A Chat with Hannah McCollum, Founder at Sustainable Food Brand: ChicP

ChicP is a sustainable food brand producing nutritious Hummus and Veggie Bites, inspired by the quintessential flavours from the English garden. Driven by a passion to change people’s attitudes to food preparation, consumption and waste, ChicP encourages individuals to think differently about the way they eat.

Championing local ingredients, ChicP brings healthy and colorful plant-based dips and snacks to the plate. Each product incorporates British flavours, taking people on a journey into their back garden, one bite at a time. Founded on a passionate commitment to reduce food waste and eating healthier food, ChicP products are Vegan, Gluten-Free and 100% natural.
 
 
SHOP | ChicP - hummus made from Surplus Vegetables
 

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

 
I began my company, ChicP, in 2016, as a direct result of my concern with food waste; this was finally starting to be addressed on a larger scale, a hugely encouraging development that gave me the confidence to build my business. I was determined to raise awareness about just how bad food waste in this country was, at every stage of the food chain.

I was most inspired to start a food business because of how much food waste I was witnessing. I saw food waste at large corporate events, parties, sports events, supermarket bins, on farms and in the home. Food waste at home is one of the largest contributors to this vast problem that is contributing up to 1/3 of global greenhouse emissions (internet not working where I am and need to check this fact).

I absolutely love hummus and making dips. I am a private chef, part-time, and have catered all over Europe and the UK cooking for large families or friends gatherings. I love cooking creative dishes using local, seasonal produce and what I find in the cupboards. As a chef, I hated throwing food away, so I would always turn leftover vegetable dishes into dips and hummus for lunch the next day.

This was one of the reasons I decided to produce hummus. It’s a hugely versatile product and a great way to incorporate surplus vegetables!
 

 

How has the company evolved during the pandemic?

 
During the pandemic we received a huge lift in retail sales and online sales but a total slump in food service sales. Now things are back to normal again, our online sales are slower but retail and food service are going and we are back to looking at NPD. We were very lucky in lockdown on the whole so there hasnt been that much that’s evolved but just getting back to the usual way of working again.
 

What can we hope to see from ChicP in the future?

 
We have lots of NPD in the pipeline which we hope will be listed with a big customer so that we can get it off the ground running. We’re looking to launch a kids hummus, which we have some very fun branding for, and hopefully some other NPD which we probably have to keep to ourselves for the moment.
Our 300g sharing pot of hummus is about to launch on Ocado which is the next exciting product from us on the market along with our new branding! All will be out end of Feb!