THE business startup story of the Pip and Nut all-natural nut butter mastermind Pip Murray, is among the most inspiring we’ve encountered in AGENT. The narrative has propelled her from tentative recipe experimentation in her kitchen, through fledgling production development in a shed, to the shelves of some of the most select stores in the UK and Ireland within three years.

Pip is a running enthusiast, who, in her search for healthy snacks that dovetailed with her lifestyle, found a gap in the nut butter sector due to the number of brands that contained unhealthy palm oils and refined sugars, and healthy varieties that were lacking in the brand marketing area.

Founded in January 2013 and launched in January 2015, the brand has grown steadily and is now stocked in some 2,300 UK and Irish stores, including, Selfridges, Sainsbury’s, Holland and Barrett, Virgin Active and Gymbox.

Pip and Nut has just rolled out two new flavours, Crunchy Maple Peanut and Cashew Butter. And the company aims to not only increase its range in its existing UK and Irish stores, but also expand into European territories. Some commentators predict that the company could hit more than £3.3m in turnover by the end of the year.

Pip Murray thankfully cleared some time in her busy schedule to settle in to the AGENT Startup Hotseat and answer our questions about the story of Pip and Nut so far.

1. Very simply, what does your company do?

Pip & Nut makes all-natural nut butter that is free from refined sugars and absolutely no palm oil. As a brand, we’re here to disrupt the perception that health food has to be boring or bland, and instead use our engaging brand and utterly delicious flavours to encourage more people to choose a healthy option.

2. What was the ‘Eureka!’ moment?

“…an hour later I quit my job at the Science Museum…”

There wasn’t one ‘Eureka’ moment as such. When I first started playing around making nut butter in my kitchen, I would take about 100 jars to sell at Maltby Street Market in Bermondsey every weekend. That was probably the first time I realised that people really did love the product and there was a demand for more. Another key moment was when I found out I had won Escape the City’s ‘Escape to the Shed’ competition for new entrepreneurs. I entered this on a bit of a whim and the prize was the opportunity to live rent-free for three months—the catch was that it was in a shed! That phone call saying I had won the competition was the moment I realised that I actually had to go ahead with my plans. In fact, an hour later I quit my job at the Science Museum and spent the summer building up to my first investment round on Crowdcube.

3. What were you doing before starting?

I was working at the Science Museum as a producer in children’s theatre—so nothing to do with food or business! It’s safe to say it’s been a massive learning curve as everything has been new. However I’m a big believer in just getting out there and doing it, and there’s no quicker way to learn than on the job.

4. How are you funded?

I’ve done a real mix of financing for Pip & Nut: crowdfunding, equity and debt. The first major round was on Crowdcube, before the brand launched; I managed to raise £120k from 80 investors in just nine days. The money was used to fund the first production run and maintain healthy cash balance as we scaled the business in our first year. Since then I have raised a further £550k in debt and equity financing from private angels.

5. What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs starting their own company?

It sounds obvious but firstly spend some time really mastering what it is your company does—whether that’s a product or a service-based business. You need to be confident that you can do a better job than your competitors, and that you’re actually adding value to the industry that you’re entering. Secondly, seek as much advice as you can from knowledgable people within your industry. I have a couple of mentors who have been absolutely invaluable—they are always at the end of the phone when I need to sense-check an idea, or run through a problem.

6. What item would you never leave the house without?

My bike—because otherwise I wouldn’t get anywhere! I love cycling around London and the 40-minute journey to and from the office really helps clear my head.

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