Member Article

Nim’s goes ‘back to school’ to launch UK’s first children’s range of fruit and vegetable crisps

A Kent food entrepreneur has vowed to make children’s lunchboxes healthier after launching the UK’s first ever dedicated range of air dried fruit and vegetable crisps for kids.

Fresh from securing the largest ever raise on Tesco’s BackIT crowdfunding platform, Nimisha Raja is using the renewed focus on ‘healthy eating’ as the perfect opportunity to get her products listed with distributors and suppliers to schools in time for the new term starting in September.

The founder of Nim’s Fruit Crisps has invested all of the £22,761 raise and more into developing the new range and special packaging and already has agreements in place to sell them through independent retailers, schools and via the internet.

She is also in advanced talks with various distributors and a major retailer keen to feature a great tasting, alternative to mainstream children’s snacks.

To mark the launch, the company has also teamed up with international charity ‘Hope for Children’ by joining their corporate partnerships programme - ‘Your Business, Their Lives’ - and will be donating 1p from every pack sold to improve children’s health.

It is expected this will result in a minimum £2500 cash boost for the organisation over the next twelve months, with the money being used to support children and their families in the UK and projects in poverty stricken communities in Africa and Asia to provide everything from school eating programmes in The Philippines to food parcels for orphans in Uganda.

“We want to get behind the healthy eating campaign so have decided to launch a special range for kids, featuring new varieties such as Carrot and Courgettes,” explained Nimisha.

“The packaging has been redesigned so it appeals to young people and at, just 32 to 53 calories per pack, the fruit and vegetable crisps are low in calories, high in fibre/Vitamin C and constitutes one of your ‘five a day’.”

She continued: “Our products should not be confused with vacuum fried fruit & vegetable crisps as all our crisps are made from just one ingredient. Using our unique air drying process, the range is made up of thin slices of 100% natural fruit and veg in our UK factory to produce a deliciously authentic and healthy snack that adds a sense of fun to healthy eating.”

Nimisha selected Hope for Children as the company’s chosen ‘good cause’ for the year after being impressed with its innovative way of tackling health issues and promoting better eating and exercise at school.

The charity’s logo will be proudly displayed on all packaging and 1p will be donated from every pack sold.

“As a start-up business we know we’re not going to bring in hundreds of thousands of pounds to start off with, but we can make a difference and hopefully grow with Hope for Children as our brand matures,” continued Nimisha.

“In addition to the fundraising, we will also be looking to support their other activities, including the Big Playdate, where playing together and having fun has never been so beneficial.”

Murielle Maupoint, Chief Executive of Hope for Children, added her support: “Both Hope for Children and Nim’s Fruit Crisps are on a mission to ensure that children remain healthy and are therefore able to experience a happy and positive childhood.

“Nimisha’s passion for healthy snacks and her brand came across incredibly strongly and will suit our ambitious philosophy and determination to make a difference.”

Nim’s fruit and vegetable crisps, which are fat, gluten and dairy free, are manufactured at its BRC-accredited facility in Sittingbourne, with up to 70% of the produce sourced from British farmers.

Over £300,000 has been invested in installing fruit washers, slicers, peelers and a state-of-the-art drying machine to produce in excess of 140,000 tons of crisps every year.

The healthy snack is already making headlines, securing New Best Product title at Foodex 2016 and SME Innovation of the Year at the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .