In Episode 26, I speak to Jenny Costa, Founder of Rubies in the Rubble.

Inspired by her childhood on a Scottish farm and her experience seeing surplus fruit and vegetables go to waste in farmers markets, Jenny decided to launch her condiments brand Rubies in the Rubble. Rubies in the Rubble takes unwanted fresh fruit and vegetables and transforms them into our favourite condiments: from chili mayos and chutneys to ketchup (even Banana flavoured ketchup!)

During the podcast, Jenny shares her challenges and lessons as she scales Rubies from a little stall at a farmers markets to a brand that is stocked in supermarkets chains across the UK. Jenny brings her enthusiasm and excitement about her brand on the podcast; I really enjoyed our conversation and hope you will too!

Listen to our conversation to learn about her journey!

Here is a summary of our conversation:

Follow @rubiesintherubble or head to their website: https://rubiesintherubble.com/

An individual that Jenny thinks is Up to Some Good: Paul Polman, ex-CEO of Unilever, Co-founder of IMAGINE (https://imagine.one/)

*Timestamps:

2:48 Growing up on a Scottish Farm

4:54  Quitting Finance Career to launch Rubies in the Rubble

6:31  Food waste’s huge carbon footprint

10:03 The step by step process of producing a conscious condiment

12:37 The double whammy of COVID and Brexit

17:40 Balancing the challenges of a new business while doing good

22:06 what does banana ketchup taste like?

23:19 Using condiments to remind consumers to waste less

26:48 Choosing not to raise funding immediately & Rubies’ humble start