In this episode of the What’s Your Stori?, James speaks with Jessica, founder of Spuddy Lovely; a Swansea-based jacket potato business run alongside her mother and best friend, Ebony. Jess shares how she worked in childcare and hospitality from age 15, returned to work during maternity, and how her son Oscar’s diagnosis with craniosynostosis and the financial pressures around his major skull operation became a turning point that pushed her to build a business she could control.
Jess explains how she chose jacket potatoes as a healthier, high-demand alternative to a burger van, validated the idea through local feedback, and began with a converted horsebox (inspired by another local horsebox business). She details sourcing the horsebox from Great Yarmouth, fitting it out with help from Sean and her father-in-law, creating early branding, and developing the name “Spuddy Lovely” from the phrase “bloody lovely.”
They discuss the realities of starting up in hospitality - funding, sourcing stock, navigating licenses, and the lack of formal support. Along with the importance of relationships with other small businesses. After just over a year with the horsebox, Jess moved into a shop in Gorseinon, Swansea, influenced by her dad’s advice to test the waters first and reduce overhead risk. She reflects on learning to improve work-life balance while running the shop, adjusting opening hours around her son, and building customer loyalty through service and a fun, Welsh-culture-led brand.
Jess shares popular menu items like her chicken curry spud and rotating daily specials (including cheeseburger and taco spuds), explains her simple pen-and-paper ordering system, and talks about future ambitions such as opening another shop and eventually operating in motorway services. The conversation also touches on the current economic pressures on UK businesses, staffing challenges, and their shared experience at the Swansea Bay Business Awards, where Jess was Highly Commended for Young Person of the Year. The episode ends with Jess naming Freddie Mercury as the story she’d most like to hear and pointing listeners to Spuddy Lovely on Instagram, Facebook, and Google.
00:00 Welcome to What’s Your Story (Podcast intro)
00:33 Meet Jess from Spuddy Lovely: award-winning spud vibes
01:19 What is Spuddy Lovely? The brand, the team, and the fun factor
03:11 Jess’s backstory: early jobs, childcare, and the pull toward food
06:01 The turning point: Oscar’s diagnosis and the push to go self-employed
08:47 From burger van to jacket potatoes: finding a gap in the market
11:44 Getting the horsebox: the Great Yarmouth mission
14:16 Building the business: fitting out the box, logo glow-up & naming Spuddy Lovely
17:46 Real-world challenges: money, licenses, and learning from other small businesses
22:05 From horsebox to shop: testing the waters, loyal customers, and staffing realities
25:22 Hiring, Team Culture & Why Customer Service Makes or Breaks You
26:07 Keeping It in the Family: Working with Mum (and Wife!)
27:57 How Jess Hires: Personality Over Qualifications
29:23 One Year in the Shop: Winging It, Specials & Daily Problem-Solving
30:56 Lessons Learned: Burnout, Boundaries & Work–Life Balance
33:41 What’s Next? More Shops, Service Stations & Big Spud Dreams
35:35 Menu Talk: Bestsellers, Daily Specials & Old-School Pen-and-Paper Orders
38:01 Awards Night Stories: Swansea Bay Business Awards & “Swansea Paul”
44:18 Networking, Tendering & The Reality of ‘Who You Know’
47:01 Freddie Mercury, Favourite Queen Track & Final Wrap-Up
