Not so ‘Cuckoo’ start-up hires Greiner Packaging for debut launch

Childhood friends, Lucy Wright and Anna Mackenzie, set up the company this month after deciding to market Mackenzie’s mother’s recipe, which is made with berries, linseed and fruity compote.

The co-founders began their research and design phase one year ago and outsourced the food manufacturing to Gower View Foods based in Wales and packaging design to B&B Design.

Lunch tradeshow​

The brand has five flavors in total and saw its initial preview at tradeshow, Lunch, which had over 300 food, drink, packaging and equipment suppliers and buyers at the Business Design Center, in London, last month.  

Wright told FoodProductionDaily it would like to run in-store tasting sessions including US Whole Foods Market, among others.

“The dream is to sell our product in all the big supermarket chains​,” said Wright, co-founder/director, Cuckoo.

Gower View Foods​

“We outsourced production from the beginning to focus on sales and marketing. The most challenging part was finding a manufacturer with the right machinery​.

“Jon Lewis, director of Gower View Foods, worked with Rachel’s Organics, an organic dairy company so he knows a lot about product shelf life​.

“This was an important factor for us because the product is made from fresh ingredients and has to be kept chilled to stay in optimum condition throughout its 18 day shelf life​.”

Wright added that she and Mackenzie wanted to have a heat sealer to protect the pot so that it was air tight and the product comes with a cardboard sleeve.  

PP recycling​

“We sourced all the packaging and pots and chose Greiner in the end because of its PP content which is the best for recycling​,“ she said.

“We were sent hundreds of samples of pots to look at from different manufacturers. We have a compote layer at the bottom and we wanted that to be shown off and the design had to gain maximum exposure on the shelves because it is a new brand that no-one knows about​.”

The two friends plan to expand the brand further and thanks to the show it has received interest from shops including Planet Organic.

“We didn’t want to rush into anything too quickly and decided to do our research slowly and properly. For now, it’s about getting the brand out there and building up sales data before approaching the bigger supermarkets​,” added Wright.  

The wheat-free, low-GI 200g single-serve pot muesli includes Elderflower & Cranberry, Dark Chocolate & Sour Cherry and Mango & Coconut. It has smaller pots (90g or bespoke sizes as required) for the travel market.