Re:Nourish – Interview with Nicci Clark, founder of Re:Nourish

WORDS: HERMIONE EDWARDS What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? I wake up at 5.30am with a cup of hot lemon and water and 20 minutes on my rebounder trampoline with my favourite music. This is great low impact exercise that really gets the lymph moving to start the day. What inspired you to launch Re:Nourish and how did you know it was the right time? Health has always been part of my DNA having worked as a critical care nurse at a busy London hospital. I had a company called Nourished which made fresh soups and supplied the cast of Downtown Abbey. However, as they were on set, I realized there was a gap in the market for a grab and go microwaveable soup that people could enjoy anywhere. Health and convenience have always been my passion and never more so since the onset of Covid. Food is medicine. You were previously a critical care nurse, what made you decide you wanted to make the transition into the food industry? Food is medicine and soup is absorbed into the body within 30 minutes, making it a really nutritious easy meal or snack. It takes very little work for the digestive system to break down and I have always been fascinated how we can cure or kill ourselves with food. With the onset of fast-food culture, it is imperative that people don’t disconnect from what they are eating. There is a silent pandemic in the Middle East which has one of the highest incidences of type 2 diabetes. This is not your DNA but your dinner. At one stage you had to sell your family home to launch the business. What was the gut feeling that led you to take such a risk and how does it feel 2 years later with a valuation of Dhs61 million? It was a now or never moment in 2019. My bank wouldn’t give me a small overdraft to start Re:Nourish even

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though I had retail listings, great credit and a robust business plan. I didn’t want to give away 50% equity from the offset to an investor, so I sold my asset which was my house to give me the money to start Re:Nourish. If you don’t back yourself then how can you expect others to?! It was a huge risk especially as I had 2 boys aged 9 & 10 and worked 7 days a week for the last 3 years to make it a success. There has never been a plan B! Re:Nourish focus on fresh, plant-based ingredients, how does this affect the process of creating the product? At Re:Nourish we are all about functional health and hiding nothing, hence our clear bottles. Soup has been around for centuries and we make sure we only use natural ingredients letting vegetables and their natural flavour shine through rather than adding sugar and additives. We are a trusted health brand, and we need to remain so! Your microwavable bottles are carbon neutral as well as 100% recyclable, can you take us through the production process? It took over 9 months to design our clever little bottle as we needed to make sure that the bottles were fully recyclable and didn’t explode in the microwave. There is a lot of science behind the design of the bottle. Sourcing the right material – we use Polypropylene in our bottles, caps and labels making it very easy to recycle as we don’t mix our plastics. You have received so much love by customers from all over the globe. How does it feel to now be the first fresh soup brand to launch in Dubai, Doha and Hong Kong? It’s definitely a pinch me moment seeing Re:Nourish in all these countries. We are launching in Australia and Europe this autumn making it a very exciting time. What has been the biggest challenge to date and how did you overcome it? We are a fresh soup brand with limited shelf life, making distribution in different countries very difficult. The hardest part is finding trusted manufacturers who will make our soups to the exacting standards. We are privileged to be working with Alshaya in Dubai as our manufacturing partner as they have been incredible to work with.

What has been your biggest achievement so far since launching Re:Nourish? Re:Nourish is the only global fresh soup brand, soon to be in 10 countries. That is pretty mind-blowing! What piece of advice would you give your younger self? Never doubt yourself and trust your instincts. This is the Entrepreneur Issue – what key aspects have you learned from launching your own brand and what does being an entrepreneur mean to you? If you have a great idea, research it thoroughly to make sure there is a demand for it then go for it. The greatest failure is not trying. You are also only as good as your team so make sure you have a great one with you who compliment your skill set. Being an entrepreneur you are generally a risk taker however never risk your health so always take time for yourself as running a company is fun but also stressful.