alice shopland
Most of you know that eating a plant based diet brings a lot of health benefits, and you’re all probably in the know about what being vegan means (just in case … it means to not use or consume any products that had animals involved in the making of it, so this includes any meat, dairy, eggs, food with gelatine (if you didn’t know this, google it, not after eating though, it’s confronting!), and products such as leather and fur).
While veganism has become more mainstream over the last few years, one amazing Kiwi woman turned vegan 13 years ago, and two years after that, she started her company Angel Food, which currently produces vegan cheeses. The market is growing, and her business is evolving to meet (excuse the pun), the growing appetite for more plant based products, so Angel Food’s staple cheeses are growing and they’re planning to make vegan salami this year. Needless to say, we’re stoked to introduce you to Alice Shopland!
Based in Auckland, Alice and her business, Angel Food are now supplying several supermarkets with vegan cheeses. When we spoke about her pathway, Alice recalls that she never knew what she wanted to do after she left school. For a while there she thought she wanted to be a vet. After observing a vet perform an operation which caused Alice to pass out, she crossed that off the list.
Success too was something that wasn’t clear – there were always well-known definitions of success, the usual stereotypes, and Alice says she likely accepted these at school, but had not formulated them herself.
What was it like becoming vegan in the early 2000’s? It was a challenge, not only because it wasn’t that common or accepted then, but also, while the base food for following a vegan diet are easily sourced, the additional products used to complement these were limited, there were very few products available to substitute animal products to add flavour or texture to meals.
While veganism has become more mainstream over the last few years, one amazing Kiwi woman turned vegan 13 years ago, and two years after that, she started her company Angel Food, which currently produces vegan cheeses. The market is growing, and her business is evolving to meet (excuse the pun), the growing appetite for more plant based products, so Angel Food’s staple cheeses are growing and they’re planning to make vegan salami this year. Needless to say, we’re stoked to introduce you to Alice Shopland!
Based in Auckland, Alice and her business, Angel Food are now supplying several supermarkets with vegan cheeses. When we spoke about her pathway, Alice recalls that she never knew what she wanted to do after she left school. For a while there she thought she wanted to be a vet. After observing a vet perform an operation which caused Alice to pass out, she crossed that off the list.
Success too was something that wasn’t clear – there were always well-known definitions of success, the usual stereotypes, and Alice says she likely accepted these at school, but had not formulated them herself.
What was it like becoming vegan in the early 2000’s? It was a challenge, not only because it wasn’t that common or accepted then, but also, while the base food for following a vegan diet are easily sourced, the additional products used to complement these were limited, there were very few products available to substitute animal products to add flavour or texture to meals.
It was also tough for Alice as at the same time, her work pressures were mounting. Alice was a freelance writer, and certain topics she just couldn’t bring herself to write about anymore, such as ‘How to place the chicken in the supermarket display the best way’. That is a tough challenge, balancing your values and beliefs, with your job and even harder when they seem to conflict.
Harnessing her passion, and belief in a plant based diet and wanting more vegan options available, she jumped in the deep end and decided to start a business making these products! In hindsight, Alice says that perhaps it wasn’t the best decision she’s ever made, considering she had little knowledge of the food industry, no capital, small kids to look after and had never ran a business before, and there was a small market for vegan food. BUT, let this be a lesson for all of us: when you are true to yourself, take a chance and follow your passion, with hard work and a willingness to learn along the way, it will work out! Persevere, stay true to you and do the hard yards, and be patient.
Harnessing her passion, and belief in a plant based diet and wanting more vegan options available, she jumped in the deep end and decided to start a business making these products! In hindsight, Alice says that perhaps it wasn’t the best decision she’s ever made, considering she had little knowledge of the food industry, no capital, small kids to look after and had never ran a business before, and there was a small market for vegan food. BUT, let this be a lesson for all of us: when you are true to yourself, take a chance and follow your passion, with hard work and a willingness to learn along the way, it will work out! Persevere, stay true to you and do the hard yards, and be patient.
Marketing guru Seth Godin reminds us that
“it takes about six years of hard work to become an overnight success”.
For Alice, and for most entrepreneurs, it takes time and the road can be a bumpy one – Alice had to sell her house to make her business sustainable and successful, and it’s paid off - she now supplies supermarkets such as Pak’N’Save, Countdown and even Hell Pizza! Isn’t that awesome?
Alice encourages us all to take a minute to really think about the choices we make in our daily lives and what impact these choices have. Most of us make three food choices a day, if not more, and we would do well to consider what impact the food we consume everyday has on the animals, environment and our own health. Her recommendation is that we pause to take time to look at the big picture, the long-term view of things and not get caught up too much in the everyday.
By starting a business without a depth of knowledge, Alice threw herself in the deep end, and of course there were lessons along the way and it did take a while to figure everything out. Alice openly talks about one skill that she still struggles with, that of planning. Alice thinks that too much guess work is involved, especially with early ventures, and it is easy to be wildly optimistic (dare we say, optimism though is a key entrepreneurial trait, so keep this and balance it with some pragmatism).
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Like we all do, Alice said she avoids the tasks she hates most (planning) by doing other things first, but then, that sensibility kicks in and she knows that to make her vision come to life, she has to suck it up and get it done, so she makes the time and effort to just sit down and do it! (Check out our Blog on (terrible turn of phrase here, and it’s not literal … eat the frog! It’s based on Mark Twain’s saying “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”)
Along her journey, Alice has been a sponge for insights, lessons learned and getting advice – she highly recommends this to others. Invest and drive your own learning – it really helps. On reflection, building financial literacy at school would have been a huge advantage and Alice encourages us all to do so, not just in theory but by getting hands on and applying the learning, taking the lead on managing your own personal finances is a great start. If you’re launching your own venture, to build your knowledge, Alice says: go to a workshop, ask questions and educate and inform yourself about being an entrepreneur. The workshop she visited when forming Angel Food, encouraged her to find an overall goal for the business. Her goal was to make veganism mainstream … here we are in 2018, and arguably, that’s the case now! |
So what’s the next goal? As we all know, sometimes landing on that clear goal, and defining it can take time, and that’s where Alice is now – the next goal is a work in progress. For now, the business goals are a priority, and need to be accomplished. When it comes to finance, the business finance is key as customers, employees and shareholders are all excited for Angel Food to succeed. When it comes to personal views on money, Alice believes that she only needs to make enough money to live on. For her, success isn’t about money, success is all about enjoying what you do and that you are making a positive contribution to the society and environment.
What a compelling story! One that shows if you’re brave, follow your passion and put your heart and mind to something, you can make it happen. So many great developments have occurred and are occurring currently, Alice reminds us “It is a really exciting time to be in business”!
What a compelling story! One that shows if you’re brave, follow your passion and put your heart and mind to something, you can make it happen. So many great developments have occurred and are occurring currently, Alice reminds us “It is a really exciting time to be in business”!
Summer 2017/2018
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If you are a cool chick with a great story, we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to send us deets of other amazing ladies you know too, and we will reach out.
Tēnā rawa atu koe.
If you are a cool chick with a great story, we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to send us deets of other amazing ladies you know too, and we will reach out.
Tēnā rawa atu koe.