Episode description
Episode description
Creating a vegan butter that actually tastes amazing is no small feat, especially when you're committed to using natural whole food ingredients. But guess what? Mairi Hilleary of Mergulo has cracked the code!Now, with listings on the high street at the likes of Whole Foods, Planet Organic, Holland and Barrett, and a host of independent grocers and delis, Mergulo Butter is proving that putting taste first in food product development is the secret sauce to winning over both consumers and stockists, whether they're vegan or not.
Mairi first reached out to Brand and Micah in the early days of Tastehead, and she joins the guys on the podcast (along with her sister and COO, Eliza) to spill the beans on the journey of bringing Mergulo to life. From crafting each block of butter by hand to expanding to more stockists and, hopefully, more mouth-watering flavours, Mairi and Eliza have taken Mergulo to new heights from their East London base.
Mairi walks us through the lightbulb moment when the idea of 'creating a game-changing vegan butter that even non-vegans crave' struck her. She dove headfirst into recipe development, drawing on her Ballymaloe training to craft something truly delicious.
Launching a new contender in a well-established food category is never easy, but in this conversation, Mairi and Eliza share some invaluable lessons they've learned about securing that first listing and staying firmly on the map.
Timestamps:
00:44 Introducing Mergulo
02:14 Developing the Recipe
04:00 The Strengths of Working with Friends and Family
06:37 Making Vegan Butter as Non-Vegans
09:50 Founder’s Story
13:22 Mergulo’s Biggest Challenge
16:14 Core Values
20:01 Behind the Name ‘Mergulo’
21:40 Versatility (Not Just a Spread)
23:22 Journey from Food Markets to 485 Holland & Barrett Stores
27:17 The Benefits of Sampling
30:43 The Future of Mergulo
31:48 Mergulo’s 5 Top Tips for Start-Ups
34:56 Wrap Up Questions and Recommendations
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Follow Brandt and Micah:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandt-maybury/
Visit https://www.tastehead.com/ to learn more
Follow Mairi:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mairi-hilleary-0a4bba108/?originalSubdomain=uk
https://www.instagram.com/mergulobutter/
Links Mentioned:
Bread and Jam Festival - https://www.breadandjamfest.com/
The Food Hub - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thefoodhubforum/
Acme Fire Cult - https://www.acmefirecult.com/
Ombra - https://www.ombrabar.restaurant/
Wells Street Kitchen - https://www.instagram.com/wellstreetkitchen/?hl=en
How To Fail - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-to-fail-with-elizabeth-day/id1407451189