A little about us...and Cathryn.
Thank you for discovering Simplyseedz and visiting our website.
Here's a little video how Simplyseedz came about!
Simplyseedz, was founded by me, Cathryn, following a frightening health scare (a pulmonary embolism) from a long haul flight and then ultimately redundancy from the hectic corporate world of American Express.
My corporate life was always busy juggling work and children. And while I always made sure my children were provided with a good breakfast before heading to school, I found that I'd be heading out the door to find myself picking up some processed snack at a garage. Hardly the best nutrition. I was often hungry and got into the bad habit of a sandwich, packet of crisps and a chocolate bar.
And although my health scare wasn't diet related, it did make me take stock of my lifestyle. So I began scouring the supermarkets for snacks and healthy cereals.
It was evident that everything in a packet which appeared to be healthy was compromised with hidden sugars and salt. There was no option than to make my own muesli and roast some seeds, just for my family and me. And then BANG! Redundancy came following the financial crisis, all the jobs that were available were in London when our family home is in Worcestershire.
It was after a good walk with my dogs one morning, and not knowing when I was likely to find a job, that I started investigating whether it was possible to start producing and selling my breakfast and snacks commercially. It was my redundancy project, to keep the grey matter from going any greyer! Little did I know that this in time would become my full time occupation!
I started with a few recipes, tested them with friends, family for their opinions, even the children's friends tucked in whenever they came for play days. Once all the necessary approvals were in place, to produce from my home kitchen, I joined Worcestershire Farmers Markets and attended many shows and events testing products with consumers, many who still continue to support the Simplyseedz journey (thank you).
During all this time, I did work full time for a number of other companies as I wasn't yet ready financially to take the plunge! In 2016 I ditched the day job and went for it. The past 4 years have brought many challenges. It certainly isn't easy, but then I often think, if it was, there'd be more people doing it! I do however love what I've created, seeing customers discover natural foods that are exactly what they say they are.
The name Simplyseedz has been questioned by the likes of Dragons Den. The name is based on my simple recipes that all include seeds, and the Z is the first letter of our family surname! My passion is porridge and healthy eating. Our porridge mixes when we initially started did contain milk powder, but we decided to remove any need for any type of milk powder to minimise allergens in our recipes. All are vegan, low sugar content from fruit only. We have lots of recipe ideas and frequently create serving suggestions.
We supply lots of happy customers, sports people, athletes, cyclists, runners enjoy our range. We have been recommended in the Mail on Sunday by Dr Clare Bailey for the nutrition qualities and have gained two Great Taste Awards. We appeared on Dragons Den in December 2017 too (another scary experience). We are a Happerley Transparent Accredited Producer, supply Midcounties Coop, Ocado, independent delis, coffee shops and growing!
Originally all was created and prepared in Cathryn's home kitchen in Worcestershire, and now our range is made to our recipes in BRC accredited facilities, all in the UK. We hope you'll enjoy navigating our website and more-so enjoy our products, recipe and serving suggestions!
We're always keen to hear from our customers, so if you have any questions or want to share your love of Simplyseedz, please do not hesitate to drop us a line to hello@simplyseedz.co.uk.