We meet Phoebe Thirlwell-Pearce, Co -Founder of FOGA

Phoebe Thirlwell-Pearce, the co-founder of FOGA is on a mission to get the nation to eat more fruit and veg AND tackle food waste with her freeze dried organic fruits and vegetables.

MR: What inspired you and your husband to start FOGA?

PTP: For me, there wasn’t a lightbulb moment,  it was a build up of many things over time. My family is entrepreneurial so I grew up looking at the world as full of possibilities. Our journey started from a place of personal frustration. I suffer from IBS, which made me really conscious of what I was eating, I was scrutinising food labels, making my own nut milks & green juices and becoming increasingly critical of ‘healthy’ packaged foods - specifically “Free From” foods which were really not what they seemed. They were packed with all sorts of junk - strange extracts, mouthfeel enhancers, preservatives - and often with less nutritional value than the foods they were replacing. I became increasingly aware of the payoff between convenience foods & nutrition. 

We both knew we should be eating more whole, natural foods, but couldn’t find easy ways of doing it that fit with our busy city lives, and we weren’t alone - less than 1 in 4 people in the UK even get their 5 a day. We saw a specific pain point around drinks - UK consumers look to juices & smoothies as an easy way of getting their 5-a-day but the reality is most do not contain the vitamins and nutrients that we think they do. 

There are so many confusing health messages out there, but there is one simple truth that all nutritionists agree on – the more plants you eat, the better you feel. FOGA was born out of this frustration with the food system, and health washed foods that weren’t what they seemed. Our mission with FOGA is to make super nutritious plants fit into busy lives. We want to make it easy for anyone to make small changes so they can feel amazing, and live longer, healthier lives.

MR: How did you come up with the name for the company? 

PTP: We actually started with a different name, but before we launched, we got a cease & desist from a large food company over our trademark application so we had to start again! When we went back to the drawing board for a new name, we wrote down all the values that we wanted the brand to stand for. FOGA stands for Fresh Organic, Good & Accessible. 

MR: During the course of creating FOGA, what have been some of the ups and downs that you have encountered? 

PTP: There have been so many obstacles that I’ve become really good at compartmentalising and moving on as soon as they are over! In the early days our main obstacle was persuading people that a powder could be fresh, natural & delicious as we were fighting against negative perceptions of synthetic weight loss products. As soon as they try it, people get the concept. 

As a small brand without loads of VC investment, you can’t afford to give lots away for free, so we’ve had to be very creative. This often entailed myself & Ollie spending weekends and late nights sampling wherever we could.

MR: What advice would you give to anyone aspiring to start their own company?

PTP: Really make sure you know what drives you, and what your why is. These are crucial to get you through the many obstacles that will come your way! 

Before spending a penny on an expensive designer or developer, work out a way to test your idea in a low investment way - and don’t just ask people if they will purchase it, get them to physically buy it, or sign up, to validate - oh, and trademark everything! 

MR: What are the benefits of using freeze dried fruit and veg over frozen? 

PTP: Nutritionally, flash frozen and freeze-dried produce are similar. Both are picked when the produce is naturally ripe, and then frozen within hours to lock in the nutrients, and stop the nutrients oxidising away. The main difference is that freeze-dried fruit & veg doesn’t need to be stored in a freezer, so it uses less energy and precious freezer space. It’s lightweight and portable so it works well for a busy lifestyle - you can just throw it into your bag and make it whenever you want, without worrying about keeping it in a fridge. 

The industrialisation of farming has meant that the food we eat is not what it once was. To give year round supply, produce is picked before it’s ripe and stored in cold warehouses under gasses. This may stop it going off, but it doesn’t stop the oxidation of vitamins and phytonutrients, so shelves are lined with produce that looks great but doesn’t pack the nutritional punch it should! We choose organic wherever possible to ensure that our products are as nutrient dense as possible. Compared to supermarket fresh smoothies, plantshakes have half the sugar, double the fibre, and 3 x the vitamin C.

MR: There are so many products on the market that are perceived to be healthy but actually have no health benefits whatsoever - what advice would you give to consumers in spotting healthwashed products? 

PTP: Always read the ingredients list! This is where you will see the truth of what is actually in the product. Some terms that you will see on the front of a pack are protected, such as Organic. This means that the businesses and suppliers are regulated, and inspected to make sure they comply to a strict set of rules. Other terms like ‘natural’ are not regulated, so any business can use these terms even if their ingredients aren’t what you would define as natural. Just because something is marketed as low sugar or sugar free, it doesn’t mean that it contains healthy ingredients so it’s important to look beyond the marketing language to get to the truth!

