At Kaleido, we are on a mission to make healthy playful! We have reinvented the most boring, but healthiest food of all: the salad. We do salads you eat like a sandwich.
How did it all begin?
Everything started with a £30 John Lewis voucher my husband and I spent on equipment to make the traditional Vietnamese summer rolls. While rolling, I told him it would be amazing idea to wrap any salad in rice paper so that you could eat it like you eat a sandwich. We got excited, he encouraged me to resign from my corporate job and make it happen. And here we are!!
What sets your business apart?
First what we do: we created a new food category called salad rolls: Salads you eat like a sandwich! Then how we do it. What you see is what you get! We believe in a world where we can buy prepared food knowing that it contains no nasties, has been made in good conditions, and costs a fair price. Our product is transparent and our way of doing business is transparent.
What is the concept behind your business or the problem you’re solving?
Kaleido is a company that aims to reinvent how to eat healthily. Lots of people believe that eating healthy has to be restrictive and boring. We want to show being healthy IS fun, and can be tasty. We want everyone to enjoy eating without feeling guilty!
Where to next/What is your brand vision?
We want Kaleido to be available everywhere you need something healthy, exciting and/or convenient.
Laura Mimoun
Founder of
KALEIDO
What do you feel passionate about/what drives you?
I am passionate about changing the way people eat; making ‘real people’ like you or me really actually enjoy eating healthy food. It should not be complicated to find proper healthy food made in full transparency.
Share an example of early life that has shaped you?
I did thousand of diets which really messed around my relationship with food. It is because I know how difficult it is to eat healthily that I can came up with surprisingly simple innovations that are good for you.
Highlights of your business journey so far?
Creating a product that is perfectly true to our vision. Winning the gold medal for best innovation at lunch and being awarded best independent food from Women’s Health magazine. Building a solid team of rainbow makers and sales associates. Being the most popular pop up ever in Selfridges and securing a permanent corner there. Opening our 2nd grab & go location and delivering 2.5 more sales than the previous tenant. Being backed by industry experts.
Key lessons you have learned along the way?
Sometimes you don’t see any light. For a couple of days you may have non stop problems or disappointments. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. You just need to be patient. Those who succeed are those that never give up.
Best piece of advice you have received?
Focus on winning, not on fighting. I wake up to win and this drives my creativity.
Advice to an aspiring entrepreneur or woman just starting her career?
Just take small steps. It is all about starting and then rest will follow.
What funding route have you chosen for your business and why?
We started the business with our own money. I believe it is critical to show traction before reaching out to investors.
Some of the challenges you have faced and how you overcame them?
Every day is a challenge! Chefs not turning up, fridge breaking down, lack of sleep and so on. It is all about remaining positive, working hard, being surrounded by a great network and not getting distracted from your end goal.
Why is it important to support women-led business?
There may be less women starting their own businesses or getting funds, but when women do it, they are passionate, precise, driven. I want to support women-led business because I want more women-led businesses. I believe they are amazing, especially on execution.
60
Seconds
with
Laura Mimoun
My inspiration is...
Creative chefs that can create amazing meals with very few ingredients, entrepreneurs that have succeeded but stayed humble, my family.
My greatest fear is...
To end up with a big business selling a sh** product. I will do everything I can to ensure we remain true to our values while we grow.
The most courageous thing I’ve ever done is...
To quit a very stable job that I actually enjoyed.
Guilty pleasure?
Chocolate or cheese or wine. Too many!!
Mantra you live by?
Better done than perfect.
Female role model?
Renée Elliott from Planet Organic.
Women-led brand you love?
Deliciously Ella. I am amazed by how she managed to stretch the brand to so many categories in such a short period of time and being 100% true to her values.
Top productivity tool?
I block my agenda with things I need to work on. I use Trello and use alarms.
