Ella's Kitchen

Ella's Kitchen
Private
Founded 2006
Founder Paul Lindley
Headquarters Henley-on-Thames, England
Products Organic baby and toddler food
Revenue £30 million[1]
Number of employees
 Over 35 [1]

Ella's Kitchen is a company that makes organic baby and toddler food, sold in supermarkets internationally including UK, Norway, Sweden and the United States. Ella’s Kitchen has a 20% share of the UK baby food sector[2] and a global turnover of $100m. Ella’s Kitchen was founded in the UK in 2006 and is a member of The Soil Association and The Organic Trade Board.

History

The Henley-based Ella’s Kitchen was founded in 2006 by Paul Lindley. After graduating from the University of Bristol he trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG in London and Los Angeles. He then spent 9 years at Nickelodeon as deputy managing director before setting up Ella’s Kitchen. The business is named after Paul’s daughter, Ella.

The company launched in Scandinavia and US in 2009 and now has a presence in eighteen territories.

In May 2013, it was announced that Ella’s Kitchen had been sold to The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.,[3] a North American natural and organic products company.

Mark Cuddigan and James McMaster are now Joint Managing Directors of the European business.

Ella’s Kitchen has its head office in Oxfordshire, UK.

In February 2013, Paul Lindley, founder and CEO of Ella's Kitchen launched a campaign focused on childhood nutrition called Averting A Recipe For Disaster.[4] A report of the same name was released at the time, including comments and support from representatives of the food and health industries, charity sector and media including Prue Leith, Tom Aikens, Professor David Haslam GP, Chairman of the National Obesity Forum; Carmel McConnell, Founder, Magic Breakfast; Rob Rees MBE, Chair, The School Food Trust and Sheila Dillon, presenter Radio 4's Food Programme.[5][6]

The report outlines the need for a ‘Food Manifesto for the Under Fives’ which is described as a long term, cross political party plan to improve nutrition for the under fives and a series of recommendations about what might be included in it.[7][8]

In September 2013, Leicester City Council announced that it would be a year long pilot city to trial ideas and themes emerging from the report. This resulted in the Start Smart initiative launching in Leicester in March 2014, which promotes collaboration between businesses, government and communities to raise awareness of healthy eating for the under fives.

In October 2014, Ella’s Kitchen partnered with Kids Company UK in Hungry Childhoods – an interactive art exhibition created by the exceptionally vulnerable children of Kids Company. The exhibition followed research by the University of Reading with these children, which revealed children and their parents struggling to cope with hunger, poor nutrition and chronic food insecurity.

The company has won a variety of awards including Mum’s Choice Overall Award Winner at the Tesco Mums’ Choice Awards 2011,[9] Best Organic Baby Food 2011 Prima Baby Reader Awards, International Business of the Year at the Growing Business Fast Growth Business Awards 2011[10] and Food and Drink Brand of the Year at The Grocer Gold Awards 2010.[11] Ella’s Kitchen has ranked in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 list in 2011, 2009, 2010 and 2012 and internationally the company has won the Grocery Brand of the Year in Sweden, the Innovation of the Year award at the Norway Grocery Association Awards and was the Healthy Snacks winner in the Red Tricycle Totally Awesome Awards.[12] In 2012 Ella's Kitchen won the High Growth Business of the Year award at the Private Business Awards,[13] the International Growth Business of the Year award at the National Business Awards,[14] and an excellence award for Innovation at the 2012 Fast Track 100 event [15]

Products

Ella’s Kitchen currently has 80 products including Stage 1 – 4 baby and toddler food, smoothies, snack ranges and others. Ella’s Kitchen products are 100% organic.

Ella’s Kitchen was the first brand to bring pouches to the baby food market.[16]

Ella’s Kitchen products contain no added sugar, salt or water. No additives, E numbers or GM products.

Ella’s Kitchen are part of the TerraCycle scheme which provides recycling systems for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste such as Ella’s Kitchen pouches, in the UK, Ireland and Sweden.

References

  1. 1 2 Loveless, Helen (2011-11-22). "Ella's Kitchen founder: How I turned healthy, tasty baby food into a £30m winner". ThisIsMoney (London). Retrieved 2011-02-12.
  2. ↑ http://www.fdin.org.uk/2013/08/ellas-kitchen-launches-new-meal-range/
  3. ↑ http://www.just-food.com/hot-issues/hain-celestial-snaps-up-uk-baby-food-brand-ellas-kitchen_id881.aspx
  4. ↑ http://www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk/news-and-events/news/eating-well-has-to-start-early
  5. ↑ http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/opinion/daily-bread/averting-a-recipe-for-disaster/236330.blog
  6. ↑ http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/parenting/news-on-parenting-278781.html
  7. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/9850956/Chris-Huhnes-long-denial-of-his-criminal-offence-has-cost-the-taxpayer.html
  8. ↑ http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/rss/1170021/Health-experts-call-political-parties-address-diet-related-disease-children/
  9. ↑ http://www.tesco.com/babyclub/join_now/babyclub_news/mums_choice_awards_weaning.page
  10. ↑ Growing Business Fast Growth Business Awards - International Business of the Year 2011: Ella's Kitchen
  11. ↑ http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/topics/the-grocer-gold-awards-2010-as-good-as-gold/210316.article
  12. ↑ http://www.redtri.com/awards/meal-and-snacks/healthy-snack
  13. ↑ http://www.pwc.co.uk/tax/private-business-awards-2012.jhtml
  14. ↑ http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/international-business-of-the-year_3.html
  15. ↑ http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack/events/ft100events.html
  16. ↑ "Off to a good start". Research. April 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
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