Imagine having your favourite sweet treats but with way less of the guilt? Feed Me has come up with an awesome range of products, from brownies to cheesecakes, packed full of natural ingredients and loaded with nutrients to keep you and your sweet tooth satisfied for longer.
Offering local delivery and collection, this weekend they’re also doing a pop-up at Wigston Fields News & Deli (Not Just A Corner Shop) where you’ll be able to sample the range.
We caught up with owner and baker, Verity, to find out more.
Tell us a little more about the products you sell
Some of our items include cupcakes, brownie stacks, raw Oreo brownies, millionaire stacks, protein slices and much more. I thoroughly enjoy creating treats using wholesome real food ingredients giving them real flavour. It also makes them more fulfilling and satisfying while nourishing with vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre, healthy fats and natural energy.
Life is to be enjoyed and food for me is a big part of that so I also make healthier treats with naughty add ins to, like Oreos, biscoff, someone favourite biscuit or chocolate bar. One of my tag lines is wholesome eats, nutritious treats and everything in between. If someone wants one of my brownies or cookie dough stacks to have biscoff spread in it I shall happily oblige!
Do you make all the items yourself?
I make everything myself from scratch so I know what has gone in to each recipe. I even make the dark and white chocolate that sits on the traybakes from cocoa butter. I don’t currently make the chocolate chips but they are refined sugar free. When I have the time I will be baking a big batch of chocolate that I can break up in to chunks and use them instead. I use unrefined sugar from natural sources such as dates, maple syrup, coconut sugar and unrefined cane sugar. I can also swap half with stevia based sweetener to cut the sugar content down. I am not here to tell people what they should and shouldn’t be eating. I’m here to provide them with an alternative without compromising on flavour or texture. To provide a treat that is also food, it’s not just sugar, butter and flour. A lot of my stuff is naturally gluten free and vegan due to the use of nut flours and nut butters, coconut flour, tahini, flaxseed, fruit etc.
Everything I make is custom made in small batches in my kitchen so if someone has an allergy, dietary requirement or general dislike of something I can make it to their specifications. DISCLAIMER, I do handle allergens in the kitchen so nothing can be guaranteed free from traces.
What are some of the health benefits of your products?
• More filling as it’s real food so it will satisfy you for longer.
• Low GI natural sugars don’t spike blood sugar like refined sugars and bulkers meaning you don’t get that sugar crash and further sugar cravings a few hours later.
•Full of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Packed with natural sources of protein, fats, fibre and carbohydrates all giving you energy and fuel.
• Slower digestion to keep you satisfied for longer.
I cannot stress enough the fact it is real food. Believe it or not, our cookie dough is chickpeas or butter beans with coconut flour and a nut butter of choice or tahini if you’re allergic to nuts. Brownies can be black beans, dates, nuts, flaxseed, oats, ground almonds. Chocolate toppings are made fresh from organic cacao powder high in antioxidants and organic cacao butter with a little pure maple syrup for sweetness. It’s so creamy and smooth. Nothing is overly sweet. It all has real flavour.
What inspired you to start the business?
The short of it is, if you know me you know I love food, all food! But for as long as I can remember I’ve always loved baking. From helping my mum to going out on my own, baking cakes and brownies for friends birthdays at school, to taking over the top boozy cupcakes and traybakes to work. I then left the bright lights of London and moved to outback Australia where I started to get in to fitness and more mindful eating. So back in this country I was in a grey office job and started spending my days researching healthier baking recipes and experimenting at home with different and new ingredients. As time went on I got more knowledgeable and my creations started receiving good feedback and I was really enjoying what I was doing. So I packed in my job and set off on a mission to spread the word of my wholesome treats. I had a few knock backs with struggling to find commercial space and then being outbid part way through acquiring somewhere. But I knew this is what I wanted to do so got a part time job and started doing it part time for friends and family out of my kitchen. It was great for feedback, development and experience.
I absolutely love feeding people. It’s a real socialising experience, eating with people, feeding them good food, food they enjoy but also food that’s good for them. I’m hoping to spread my love across Leicester and the UK one bite at a time
How do you find Leicester as a market to break into as a start-up?
It’s hard breaking the market because retail space in Leicester is expensive with not a vast amount available that would be suitable. So I have decided to start from home. I sell wholesale to shops and cafes and go to food markets and fairs. From here I am hoping to grow organically, starting with local deliveries and expanding to a full e-commerce website able to ship nationally.
I only started this full time about 2 months ago but the feedback has been tremendous with orders coming in at a constant pace.
Where can people buy your products?
People can currently order from me on Facebook (Feed Me Leicester) Instagram an through Google’s profile.
I shall be at Not Just A Corner Shop this Saturday (19 October) 10-4 with a selection of refined sugar free, gluten free, egg free, dairy free & vegan treats. Ranging from traybakes and stacks to cupcakes and hopefully some freshly made from scratch seasonal truffles and raw vegan cheesecakes. I don’t believe anyone else in Leicester currently makes what I’m making so it’s super exciting to bring something new to the food scene and something I am so passionate about and enjoy so much.
I shall be looking into adding monthly and weekly subscription boxes to the website along with baked and raw celebration cakes too. The possibilities are truly endless and this is only the very beginning of my journey with Feed Me.
Who are some of your other favourite small businesses in Leicester?
The Not Just A Corner Shop at Wigston Fields News and Deli is a great venture and people can get freshly made french pastries from Chouxtique, lovely looking cakes from Bake with Jess, bread from Hambleton Bakery, fresh milk, the best samosas I’ve ever tasted from Sona Foods amongst many other items from local sellers and producers. It’s a great concept.
What’s your personal favourite item that you make?
My favourite products are my no bake stacks. I love the height of them, they truly are a stack, each with at least 3 layers. I love the way the flavours and textures come together. I love experimenting with them and I love how filling they are. The peanut butter millionaire crack stack is definitely a customer favourite. The fact they aren’t baked means their nutrient profile is unchanged and unaffected. They are still in their raw form with all nutrients in tact.
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You can meet Verity and try some of the Feed Me range at Wigston Fields News & Deli on Saturday 19 October. You can also keep up to date and make order enquiries via Facebook and Instagram.
