CELEBRATE 20 YEARS IN THE BUSINESS YAOH Hemp Products from Bristol are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year – with a host of new products and packaging to come over the course of 2022. We caught up with the Yaoh team on their birthday to talk about 2022..
Valentines Day 2022 saw original hemp vegan company Yaoh celebrate their 20th anniversary – originally set up on February 14th 2002, Yaoh was a continuation of various hemp projects in the nineties, with a focus on hemp bodycare, seeds and oil. Yaoh Hemp Products first appeared on the shelves of ‘Wild Oats’ health food store in Bristol in early August 2002 and within 2 years, was enjoying nationwide distribution to several hundred independent health stores, co-ops, farm shops, delis, online retailers and other specialist shops. All independent -
and never to be found in the ‘multiples’ or supermarkets – indeed, Yaoh famously turned down an opportunity to stock Holland & Barrett stores in 2004. Yaoh won its first award in 2004 for its raw vegan hemp seed snack bar at the Natural Trade Show in Brighton amongst hot competition, especially in the organic sector (Yaoh won Best New Organic Food Product) which at the time was in full flow growthmode. That show was also the time Yaoh founder Tim Barford found himself next door to original vegan pio-
Yaoh won its first award in 2004 for its raw vegan hemp seed snack bar at the Natural Trade Show in Brighton amongst hot competition” 16
FORÇA VEGAN
neer Arthur Ling, then in his 80s and on the Plamil stall, the original vegan company he founded in 1963, the year of Tim’s birth. Tim dedicated his award to Arthur and the work of the original pioneers, and that evening at the Awards ceremony, enjoyed an awful attempt at a vegan offering with Arthur’s son Adrian of Plamil fame – a meal which cemented a long term friendship and association in promoting all things vegan, which lasts to this day. 2003 had also seen Yaoh launch the first Bristol Vegan Fayre, a hugely successful venture on World Vegan Day November 1st which ended up running for 17 consecutive years, and saw the biggest ever crowd at a vegan event in 2012 – although by that time, Yaoh had split off to become a Limited Company and was to focus exclusively on
