Hippychick is a business devoted to family. And being run by a family – husband and wife team, Julia and Jeremy Minchin – family is always key to Hippychick’s brand values.
Supporting the development of other family businesses is something Julia and Jeremy hold dear. So when they heard about Pots for Tots, a home-made food delivery service set up by 29 year old Flora Chambers, they were delighted to collaborate.
Flora’s business, which is now 2 years old, owes its meteoric rise to success in large part to keeping it in the family. Flora’s father, a business consultant helped with the investment process to move the business from her Balham kitchen to a unit where the meals can be professionally and safely prepared by qualified chefs. Flora’s mother is an accountant by trade and manages all Flora’s books. Her love of interior design has also ensured that Flora’s state of the art business kitchen is not only entirely ergonomic, but worthy of feature in the finest interior design magazines. Her sister, an established photographer by profession, currently with John Lewis, has offered her skills to Flora’s marketing materials and her keen eye has been instrumental in the development of the superbly designed Pots for Tots website.
And it doesn’t end there. Flora’s husband, Charlie, is a digital marketing specialist who has lent Flora a helping hand in marketing the business through digital channels as well as Instagram, the platform where her target market lies, and which now boasts a loyal 10k following.
Last but certainly not least is Toby, Flora’s adorable 3-year-old son and who is the raison d’etre for the Pots for Tots business and is Pots for Tots’ Master Taster.
The lightbulb moment for Pots for Tots came when Flora was weaning Toby. ‘There literally wasn’t anything on the market that Toby seemed to truly relish. I was working at the time, and simply didn’t have the hours in the day to create the food he liked from scratch says Flora.
How marvellous would it be to have a homemade meal in a pot in the freezer, which I could just whip out and heat up for Toby when I got home?
And that was the inspiration for Pots for Tots – meals that are designed to go in your kids’ mouths rather than on the floor or over their head – purely and simply because they taste good.
As Toby’s language was limited at that age, we had to rely on signals to read his approval. But it was pretty easy to decipher. An open mouth and lots of hand gesticulating meant ‘I like it’ and a bowl on the floor meant he didn’t.
Pots for Tots dishes are based on those I loved as a child. I have such good memories of my mother preparing meals in our kitchen. The delicious smells of a potato crust forming on a cottage pie, or the rich flavour of tomatoes bubbling in a Bolognese sauce are ones that I associate with the best of times. And that’s my philosophy with Pots for Tots. I truly believe that if you introduce children as early as possible in life to good food, it’s something that will stay with them and help them to make healthy choices for the rest of their lives.
Kids palates are far more sophisticated than we think so it’s important not to dumb down with bland food with no texture. The proof of this is in our current menu which includes a Coconut Fish Curry as well as a Chilli Con Carne – both best sellers in the Pots for Tots collection.
Here at Pots for Tots we know that parents look forward to feeding their children food that taste good, so they can secretly tuck into the leftovers. Pots for Tots will not disappoint parents either. In fact, while I’m at work in the kitchen, I quite often pull one out of the freezer for lunch. I just add a bit of salt, as the Pots are never seasoned.
Although I’m now a pescatarian I do recognise not everyone else is and I do use meat as an ingredient in the Pots. But is has to be the absolute best. It has to be free-range and is sourced from suppliers we both know and trust.’
When we asked Flora if there were any other members of the family involved with the business worthy of note, she racks her brains. Oh yes of course, my mum’s black Labrador, Rafa. She reports that when she’s baby-sitting Toby and a morsel of this pot accidentally hits the floor, the result is always met with enthusiastic chop smacking and enthusiastic tail wagging. ‘Though Rafa eats pretty much anything, it’s still rewarding to get yet another seal of approval from a much loved and trusted family member.
Here’s how Hippychick will be working with Pots for Tots during July:
With all Pots for Tots orders placed in July you will receive a 25% off Hippychick voucher. The first 100 orders will also receive a free Bumkins Sleeved Bib from Hippychick.
With all Hippychick orders placed in July, you will receive a 20% off Pots for Tots voucher. The first 50 orders will also receive a free Pots for Tots tea towel, printed with hand painted watercolour vegetables.