Q&A with BEAR nibbles founder Hayley Gait-Golding

Lauching a company in the food industry is something a lot of people are trying, but during our Q&A with BEAR Nibbles founder Hayley Gait-Golding, we found out what it takes to really make it.

Q. When did you first get the ideas for BEAR Nibbles and Urban Fruit?

All my clients were saying to me that snacking out and about was just a real stumbling block. They wanted something that was convenient as well as being tasty and healthy too. That’s when I thought that I would make Urban Fruit – pure fruit snacks with no added sugars or preservatives, just gently baked so they were easier to munch on the move.
BEAR came a little later. Looking at children’s snack choices, I was appalled by all the added ingredients and wondered why you wouldn’t just bake pure fruit into fun shapes and add a dollop of fun and imagination to get kids excited about it, too?

Q. Have you always been interested in healthy food?

I’ve always loved healthy food like fruit, ever since I was a little girl. At Christmas I used to swap sweets for the little oranges in my brother’s stocking, and in the summer I’d sit for hours by our neighbours’ cherry tree, picking at the fruits until my tummy hurt.
Having BEAR and Urban Fruit has been a real treat for me without compromise, as I’ve been able to taste the world’s most delicious fruit varieties fresh off the tree all year round – and call it my job.

Q. What’s your advice to any new entrepreneurs in the food industry?

Check that your product is really unique and meeting a genuine need in people’s lives, and make sure your product is your passion. Your enthusiasm will be infectious to others and you’ll need bundles of it to get you through tough times.

Q. What has been the most challenging aspect of running your own food brands?

When we launched our health cereal BEAR Alphabites. We’d picked a product that was to go head-to-head with those of Kellogg’s and Nestlé, who have very deep pockets and can afford to do giant marketing campaigns. We don’t have big budgets, but that made us resourceful and we’ve learnt how to make our pennies stretch a lot further.

Q. Who or what inspires you?

Roald Dahl. I really admire his bravery and wild imagination. I think you can teach children so much more if you capture their imagination rather than trying to make things feel like a school lesson.
With BEAR we get to dabble a little in this world with our collectable cards inside Yo-Yos, and Monsterbet Alphabet on the back of our Alphabites cereal boxes.

Q. Have you seen any new food brands that you think are great?

Peppersmith makes all-natural chewing gum and mints without added sugar or chemical nasties so it is a product I buy. I also think the packaging and branding is beautiful.

Q. How do you achieve a work-life balance?

I love to walk and run and if I don’t have a lot of time I try to solve a creative challenge  during the run. Often when I’m exercising I come up with my best ideas – I think the brain just relaxes or something.
I was getting about four hours a night at one stage but now wrinkles are a reality I’m trying to make sure I’m tucked up by 10pm on work nights!

Q. Describe a typical work day

Breakfast: Oats or Alphabites with fruit and yoghurt. Usually I’ll have a catch-up call with our main fruit farms before I leave the house and then I head to the Cave (office) for around 8.30am. I then spend the rest of the day either working on new product development or creative projects such as new packaging, or our children’s TV adverts, or marketing plans for the year together with our Head of Marketing.