Over 1.3 billion tons of food goes to waste each year is still edible and Niamh, founder of TREAT YO’ SELF wanted to provide baked goods that wouldn’t go to waste and that could be enjoyed by all, including vegans.
TREAT YO' SELF are frozen bite-size snacks where you can take out as much as you need and save the rest for another day or hour. Niamh explains:
“There are numerous ways to enjoy your treats but ultimately you can eat them within a few minutes of removing from the freezer, if you’re impatient like me”.
Niamh comes from a family of generational bakers and has been working in her Dad’s bakery since she was a child. After her Dad passed the bakery closed and despite exploring other jobs ultimately her passion was baking.
Develop packaging for sustainability
Whilst testing her recipes Niamh would freeze her products to ensure shelf life and see how good her products tasted afterwards. From being impatient she tasted her products just out the freezer and realized they tasted the same and didn’t need to fully defrost or be microwaved as expected, kickstarting her non-wasteful product range.
Due to the frozen nature of her products the packaging needed to use the right materials that would sustain freezing and retain her product quality. In order to refrain from using unnecessary packaging to keep her goods frozen when shipping, Niamh uses a temperature controlled courier to align with her sustainably focused brand.
Getting data is important when running a business and creates higher engagement when trying to promote products."
Niamh
TREAT YO' SELF
Generating brand awareness and scaling up
Working full-time as a receptionist and with little budget, Niamh has had to be outgoing and creative in promoting her brand. Instagram is her gateway to customers and she uses every trick in the book. Commenting on relevant posts to promote her brand, asking others to post and share her brand on their networks.
“It’s surprising how nice people are in the Instagram community and how helpful they are to share your brand, you just have to put yourself out there. Whenever I’m out and about I’m always promoting and asking people to follow me."
Niamh currently sells direct to consumer through her own ecommerce website, through online frozen supermarket Mighty Plants and from a market stall at be the future vegan.
Ultimately Niamh’s goal is to get listed with a large retailer and she has already started conversations with retailers and independents to expand. She has also had the opportunity to pitch to Getir and weezy.
TREAT YO' SELF's top tips
Be really cautious about who you work with and ensure you protect yourself.
