When Victoria Prince started Energy Ball Recipes, she was working from her kitchen table, testing recipes and brand ideas alongside her marketing day job. She launched the business on Kickstarter and, within a year, had secured an exclusive range at Selfridges, dispatched hundreds of recipe kits around the world, been approached by Dragons’ Den producers, featured on national and international TV, radio and in the press, supplied top athletes and chefs, and received two award nominations.

Victoria tapped into two of the UK’s strongest retail trends: plant-based food and subscription boxes. Her timing was strong: the UK plant-based food market is now worth an estimated £1.5 billion, while the UK subscription box sector is valued at more than £1 billion annually. Her approach offers a practical blueprint for anyone marketing a vegan food business from home. (See our step-by-step guide on how to set up a subscription box service).

Here, we look at the woman behind one of the UK’s first vegan snack kits and how she turned an idea into a growing business.

“Having a great idea is only a very small part of making your business a success,” says Victoria. The Nottingham-based founder launched Energy Ball Recipes in 2019 after switching to a plant-based diet to improve her health. With a background in marketing, she was frustrated by the lack of fresh, unprocessed vegan snacks she could pick up and eat on the go.

“That is when I started making energy balls – bite-sized mouthfuls of seeds, nuts and fruit all combined together in a flavoursome snack. I started to experiment with flavours and ways of keeping them fresh. Then I thought, wouldn’t it be handy if you could have all the right ingredients to make 30 of these treats delivered to your door, so you don’t have to buy lots of big bags of expensive ingredients when you only need a little bit of each one? That’s when Energy Ball Recipes was born.”

Starting out by making boxes for family and friends, Victoria soon found an appetite for the concept. She converted a barn at her parents’ house into a development kitchen, and the idea grew from a side project into a business that demanded more and more of her time.

“I am not going to say it was easy. There were lots of ups and downs along the way,” she recalls. “But to be where we are now is such an achievement and a great feeling. It has given me invaluable experience in getting an idea to market, which I can now use to help others, and a fantastic product which is selling online across the country.”

So how did she do it?

By taking advantage of every opportunity that came her way, as well as creating a few of her own.

“The idea nearly never got through the Kickstarter stage, because I considered taking it off before I’d even had chance to start! Luckily, I have a great team of people behind me and my family were very supportive in helping me to see that it was possible.

“For me, the people you choose to surround yourself with can have a huge impact on your success.”

Victoria spent a lot of time networking and meeting like-minded business people who could help her share and develop her ideas.

Simply networking and being in the right place at the right time is how she got her big break with Selfridges. Attending shows and events, Victoria built up an extensive list of contacts and ambassadors who shared her belief in the unique idea, and it was at a food trade show that a Selfridges buyer approached her to find out more.

“A lot of opportunities have come to me just by having the courage to get out there and talk about my product,” she says.

“I spent a lot of time getting to know my audience, making sure my message was right and sharing it as far as I could. It is why we have featured in regional TV and radio, national newspaper The Sun, the UK’s largest vegan publication Vegan Food and Living and the vegan TV show Veggie TV, amongst others.”

With a strong social media and PR presence, Victoria has also built connections with influencers and bloggers in her field, including top Foodie 100 rated bloggers, vegan influencers – who are one of her key markets – and even Olympic athletes.

“Knowing your audience and taking the time to promote your product in the right way can really pay off.”

High points?

“The whole journey has been a rollercoaster and there have been so many times when I thought this couldn’t get better,” Victoria says.

“Each piece of national coverage was definitely a high, and it was great to see our brand in the likes of Marie Claire and Women magazine. Having Olympic diver Leon Taylor share his belief in the snacks was also a memorable moment, as was obviously having Selfridges create an exclusive range for their online store.

“It has been a really exciting journey and I have enjoyed embracing every opportunity that comes our way.”

What one tip would you share with anyone looking to start a business?

“Don’t be afraid to let the business evolve and to follow the opportunities that come your way.

“Running a business can be lonely, but by having a good team around you it can help to make decisions easier. There are so many people out there willing to help and give you advice, so take advantage of it and make the most of every opportunity to tell people why your idea is great.”

So, what next?

Having reached this point, Victoria began receiving requests from other businesses wanting to develop their brands and products using the experience she had gained. She now advises small businesses on how to use marketing, PR, social media, networking and similar techniques to build visibility and find customers.

For founders looking to follow a similar path, the lessons from Energy Ball Recipes are clear: know your audience, build a strong support network, and be ready to promote your product at every opportunity. If you are planning your own subscription-based venture, start with our guide on how to set up a subscription box service, and connect with other founders through women’s business networks.