Disclaimer: Tasting Britain does not advocate any particular dietary approach, although Jack has been ‘involved’ with the palaeolithic diet since the mid 2000s.
Full name: Kim Marie Lloyd
Role: Founder
DOB: 10/4/64
Birthplace: Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
Twitter Handle: @UGGFoods
Website: www.uggfoods.com
Fun Fact: (Dr.) Kim got a tattoo on the UGG FOODS ‘lucky bee’ on her hip last year. It’s her only tattoo.
So please give us a little back-story about how you got to where you are today! How did you discover the Paleo diet? You used to be a dentist, right? Were you always so talented in the kitchen?
I worked for 16 years as a family dentist. I had a special interest in cosmetic dentistry which led me to the newly emerging field of aesthetic medicine.
I have been working in the field of aesthetic medicine for about 14 years now. I founded my clinic Crendon Skin Clinic and stopped doing dentistry about 10 years ago. Aesthetic medicine involves anti-aging treatments and this led me to general medicine anti-aging conferences.
I met nutritional anthropologist Geoff Bond in 2008 when he was the key note speaker at an anti-aging medical conference in London.
At that time in spite of a life-long interest in healthy eating, I’d never heard of the Paleo diet. Geoff message at the time was highly controversial. However I was intrigued and thought I’d try Geoff’s way of eating for 1 month just to see if it was even possible to cut out whole grains, diary and starch, potatoes etc and still feel ok.
What happened was quite dramatic. I found I could eat this way and my acne prone skin was clearer than it had ever been. I was automatically eating more non-starchy vegetables than ever before, which I knew could only be a good thing. I was also full/not hungry, eating more than ever but remaining slim.
After 3 months of eating this way I knew the health changes were significant. I contacted Geoff and over a period of time I gained a first class education in the optimal human diet in a modern age.
Is there any crossover between dentistry and what you’re doing with Ugg Foods? At the least I’d imagine that Ugg is more tooth/inflammation friendly than the sugary bakery foods that you modelled a lot of your creations on.
What I did miss was all the treats. The cakes, the muffins, the bread and the desserts. I knew I couldn’t live without these forever and I discovered a whole world of alternative ingredients that I could use to replace the things I missed.
Eventually I created some recipes which people loved and I decided to take them into the marketplace. I wanted to make this way of eating easier for myself and other people.
How long did it take you to turn this thing into a business that you could live off of? Was it a lot of work? What’s the main thing you’ve learnt from it all?
The UGG FOODS business is now 2 years old and making a name for itself. It pays UGG Neil McCredie as C.O.O/Commercial Director/full time employee and partner in the business.
I am the founder and CEO but don’t draw a wage from UGG FOODS. I work 3 days a week now in my skin clinic and the rest of the time with UGG FOODS.
Working on UGG FOODS has been an absolute joy. I love the new challenges and I continue to learn a lot ‘on the job’.
I am amazed that the health care and the food industry are totally separate. In general the food industry does not take any responsibility for providing healthy food. It is driven by profit.
But, things are changing due to the increase in consumer demand. People want easy healthy nutritious options and there are many ‘health based’ food companies emerging.
What kind of equipment are you guys using anyhow, do you have a factory of some sort of …. assembly line? (for lack of a better phrase….)
Our products are dry mixes. These mixes contain all the difficult to find ingredients and are mixed with store cupboard staples (eggs and olive oil) to quickly make a healthy and delicious treat.
We buy the ingredients and then the mixes are put together in a factory. From there they go to a warehouse which supplies online customer orders as well as the wholesalers in the health food industry.
We have a small bakery in Long Crendon where we experiment and support events with samples. We also sell other product lines from there.
Plus we supply freshly made healthy treats to cafes in Oxford, hotels and fitness trainers and gyms.
What’s the UK Paleo scene look like to you? Since I started following things around 2007 it seems to continue taking off. Do you find a lot of people picking up on what you’re doing? It is still growing, or has it plateaued?
The UK Paleo scene is growing. Even one year ago when we did sampling events the public had never heard of ‘Paleo’. That has all changed now. We also have much more awareness of the effects of damaging sugar.
The gluten free market is growing rapidly although most of the gluten free products on the market are full of starch and sugar, they are not healthy.
We have a unique offering and nutritionists and fitness professionals are seeking us out and working with us.
There is a real need for nutritional up to date education. We have an increasing epidemic of lifestyle related disease. Paleo is a scientifically sound. optimal way of fuelling our bodies, over time this will become increasingly recognised.
How do you come up with recipe ideas anyhow? Is there a lot of development involved? Does it take a while? I’d imagine you’re regularly developing new products?
I am always developing new recipes. We have over 100 delicious recipes on the website using the UGG mixes. I love to eat, and I love dessert!
Do you find people “get it” pretty quickly – it seems most people have been told grains are great and fat is bad for them- or are you generally dealing with people who are already following this way of eating?
