Main Business Activity - Wholesale manufacture and distribution of organic sandwiches, salads and soups

Project Outline - Research and feasability study into the developemnt of an in-house bakery, developing the vision of producing a range of breads into reality

Chantelle Ludski, a determined entrepreneur and founder of Fresh! Naturally Organic, developed her vision of producing a range of breads into a reality. The project has helped Chantelle get a step closer to starting production of her breads in her own in-house bakery. 

Chantelle Ludski had always had a keen interest in good quality food and drink. Having originally trained as a lawyer Chantelle worked for several years as a counsel in the food and drinks sector. It was here that her passion for food grew along with her appetite for entrepreneurial projects. After helping to launch a South African café called Springbok, she herself took the plunge and opened her own organic café in London called Fresh!  

Fresh! experienced huge success from the moment it opened in September 1999 and was considered Britain’s first organic café.  Chantelle received many awards for Fresh! and its creations including the Soil Association’s Organic Business Person of the Year. However, Chantelle soon saw the potential for growth in other areas of the market, in particular the distribution of her products through food and retail outlets. By 2003 she had transformed her business from a successful organic café into a wholesale manufacturer and distributor of organic sandwiches, salads and soups and re-branded the business as Fresh! Naturally Organic. 

Chantelle realised early on that she must differentiate herself from her competitors in the increasingly competitive organic sector. This drove her to begin investigating the possibility of producing Fresh! Naturally Organic's own range of breads. “We wanted some innovation in our bread products” explains Chantelle “we didn’t just want a bog standard wholemeal sliced loaf that came off the end of a run that everybody else was getting”. In search of guidance and answers to the many technical questions she had, Chantelle applied for the Knowledgebase Collaboration project, where she was introduced to Simon Doff, a food industry specialist.

Simon helped Chantelle conduct a feasibility study to compare the cost of producing bread in-house with purchasing it from suppliers. From this they were able to determine the scope of the bakery operation in terms of current requirements and future expansion. He also helped her prepare a budget and floor plan of the proposed factory layout. Chantelle says she is keen to keep working with Simon, “the feasibility study was the initial part, now we’re looking at the next part which is the actualisation of the bakery”. 

Chantelle is realistic that these things take time to become a reality but she says, “these guys came in, did the job and did it fast, without their help we’d still be at the idea stage”. She's excited about the future development of Fresh! Naturally Organic and feels opening her own in-house bakery will set her apart from her competitors. “From a sandwich company's point of view the benefits of having control of the process and production are enormous. It will also hopefully help to strengthen our brand in the market place”.