Written by Helen Tarver.
Posted on February 22, 2021.

We're probably all a little guilty of indulging in one or two more snacks in our weekly eating than perhaps in previous times. But who can blame us?

Susan Gafsen and her co-founder and sister in law, Juliette, wanted to try and give us some healthier, but still delicious, choices for when we get the urge to nibble. We caught up with Susan to find out more about Pep & Lekker and the story of their delicious, healthy and original treats.

Susan, for those people who haven't come across Pep & Lekker before, how would you sum up what you do?

We make healthy baked snacks bursting with goodness. With over 14 lightly baked, all-natural, allergy-free ingredients, we have created a snack somebody can eat any time of the day or night.

 Where does your love of food come from?

I have always loved cooking. My mother loved to cook and entertain, and I was always her 'little helper'. I studied 'Food & Nutrition' at school, a fun and small respite at a very academic school.

However, to be honest, I am quite a simple cook. It is Juliette who has the real skill, and she is incredible in the kitchen. She is naturally very creative and devised the recipes for the seed snacks.

How did you decide to go into business together?

I had been in the City for 25 years as a lawyer and had long been looking for a change. When I did my MBA, I realised that I had always wanted to start my own business but never had the courage. I knew that I didn’t want to go it alone but needed to find someone I could completely trust and had skills to complement my own.

It was my good fortune that Juliette was also looking for a change from her career as a psychotherapist. The timing was perfect. 

Who inspires your approach to how you run your business?

I started the business as I wanted to make a positive difference to people's lives, and support healthy eating. My real inspiration is my family. I want my children to be proud of me and to leave a legacy. However, neither of them have shown much inclination to join the business or help me.

You actually started your business in soup. What are the biggest lessons you learned from that experience?

We learnt a lot as we had never worked in the food sector before. The difference between cooking for your family and cooking in a commercial kitchen is huge.

We hired a kitchen in Park Royal and did it all ourselves. Lugging 25kg of onions, standing on your feet for 15 hours and moving 50-litre pans of boiling liquid is not easy. I have the utmost respect for chefs who work long days in kitchens in all weathers. It is extremely hard work!

We also learnt about the challenges of chilled distribution with a short shelf-life product. It was very hard to make a premium soup product as many people perceive soup as something cheap, and those that care about soup make it at home.

Ultimately we learnt a lot about ourselves. We are strong and determined women who can cope in difficult situations and have great respect for each other. When things get tough, we can see the funny side and know how to have a good laugh.

We have some fantastic new ideas and would love to come back to soup one day. But it's a very difficult and competitive market.

Why did you decide to make your focus on healthy snacks?

When we first started, we were making the soups with the seed snacks, and everyone loved the snacks. We had incredible feedback, and we realised that they were completely different from any other snacks on the market.

Most baked snacks are made with oats or nuts, and there are no high protein and fibre, and low in sugar and carbs ones like ours. Unlike soups, healthy snacks are a growing market, and I was fed up with hearing people say 'I make my own soups'. You definitely cannot make snacks like our seed snacks at home.

How do you approach developing new products and flavours?

Juliette has a natural talent for cooking. She spends a lot of time in her own kitchen, experimenting with new flavours and trawling the internet for new recipes and products. She is our starting point.

Then we work with an expert in food development and the trained chefs in our artisan bakery to make sure that we have got the recipe right and it can work we scale it up to production levels.

Tell us about your ingredients in the seed snacks

We use 14 all-natural ingredients, and many of them are organic and premium. We are more expensive than a packet of crisps, popped peas or seeds. So it's been challenging to get the price right but not cut any corners.

It's our challenge to prove to people that we are value for money. You're not just getting a snack but a bag full of goodness and nourishment.

Obviously, your snacks are good on their own, but what else do you suggest people could do with them? Is there a favourite in your home?

What we think is unique is the snacks' versatility. They're great on their own or with soups, dips and salads. My eldest son loves them with hummus, my husband adds his to soup, and I love them in a salad or on their own.

As a small food producer, what's been the most challenging part of your journey?

Getting the packaging right, for two reasons.

Firstly, we have always had a challenge as to what we put on the pack, as we tick so many boxes. We didn't want to clutter our packaging with too many messages, as this is confusing.  Knowing which things will really resonate with your customers is difficult.

Secondly, choosing the right packaging material from an environmental perspective. From the outset, we always wanted to do the right thing and avoid plastic.

The first bags we chose were paper. But you couldn't see the print very well, and the shelf life was not great. The second material was fully compostable, but it crinkled really badly and looked awful on the shelf. Also, most people recycle rather than compost.

Our current material is fully recyclable but does, unfortunately, include some plastic. However, a new material is coming to the market that is paper-based, fully compostable and recyclable. It is good for shelf life and has no plastic. This sounds perfect, and I cannot wait to trial it. We are constantly trying to do the best we can with our limited available resources.

Have there ever been any kitchen disasters as you developed products?

Goodness me, yes! But I am glad to say that these were in the early days.

I think a low point was when I decided to bake a large quantity of seed snacks at home, and they stuck to the greaseproof paper.

Several hours and very sore hands later, I managed to salvage enough stock for the event we were going to. I can laugh now, but it was very painful at the time.

What was the moment when you thought "we did it"? What was your measure for that?

Ooh, there have been lots of milestones along the journey!

Great listings with different retailers, winning awards and receiving wonderful feedback from customers.

The greatest moment for me was when we found the perfect artisan bakery to make our snacks. Juggling family, working in the kitchen, and growing the business was an incredible strain. It has been brilliant to hand over to wonderful artisan bakers who know what they are doing. The proof is in the consistency and quality of the product.

What's been your favourite discovery (or rediscovery) during lockdown?

On a business level, lockdown has been challenging, but it has given us time to reflect and improve our ranges.

On a personal level, online HIT Pilates classes have been excellent in helping me to develop my core. Not quite a six pack but not bad for a woman in her mid 50's. Maybe I won't have to ditch my bikinis yet after all!

How have you been able to support your local community during the Covid crisis?

We have been giving free snacks to our local hospitals to nourish frontline workers from the first lockdown onwards. Over Christmas, we donated snacks for hampers where all the proceeds were used to feed children over the Christmas holidays.

What's next for Pep & Lekker?

Well, we have some very exciting news.

We have taken on board all the feedback we have received and have slightly tweaked our recipes. We have increased the Himalayan sea salt to bring out the flavours more. We changed the oil to olive oil, which is more fitting for an artisan brand and also makes the snacks paleo-friendly. We've also added a touch of dates to the sweeter flavours.

We changed our packaging design as well, with some fantastic new photography. People will know exactly what they are buying and what our main benefits are. Customers will start to see, and taste, these changes over the months ahead.

If you're ready for something different on the snack front, we carry all five current flavours, along with a mixed box if you want to try a bit of everything. We can't pick a favourite so reckon that's definitely the way to go!