Entrepreneur Life – Interview With The Founder Of Go Faster Food
Sundried is an independent UK business that was founded by entrepreneur Daniel Puddick. We encourage the growth of small businesses and want to empower consumers to choose ethical companies rather than defaulting to multi-national corporations and faceless conglomerates.
We spoke to Kate Percy, the founder of Go Faster Food, about building her successful brand from the ground up to now working with names like Jo Pavey in their latest campaign.
In a nutshell, what is the story of Go Faster Food? What motivated you to develop the idea?
How did it all start? I radically altered my family's diet to help my husband, Mark, who was struggling in his training for the New York Marathon. Mark's performance was totally transformed and the whole family felt more energised! I didn't last long watching from the sidelines. I decided to run a marathon myself and discovered the running bug. The rest is history!
For me, my food has to deliver three things: great taste, a smile on the face of friends and family, and the right type of get-up-and-go energy. My first book, Go Faster Food, was published in 2009. Since then I've written 2 more 'Go Faster' books, specialising in 'real fast food' for busy families. Speedy food for speedy families! I'm in-house chef for 220 Triathlon and have also developed an education programme to get kids eating better and moving more.
In 2017, I launched my first food product, Kate Percy's GO BITES, which are delicious, all-natural energy balls. Jo Pavey has recently become our lead ambassador which is very exciting for us as she is such an amazing role model.
Our 5 x 2025 mission is for every child, by 2025, to be able to cook 5 simple, nourishing recipes by the time they leave home as well as understand the link between what they eat and mental and physical well-being. A penny a pack and 50p per book is donated to the Youth Sport Trust to help develop this mission.
What was the biggest challenge you faced when setting up this business?
It's a very competitive market and the industry is really quite cynical. Say no more!
How do you manage a healthy work-life balance?
Very badly! This is a major challenge for me, especially as I am in business with my husband, with whom I have just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. We try not to talk about work in the evenings and at weekends, but it is virtually impossible! However, I try to do sport every day, usually a run or a swim, first thing in the morning, and we always sit down to an evening meal which I find very 'grounding'. My three children have now flown the nest but we try to get together as much as possible too.
What's been the most exciting part of developing Go Faster Food?
It's all very exciting!
Firstly, I just love seeing people enjoy my food, both adults and children.
Secondly, seeing my product on the shelves in Tesco and Holland & Barrett makes all the hard work worthwhile, as well as people telling me how my books have changed their lives.
Thirdly, we are starting to export now - our Go Bites will shortly be on the shelves of Carrefour in Spain.
Fourthly, our 5 x 2025 mission is incredibly rewarding too. There is an absolute car crash going on around us with ever-increasing levels of obesity, type 2 diabetes and decreasing levels of exercise. We have a ground-breaking method of getting kids to just be able to cook 5 simple recipes (5 to thrive) as well as understand how food works in terms of helping their mental and physical well-being. We are in the process of getting things going to make the concept go viral, which is a major challenge!
What does the future hold for Go Faster Food?
We have been overwhelmed by the response to our recent re-brand and launch of our new 2-ball, £1 pack. We are now putting together a pipeline of new products to launch over the next couple of years. Oh, and there'll be a new book on the way too!
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Every overnight success takes 10 years in the making.
Quickfire Questions
- Coffee or tea? Tea in bed then coffee for breakfast
- Summer or winter? Summer (unless I'm skiing, then Winter)
- Gym or outdoors? Outdoors
- Weights or cardio? Cardio
- Sweet or savoury? Savoury (I'm a sucker for a pack of salt & vinegar crisps)
