Dairy-free coconut ‘rebel’ entrepreneur wins everywoman award
The award is made to a woman in the early stage of business that is seen to demonstrate huge potential for growth.
Arbib, a former lawyer, founded Rebel Kitchen in a bid to provide tasty, healthy snacks using simple ingredients direct from nature.
She initially set up the A Team Foundation charity to help change the UK’s approach to food, health and sustainability but realised to make a real difference she needed to approach the issues from a commercial angle.
As a result, Rebel Kitchen was born in 2014 and its products are now available in Wholefoods, Planet Organic, Holland & Barrett, Nutri Centre, Selfridges, Waitrose, Ocado and Tesco.
Sold more than 1.3M
Rebel Kitchen has sold more than 1.3M ‘mylks’ have been sold worldwide in 21 countries including the US, Australia, China and numerous European markets.
Arbib has also grown her UK-based office from a team of three to 13 in less than two years.
Tamara Arbib - key facts
- Born in New York
- Moved to London aged 10
- Started A Team Foundation in 2010
- Launched Rebel Kitchen in 2014
Her vision is to turn Rebel Kitchen into the number one health food brand, becoming the global force for change on the nutrition agenda.
Meanwhile, the Confederation for British Industry (CBI) called for a new voluntary target of 25% for female senior executives in major UK companies.
Women represent less than 10%
CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn said the number of FTSE 100 female executive directors still represents less than 10%, despite the significant progress made by the Davies Review.
“It’s fantastic that women are present in boardrooms in greater numbers,” she told an event hosted by law firm Latham & Watkins in London yesterday (January 28).
“But let’s be clear. Non-executive directors and even chairmen attend between 4 and ten board meetings a year. They approve strategy, are guardians of values, challenge decisions and help manage risk.
“These are important roles, but it is the job of executives to take daily decisions, shape and define strategy, and influence culture through the everyday examples that they set. They are the sleeves-rolled-up leaders in our society.”
There are just nine more female executive directors on FTSE350 boards than in 2010 and the number of female chief executives has barely moved, she added.
