Name:
Natasha Bowes
Age:
Never ask a lady her age!
Job title:
Founder and CEO
Company and location:
Biotiful Gut Health, London, UK
Education:
Bachelors in economics (Honours), Masters in finance (Honours), additional professional qualifications in finance.
Favourite food/drink:
Kefir of course! One of the best things about kefir is that it can be both a food (as in our delicious spoonable range) or a drink (as in our core kefir drinks range). I especially love our spoonable kefir protein sprinkled with a few pine nuts.
What inspired you to enter F&B?
When my daughter was born, I looked at the food options available in the UK and was disappointed by the lack of naturally healthy and delicious options available. Remembering the benefits of kefir from my childhood, I decided to make this super-natural functional product in the UK, bringing the benefits of natural gut health to everyone around me.
Tell us about your role:
For the last 12 years, I have been building Biotiful Gut Health. I lead a brilliant multi-functional team of close to 50 people, based in our office in West London. Even though the brand has grown significantly since I started it, I'm still rather involved in all aspects of the business.
What does a typical day look like?
As the CEO of a dynamic, fast-growing SME, my days tend to be rather full-on. I like getting up early (before 6am), have a healthy, protein and fibre-rich breakfast, and walk to the office. Once I'm there, for most of the day, I'll be involved in meetings across different parts of the business – from new product development, to sales, supply chain or marketing. I'll often talk to key suppliers or customers in person or on the phone – a good business is based on strong personal relationships, and I often prefer to conduct important conversations either face to face, instead of over email or video. If my daughter is home from school, I'll occasionally work from home in the afternoons to spend more time with her.
How did you get to where you are today?
I know it's a cliché – but mainly determination and hard work. The other important thing to me is being clear on what I wanted to achieve: to make the nation healthier by launching the first kefir brand in the UK and making deliciously natural gut health accessible to all. Having a clear idea of where I wanted to get to made it much easier to stay focused and see opportunity in anything that life throws at you.
When you're having a bad day, what cheers you up?
The answer is almost always in taking the time to reflect properly. I am not sure I define any day as a ‘bad day’, just some things do not go according to plan, so you need to review, reassess and adjust the plan. I find life naturally ‘stripy’, a downward turn is always followed by an upward swing, as long as you are resilient.
What's your favourite part about the food sector?
I'm fortunate to work with a number of fantastic people – not just the Biotiful team, but also our key customers and suppliers. Many of them have supported us on our mission to make good gut health accessible to all. I see a lot of genuinely passionate, positively driven people around me – observing and helping them is my favourite part.
If you could change one thing about the F&B sector what would it be?
When I look on the supermarket shelves on average, I still see too many unhealthy/artificial products, the historic dominance of which had inspired me to launch the Biotiful brand 12 years ago. I think this and lack of clarity on food manufacturing is well reflected in the ultra-processed foods debate more recently. If I could change one thing it would be for more people in the F&B industry to realise that it is possible to be both naturally delicious and health, and I hope that Biotiful is a strong proof of that.
What's next for you/what's the dream?
In the 12 years since I launched the Biotiful brand, we've expanded our range from kefir drinks, to protein, yogurts, kids kefir – all within dairy. For me, the next logical move is expanding the Biotiful brand beyond the chilled aisle and into ambient where we can deliver natural gut health through fibre-rich products. We've taken the first steps toward this with the launch of our new Biotiful Gut Health meal boosters, and there is much more to come. Watch this space!
In other news, Kellanova has announced plans to invest £75m into its cereal production facility in Wrexham.
