the amazing independent producers, who take so much pride in growing, raising and producing quality food, but who are being squeezed out of the market one by one because of the sheer dominance of supermarkets. But now Caprera is here to help, absolutely ready to pour all the energy we have into make good food accessible and supporting these independent producers.

Now onto the founding of Caprera. You were inspired by ‘some family retreats outside the city where my family and I discovered the joy of interacting with producers and artisans…’. Could you elaborate a little on that? Tell us your story! Am I right in saying that you co founded the business with a guy called Benjamin?

I consider myself really lucky to have three different nationalities: French (hence the prevailing accent), Italian and English. My family has always travelled a lot, and travel is still a big part of my life today. It’s through travel that I’ve had the opportunity to really discover and experience different cultures and food.

I can remember, as though it was just yesterday, walking into either my French or Italian grandmother’s kitchen and smelling these amazing pasta sauces or homemade jams they were preparing. The key was, of course, patience – good food is a slow process – and the choice of ingredients. They simply refused to go to supermarkets.

Easier said than done for city-folk like me. What really frustrated me was realising the existence of this gap between people who want to eat well, to eat quality food, and these thousands of independent producers, who might be right on their doorstep, but are completely underrepresented, and of course refuse to sell out to supermarkets.

Today my family and I are still gathering in Roquebrune, which is, for me, the most beautiful place on earth. You’re surrounded by the beauty of nature – if you’re lucky enough you might even meet some wild animals! And just a few minutes away, you can visit your beekeeper friend, another friend producing wine, yet another one producing olive oil, and so on…

You lose all concept of time, and food becomes the metronome of your days. For me there’s really nothing better than losing all track of time with your friends and family around the dinner table, enjoying food and drink. You need to take the time to realise just how beautiful life really is, to appreciate the things around you – and food is a tool which can help you do just that.

We all need to slow down and really appreciate food again, but to do that we first need to have something enjoyable on our plates, and luckily enough, Caprera’s here to help!

You’re obviously a pretty hardcore foodie… what are your most and least favourite foods? What is one food, drink, foodlike thing (etc) that people in the UK may not have tried, but you think should?

I am a big fan of traditional French, Italian, and Persian food. I would go for beef charcuterie, a cheese tart with mint, eaten cold, artichoke with vinaigrette, and saffron or eau-de-rose ice-cream.

Least favourite is probably more the result of a childhood trauma. I cannot eat – or even stand to look at – quenelles (a weird thing made of fish, served with a terrible-looking sauce).

Leading on from above…who would cook your Death Row meal, and what would you ask for (3 courses, please)?

It is too hard to choose my favourite chef! So I would pick my father, who is a really good cook, and has been perfecting his recipes for years. Instead of a starter I’d have a long aperitif, comprisingof  charcuterie, fresh vegetables and homemade mayonnaise, and possibly some seafood. For the main course, a big slow-cooked hunk of beef, to go with fresh oven-roasted vegetables, simply cooked with rosemary, thyme and other herbs from the garden.

I would end the dinner with a lovely bananes flambée au grand marnier, and some ice cream. Of course, the choice of wine would be very important throughout the entire dining experience.

What’s a ‘day in your life’ like? Could you give us an insight into your life?

My day starts with 30 minutes of meditation. Surprisingly enough, no food is involved until lunch. The only thing I have in the morning is either a tea or the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon. We have some very good communication tools within the team, so I usually take some time to look at what happened during the night (yes, there are some customers who place orders at 3am!), as well as to work out our priorities in terms of operations, logistics and marketing effort.

The morning is usually dedicated to team meetings or calls. We work remotely – in fact, one day we actually had a team call where we all dialed in from our respective locations in Greece, Iran, Singapore and the UK! It gives us all the opportunity to really focus on our priorities. Taking a break for lunch is very important to me; I’ll usually go outside for some fresh air. I spend the rest of my day working through my to-do list.

There’s always a lot to do, as we’re dealing with situations coming from both our customers: you as an end customer, as well as our network of independent producers.

We frequently meet up for team drinks, which is always a good time to relax while looking back on the business and seeing what could be improved, or what new strategies we could implement from a more high-level point of view. It’s also very important for building team spirit, which is key in our company.

What’s your greatest/most memorable professional moment been, so far?

First, it would have to be leading a team of incredibly skilled people, all focused on trying to transform your ideas and vision into something real. It actually took me some time to realise how much we were able to achieve in such a short period of time. So I am really proud of all of them, and this is what keeps me going, to keep growing the company, so that we can continue this journey altogether.

A close second would have to be the exciting moment we finally pushed the button to make Caprera live, and received our first order. After months of work in the backstage, we were now live, up and running. It was surreal.

Where do you get your ideas?

From daily interactions I have with people around me. I love to travel and to constantly immerse myself in new experiences. There is so much out there to discover and learn. We have to look past our comfort zones – routine is something I am definitely afraid of. I also bounce my ideas off my family and friends, who are always ready with great advice. The key really is to stay flexible and open-minded to changing course.

What’s your philosophy, summed up in a sentence?

To embrace diversity and open your mind to other cultures, to push yourself to challenge the monotony of day-to-day life, and discover just how many rewarding experiences are out there waiting for you.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had, how did you overcome it, and what did you learn from it?

It takes time, especially when you start your first company, to realise that sometimes you were wrong or partly wrong and that you should try something else. It is not failure per se; it’s more about reaching a point where you should try exploring new paths. It’s this process of constant assessing and questioning that will help you tell far more quickly whether you made the wrong decision. This is something I’m trying to do both in business and in life.

Who’s the person who’s most inspired you in your work – food industry or otherwise? Is there anyone that you draw inspiration or strength from? Do you have any specific culinary influences?

You will realise by now just how important family is for me, but again both my parents have been a real source of inspiration. My mother is a doctor who’s dedicated her life to helping others, witnessing some of the most terrible things imaginable on a daily basis – all while still being able to raise a family. It’s amazing to be so dedicated to something you believe in or live for, even more so when it’s something that has a positive impact on others.

My father is a lawyer, and spent his career improving compliance in companies, helping them grow around the world while ensuring positive social impact. He is one of the best leaders I know. He has this ability to command respect while still taking into consideration the diversity of people he is working with, and has always taught me that what makes you a good leader and manager is your team. 

What do you enjoy most and least about what you do?

I am very passionate about what I do so for me there is no downside. Everything, even less exciting tasks, should be seen as a learning experience.

What advice would you give to aspiring food and drinks entrepreneurs who’d want the kind of results that you’ve had?

To come and visit us, as our door is always open to other entrepreneurs. We will be more than happy to share our experience, to help them grow and ultimately achieve the goals they have in mind.

If you weren’t doing what you do now, what would you be doing instead?

I would prefer to answer with “what I will be doing next”! Probably something in line with the values I want to share. This could be changing the way politics work, creating an international organization to properly investigate and fight corruption, be involved in education, or to find a way to improve interactions between people from different cultures and origins. It’s a real shame that we are starting once again to build walls and borders because of fear, when the truth is that we will only be stronger if we can come together and tackle these issues as one.

If you could get anyone to try your foods (fictional or real, living or dead) who would you pick and which of the products would you like them to try? Assume that they go on to be your brand ambassador…

Gerard Depardieu would probably be my choice. Why? I’ll know straightaway if it’s good food or not. There is no bullshit with him, no need for packaging, no need for marketing, no need for a pitch – it’s all down to the actual taste. Regarding having him as a brand ambassador, I’m not sure what people would think of Caprera if so! 🙂

What’s your ultimate aim and goal for Caprera? If you could achieve anything with it, what would you pick? Money and reality are no obstacle, so shoot for the moon…

We will become the one-stop online shop for quality food, where people can find everything they need for their kitchens. Everything will be easy and accessible – simply food as it should be. And I assume that progressively people will move to the same model: quality food based on specific criteria (like no GMOs, no chemicals) and made by people who care about what they do; independent producers. This win-win situation will mean that quality food will be easily accessible to all, and always at a fair price – fair for both customers and producers.

My big wish is to grow the business to a point where we are able to invest part of our revenue in education. I want to connect people, and recreate links between our customers and our producers. This will take the form of events, agrotourism, conferences…

The final step will be to initiate our first beekeeping operation on the moon.

Where next for you and the business?

We are at a very exciting juncture where we are exploring additional paths and trying to get more people involved, including further financial support. Customers will soon see some very exciting changes!

Anything I missed that you’d like to include here? (include as much or as little as you’d like)

We are hoping to become a B-Corp certified company, demonstrating that our business model has been built not just with the aim to be profitable, but with the purpose of having a positive impact on society.

And we always ask three customary ridiculous questions…

You have acquired a pet dragon and are morally obliged to look after it. It is 25 ft tall at the hips, spits fire, eats half a ton of raw meat a day, and likes long walks. What would you call it and what would you do to keep it entertained and housed?

Norbert, as this French name sounds appropriate. I would ride him and travel the world. How could he get bored? The only thing I am not sure of yet, is where to find other dragons for him to party with.

If Caprera was forced to change from a purveyor of delicious foods into a martial arts dojo, what style would you guys teach and what music would you play in your gym to get people fired up?

We would teach both boxing and krav maga, both attack and defence. Let’s be creative and play only vinyls, probably electronic-jazzy music like St Germain.

If you were given an infinite budget but had to spend it all on entirely frivolous stuff, what are the first 3 things you’d buy, and why?

A spaceship; I do not like borders.

A pet dragon – now we have talked about it, I really want one.

Portative sunshine, because sunshine makes my partner Tara and I really happy.

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