MR: The Vegan lifestyle has had quite the resurgence in the last few years have you noticed a change in the market? 

PTP: Yes, I particularly loved the approach this year around vegan-ish which felt more inclusive, with a focus on making small swaps, rather than an all or nothing approach. We Brits don’t like being told what to do, so it was a smart approach which aligns with our philosophy around health. What I’ve noticed recently is a move towards more processed vegan foods, with people replacing natural whole foods, with vegan junk foods. Who doesn’t love a plant-based burger? But as with a traditional burger, these foods do not bring the same health benefits that you would get from natural whole foods, so it’s more important than ever that people are getting good old fashioned fruit & veg every day! 

It’s also important to note that while supplements have their place, and fortified foods are incredibly appealing - all nutritionists recommend that these are taken alongside a healthy balanced diet. 

MR: I love the sustainability values of your company - what inspired you to start the Circular Recycling Program? 

PTP: We think it’s super important for brands to take responsibility for the full product lifecycle. We do this by including a pre-paid envelope to return empty pouches for recycling with specialists, ensuring they don’t go to landfill. We’re looking for better solutions all the time but with the infrastructure and technology available today, we’re convinced we’re doing the best we can. Last year we saved over 200kilos from landfill which equates to about 40,400 plastic bags.

MR: Tell me a little more about your partnership with OneTreePlanted?

PTP: Planting trees is one of the best ways to combat climate change in a simple and meaningful way. Healthy soils are key to so many aspects of our life, but deforestation and industrial agriculture are eroding them at an alarming rate. This is why we support Organic farming, and why we partnered with OneTreePlanted. 

OneTreePlanted focuses on areas of the world most affected by deforestation - last year we planted 10,000 trees in Australia, India, Amazon so far and will continue to support them through our campaigns. This goes a long way towards offsetting emissions caused by our deliveries. We’re also passionate about reducing food waste and know that our shakes should help reduce the amount of brown fruit binned at the end of the week by healthy wishful thinkers!

MR: What other steps have you taken to sustain your current negative carbon footprint? 

PTP: One of the reasons we love freeze-drying is that our organic foods can be stored without refrigeration, which requires a huge amount of energy, so using this technology reduces our carbon footprint compared to other food companies. Our lightweight, low volume packs also mean we can use existing delivery networks, rather than putting additional trucks on the roads, helping to reduce the impact of our deliveries. We already source most of our ingredients from Europe to minimise the food miles, and our next biggest focus is on working with UK suppliers so that we can reduce that even further. 

MR: What FOGA product would you recommend to someone who is new to plant based products?

PTP: I would recommend starting with something simple & delicious, like our Strawberry & Mango plantshake. You just shake it with water and it’s ready to drink. It tastes like summer holidays and it’s got 100% of your daily vitamin C, it’s a great one for skin health due to the antioxidant rich strawberries and it’s got a good level of fibre which is important as it slows the absorption of natural sugars so you don’t get a blood sugar spike then crash.

MR: What is your favourite FOGA product? 

PTP: My favourite has to be our Blueberry Pie Oatshake. It’s a balanced breakfast shake which tastes amazing - it’s made from clean whole food ingredients, 1 of your 5 a day and has 5g of gut healthy fibre and 10g plant protein. 

The ingredients list is simple: Organic Gluten Free Oats, Organic Pea Protein, Organic Wild Blueberries, Organic Banana, Organic Apple, Organic Flaxseeds and Organic Cinnamon. Good, clean and delicious.

MR: Last year as an organisation you supported the BLM movement and implemented a new mission - have you noticed a conscious change within your company and personal life? 

PTP: Yes, it gave us a wake up call that even though we’re a tiny business, there is still a lot we can do now to make sure that racism never has a place in our business. I was incredibly proud of how much our team engaged with the BLM movement, and how open they have been in discussing it, and challenging each other to do better. Culture definitely comes from the top, and since then we have consciously made more time to focus on this as a business. An example of one area we’ve made a conscious change in is making sure we work with a diverse range of content creators, sharing their stories and supporting their livelihoods. Before BLM we didn’t have a strategy around this, we just worked with people who approached us and shared our values. It may sound small, but for our partners it’s the best way we can support them. 

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