Building a food challenger brand with Marieke Syed from Snackzilla

• How ambitious is the vision for your business?

• Is it so big that your partner is willing to change their work to support it?

• Can you tempt one of the largest brands in your market to invest £250k in your vision?


Today’s podcast interviewee, Marieke Syed, is a purpose-driven entrepreneur with a seriously inspirational vision for her business, Snackzilla.

When Marieke’s kids were too old for healthy toddler snacks, they began to ask for unhealthy adult snacks… and she spotted a gap in the market.

4 years on, Marieke is on a mission to beat childhood obesity and give the UK’s biggest snack brands a run for their money with her lower sugar healthy snack brand for children, Snackzilla.

It is exciting times for Marieke right now with her business going from strength to strength. Having worked on her own for 4 years, she’s now just secured £250k investment and the support from the UK’s largest bakery brand, Warbuton’s, is able to take on a team and is about to launch on Ocado.

SNACKZILLA is proud to support the Change4Life campaign – their cookies have got 50% less sugar than most biscuits, they’re 
wholegrain oats, high in fibre and vegan, with no artificial sweeteners, colours, flavourings or preservatives.

Listen to this interview to learn exactly how Marieke created and grew her brand Snackzilla, what she’s learned along the way and her top pieces of advice for anyone who wants to start their own food business.




We cover:

[6:55] It was always going to be a big brand

[10:25] How Marieke raised her initial £75k with the SEIS scheme


[14:11] Why Marieke kept on tweaking the product again and again for years

[16:00] The different decisions around purpose that Marieke had to make

[20:21] What keeps Marieke sane

[28:29] How Marieke got her husband on board

[33:37] Marieke's top tips for anyone wanting to set up a food business

I hope you find my interview with Marieke as inspiring and fascinating as I did! 

Do ping me back and let me know your thoughts, I'd love to hear.

Learn more about Snackzilla here:

https://www.snackzilla.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/snackzilla_uk/

https://www.facebook.com/SNACKZILLAUK/

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Update: AMotherBrand closed its doors in March 2023.

I now help purpose-driven female entrepreneurs to create maximum impact alongside maximum wellbeing, through 1:1 coaching.

I combine my experience as a Founder, with my background in Social Entrepreneurship, Positive Psychology and ICF-Certified Coaching to help ambitious women create the flourishing life and meaningful work that they desire.

Head to https://noniewhite.com to find out more.

Social links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nonie-m-c-white/

Insta / facebook: @noniewhite_

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