Mushmii

Founder

Lucie Ware

Profile

I graduated from Manchester University in Politics and then went on to work in journalism and as a supplier and project manager. However I always knew that I wanted to follow my passion and build a career doing something creative in food. I have always enjoyed making fresh dips at home for social occasions and after being disappointed with the ones you can purchase decided to do something about it.

I entered the 2007 Think Business annual enterprise competition - Eye 4 Enterprize. Amazingly I won, which gave me the incentive and funding I needed to take the business forward.

What does your company do?

Mushmii manufactures and distributes fresh dips made with healthy ingredients and no additives.

What has ThinkBusiness@Bradford done to help you develop?

Whilst I had won the Eye for Enterprise award, and created some unique and tasty fresh dips, I had no experience of setting up and running a business. I needed help to develop packaging, find a manufacturer, as well as some legal and marketing support. This is where Think Business really assisted me; helping me to develop a solid foundation to the business, as well as giving me guidance in preparing pitches to potential suppliers and funding bodies. Their support really kept me going and gave me a focus with which to keep pursuing my goals.

What's been your biggest success?

I have had a number of major success whilst on the support programme. Winning the Eye for Enterprise competition gave me a great boost in the initial stages.

I am currently in positive discussions with key buyers, such as Waitrose, regarding stocking Mushmii Dips and I am working with a manufacturer trailing the development of my dips on a large scale. They are well known for producing quality food ranges for chefs such as Jamie Oliver and are really focused on taste, innovation and delivering food of the highest quality, which is vitally important to future success of Mushmii.

What's been the hardest thing you've had to cope with?

It is difficult when others don't share your enthusiasm and vision for what you want to achieve. Setting up your own business is hard and you have to be resilient and keep bouncing back.

What advice would you give other new businesses?

Do your research. You might have a great idea and passion for what you are doing, but just make sure there are people out there who want to buy what you are providing.

What plans do you have for the future of Mushmii?

I want to see Mushmii dips on the shelves of major food retailers in the UK.

Ultimately I would like the brand to stand for fresh tasty food which means that I will look at extending the range in the near future.

What would you like to see from ThinkBusiness@Bradford in the future?

The support they have given me has been great, they have helped me progress Mushmii from an idea to a real business in 12 months. The only thing that could have improved it would have been if we had found a mentor who had experience of successfully developing a fresh food brand earlier. Think Business did offer this service however these mentors are hard to find and it was just before I was due to leave the programme they found one!