Ben Jones
Ben Jones studied BA(Hons) Sociology at UWE. Just seven years and 100,000 customers later, his company Graze.com has a turnover of £19m and is transforming society’s attitude to snacking – one box at a time.
A hunger to succeed
As a recent graduate with a keen entrepreneurial spirit, Ben founded Thomson Charles Jones in 2005. This first venture specialised in digital media, industrial design, and brand communications and gave him a taste for generating new business, project management, and creative direction.
But it was his busy working lifestyle that became the inspiration for a new business that would change Ben’s career forever. ‘Chatting with friends, we realised we were all sick of convenience snacking on unhealthy impulse buys. We all thought it was best to eat little and often, and wanted healthy, wholesome food that was fun to eat.'
A fresh idea
And with that, Graze.com was born. Graze delivers hand-picked, nutritionally balanced snack boxes – direct to your desk. Personalised to your tastes, and packed with foods that release energy slowly, each recyclable box contains four individual snacks which help you to eat healthily throughout the day and avoid the dreaded 3pm slump.
‘I eat everything in moderation’ says Ben. ‘At Graze, we have an 80/20 rule of thumb – if we eat well 80% of the time, it’s fine to treat ourselves 20% of the time.’ This principle guides the product development team in creating indulgent, natural, treats that avoid artificial preservatives or additives.
Doing it all
The team’s dedication to getting the product absolutely right has led them to make a decision that’s very unusual within the food sector, and one which proved to be their biggest challenge – they decided to do everything themselves. ‘The most important thing for us is that our customers are happy when they open their boxes, so we’re more than happy to do it’ says Ben.
This means they’re in control of everything from product development to retailing. Ben sights manufacturing as a particularly challenging aspect of their development – not surprising, given that they now produce a staggering 135,000 boxes a week, or half a million individual snacks.
With these challenges conquered, it’s safe to say that the hard work has paid off. Graze is now a household name with a large and dedicated customer base – something Ben realised when watching England play South Africa at Twickenham last year: ‘I heard the announcer say that there were 82,000 people in the stadium that day. I suddenly realised that we had enough subscribers to fill that stadium and then some – that was a real wow moment for me.'
Tips from the top
So what are Ben’s secrets for success? 'If you truly believe in your product, are willing to take a risk and surround yourself with amazing people, that’s all you’ll ever need.’
For Ben, success seems to be something of a bonus; ‘for me, to wake up every day and be proud of what I’m doing is very important.’ We think Graze is certainly a business to be proud of.
Page last updated 1 November 2011