Member Article

World cuisine and ingredients specialists, Feast Box and Red Rickshaw appoint Liam Howard-Jones as Head of Growth

Feast Box and sister company Red Rickshaw boosts its senior team and showcases intent for strong market expansion across 2022 with the recent appointment of Liam Howard-Jones as Head of Growth.

Offering something completely unique to the market, the global cuisine and ingredients specialists mark an exciting new phase for both businesses with the hire of Howard-Jones to fuel growth within the industry. Feast Box – the world food recipe box, brings discovery back to everyday cooking, providing customers with fresh produce and ingredients from across the globe. Whilst Red Rickshaw is the UK’s largest online global ingredient grocer, supplying Feast Box with rare and exciting products, alongside a wholesale business arm - providing fresh produce and ingredients to prestigious Michelin-starred restaurants and popular street-food spots across the UK.

Bringing a wealth of commercial experience, Howard-Jones joins from Virgin Experience Days where he spent seven years working his way up to Head of Marketing. Beginning his journey with the company as it started its digital growth, Howard-Jones successfully built the department bringing in a talented team of 20 marketeers – successfully orchestrating a huge 350% growth during his time on board.

Prior to his career in marketing, Howard-Jones worked in a kitchen as a keen foodie with a love for cooking and ran a personal food blog. Now combining his marketing skillset with personal passion, Howard-Jones looks to propel both businesses into a new period of success, taking everything up a gear to rival others currently dominating the category.

Speaking on both businesses, Howard-Jones said: “What I love about Feast Box and Red Rickshaw is that they are two different offerings, that tie together perfectly. Feast Box provides consumers with an exciting, at-home recipe kit full of new and unique products, giving them the confidence to cook with unusual foods and flavours. Red Rickshaw, a proven expert in importing incredible ingredients and produce from around the world, is then on hand for customers to turn to and become regular buyers of those unusual but delicious new ingredients. It’s a fun, educational experience for food lovers and I find it such an exciting offering.”

Now four months into his role with Feast Box and Red Rickshaw, Howard-Jones is introducing a new brand strategy, ensuring the entire team is aligned across both businesses. Howard-Jones will be implementing new processes to ensure automation and efficiency to help further scale the business, whilst focusing on customer retention. He’ll also be exploring new avenues for the business to trial in line with consumer demands, such as Feast Box’s recent tests in ready meal production combining high-end, quality dining with convenience, and Red Rickshaw’s move from predominantly Indian produce and flavours - to a new, wider focus on hard-to-find ingredients from across the world. Howard-Jones added:

“The business has already proven its growth organically and is now in a position where we can really scale both models. Our product is solid, and we fiercely believe in it, so we want to scale up but in a way that works for our customers. We’re ready to ramp things up and have big expectations, looking to grow Feast Box by 150%. We know it’s a busy market, especially with restaurants now also doing their own kits following the pandemic, but we will ensure consumer cut through by bringing an element of excitement for customers - as they learn and explore new cultures through our products.”

Speaking on Howard-Jones’ appointment, Founder of Red Rickshaw and Feast Box, Jyoti Patel, commented: “Liam has been a crucial hire for us, he brings fantastic experience with him and knows exactly how to scale businesses like ours. We’re confident that bringing him into this new role of Head of Growth will really help develop both company offerings. As a team, we have huge ambitions for 2022, wanting to become the go to destination for people that enjoy experiences through food. With Liam on board, I’m confident we will achieve this and look forward to this time next year when we’ve exceeded all expectations.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Courtney Thomas .