People are still very confused. A lot now realise ‘low fat’ is not a healthy way to eat. A lot of our customers are just ‘healthy eaters’ rather than ‘100% Paleo gluten free’ but many are health conscious or diary free or sugar free/diabetic.
Why’d you pick Xylitol as a sweetener?
Xylitol is a healthy sweetener which does not impact blood sugar. It is a soluble fibre extracted from tree bark in Finland. Because it is fibre it bakes well, replacing sugar 1:1 and improving the texture of our muffins.
What are your thoughts on the ‘safe starches’?
Geoff’s a scientist and very strict on starches. We don’t use any starch in the UGG food range. When Geoff’s not around ill eat half a butternut squash instead of a potato…don’t tell him!
What’s your greatest/most memorable professional moment been, so far?
Our most memorable moment was when early in our development Sept 2013 we won not only ‘Best New Business’ but ‘Best Overall Business’ at the F.S.B. We were very much the underdog and the team’s morale boost and belief in the business after that night was awesome!
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had, how did you overcome it, and what did you learn from it?
There have been many challenges. One of the biggest is meeting the stringent and ever-changing UK food labelling legislation. We learned not to give up and that we should pay for expert help in crucial developmental areas.
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?
Geoff Bond our UK nutritional anthropologist continues to inspire me. His health message is crucial. His 30 years of scientific study is the foundation of what we are trying to create. Having a positive impact on the health of his generation and generations to come gives me and the team a huge sense of purpose.
What advice would you give to aspiring food entrepreneurs who’d want the kind of results that you’ve had?
Anything worth doing is not usually a walk in the park.
The advice I would give any aspiring food entrepreneurs is to go for your dream, but be careful what you ask for, it might just happen. The health food industry is a pleasure to work in. People really do want to see you do well. Everyone loves to eat and most people want to eat healthy food. There is a real need to get the market flooded with healthy options so that we can squeeze out the junk food being sold to our children.
We have only just started the UGG FOODS journey so we are way off the ‘results’ stage. I would advise anyone hoping to do what we are doing to enjoy the journey! The last two years have been exhilarating. Pace yourself, get help, and enjoy every day. Trust your instinct and share the good times and the good news with as many people as possible. Keep the ‘bad news’ the ‘challenges’ and ‘any disappointment’ in proportion.
If you weren’t doing what you do now, what would you be doing instead?
If I wasn’t doing UGG FOODS I would be taking more holidays, buying more shoes and spending more time on creative hobbies, painting, drawing, house and garden renovations, plus seeing my friends a bit more.
If you could get anyone aboard as the brand ambassador (assume reality is not a restraint) – who would you pick?
Someone with vitality, creativity, a mover, a shaker, a key person of influence, a philanthropist Richard Branson (is he Paleo?)
Whats your ultimate aim and goal for UGG FOODS? If you could achieve anything with it, what would you pick? Money and reality are no obstacle, so shoot for the moon…
- The ultimate aim for UGG FOODS is to be a household name. To have UGG FOODs options everywhere. Readymade in, cafes, restaurants, hotels, airports, on planes, trains and in service stations. Frozen UGG FOOD options; pizzas, readymade Paleo meals, Paleo UGG icecream, Paleo UGG alcohol (Xylitol Sloe Gin is nice!)[Ed: holy shit!]
- UGG FOODS influencing crop production, less grains and more nuts, more non-starch vegetables. UGG FOODS campaigning for free-range, happy meat. UGG FOODS campaigning to eat more plant food and less animal food but much better quality of meat and fish.
- I’d like UGG FOODS to massive amounts of money so we aim to get involved with healthy related philanthropy. And form partnerships with cutting edge scientists and health professionals.
Whats next for you and UGG FOODS?
Ocado next. Then North of England, Scotland and Ireland. Then the supermarkets!
Next for me? May it continue! More of the same – my life is awesome!
And we always ask three customary ridiculous questions…
If you were forced to convert UGG FOODS into some sort of scientific/technological research firm (again, assume a limitless budget and access to the best scientific talent in the world) – what would you call yourselves and what would your specialist areas of research be?
There is an association in California called the Ancestral Health Society, they seem to be doing an amazing job and I’d like to see them expand, gain recognition and world-wide attention.
[Ed: The AHS is probably the biggest organisation to champion the paleo approach. You can usually use the terms ‘paleo’ and ‘ancestral’ interchangeably.]
If you were forced to convert UGG FOODS from a purveyor of fine ancestral faire into a defence contractor for the British Government, what would your new company specialise in?
Training fit and young soldiers on how to look after their nutritional health. They would be armed with ‘peace muffins’ and touch mindfulness, mercy and meditation.
You have acquired a pet T-Rex and are morally obliged to look after it. It is 13ft tall at the hips, eats half a ton of raw meat a day, and like taking long walks. What would you call it and what would you do to keep it entertained and housed?
His name is cupcake. Cupcake would be house in the west wing of my new house. His wing overlooks the ocean, where he swims every morning and catches his own breakfast. For fun Cupcake meditates and takes ‘anger management’ lessons.