This week Sofia Akin has been along to a Sittingbourne factory producing fruity crisps, teas and even pet food. Plus we've paid a visit to the UK's largest lavender producer which is right here in Kent.
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00:25 Hello and welcome to Made in Kent live on KMTV. I'm Sophia Akin and in this show we
00:30 travel around the county to discover Kent's tastiest treats, most delicious drinks and
00:35 artisan goods. Well, coming up on tonight's programme, I've been along to a Sitting Brawn
00:40 factory, producing fruity crisps, teas and even pet food as well. Nim will be joining
00:45 me with some of her products for me to try. Plus, I've paid a visit to the UK's largest
00:50 lavender producer, which is right here in Kent in Sevenoaks. And we find out some of
00:55 the challenges that producers in Kent are currently facing. But first tonight, during
01:00 the past seven years, a woman has seen her healthy snack business in Sitting Brawn come
01:04 on leaps and bounds. It all started with fruit and vegetable crisps and now she sells a range
01:10 of edible teas and even pet food, all with a core focus on having zero food waste. Nim's
01:15 fruit crisps even stocks to Marks and Spencer's, ZZ and Pret-a-Manger. Impressive. I went to
01:21 visit with Nim and find out more.
01:25 Sliced, dried and ready to go. Today I got to see behind the scenes of a Sitting Brawn
01:32 healthy snack business from vegetable crisps, fruity teas and even a treat for your pets.
01:40 And it all started for Nim seven years ago.
01:43 I used to run a coffee shop a long time ago in London in Battersea, opposite a school.
01:48 And there were a lot of parents and children coming in. And there was a real lack of healthy
01:52 snacks and there was always a battle, you know, crisps versus fruit. And I thought,
01:57 you married the two together, we might have something that maybe children want to eat.
02:01 So that's where it started in my kitchen and the garage and then eventually ended up with
02:06 the factory here in Sitting Brawn.
02:08 But after a hard time during the pandemic, they knew they had to expand their range.
02:13 So they started offering cocktail garnishes and also edible teas, which helps them to
02:17 have a zero food waste company.
02:20 We're really huge on not having any food waste. And we made a pledge at the end of last year
02:26 to say by the end of 2023, we will be zero food waste. And actually we achieved that
02:31 in April this year. So our teas are made from the small pieces that we filter out when we
02:36 pack crisps, our pet food is the same. And also when we buy our fruit and veg, we buy
02:41 class two. So things that are rejected by the supermarket, so wonky fruit if you like,
02:46 that helps farmers, that helps our suppliers as well. So we don't buy, you know, beautiful
02:50 looking expensive fruit either. So all of it is to do with reducing food waste completely
02:57 as much as we can.
02:58 Now each day is something different at NIMS factory, but I was there while they were busy
03:03 cutting up 100,000 slices of orange for cocktail garnishes.
03:08 Now it's very loud, very noisy in here. That's because there are so many machines whirring
03:13 away and they cut up 18,000 oranges a day. And that equates to 112,000 orange slices
03:20 a day. They do it with this machine that's just behind me. It's really smart how it works.
03:25 Actually gets rid of the tops, separates it from the slices, puts it into separate compartments.
03:29 But those tops don't end up getting wasted. This is a zero food waste brand. Those then
03:34 end up getting redried and repurposed, turned into something completely new.
03:39 Their aims now are to become even more sustainable and eco-friendly. While their products are
03:44 recyclable, they aren't as easily recyclable as you might think.
03:49 All our packaging is recyclable. We don't put that on the packaging because it's not
03:53 recyclable in your domestic bin. It is industrially recyclable. Majority of the packaging still
04:00 can't be crisp packaging, if you like, chucked in the bin at home. It's something we're working
04:06 on and I think it's the problem with cost at the end of the day. The industry hasn't
04:11 come up with an affordable, fully recyclable, at-home packaging that will keep crisps fresh
04:18 and crispy.
04:19 Well, if you fancy eating one of your five a day a little differently from usual, why
04:23 don't you give these a go?
04:25 Sophia Akin for KMTV in Sittingbourne.
04:29 Well, Nim joins me now to tell me a little bit more and with a range of all of her products.
04:34 Really exciting. So thank you for joining us. So tell me, we heard briefly there, this
04:39 all began for you seven years ago. So tell us where it all started for you.
04:43 I used to run a coffee shop opposite a school and there was a constant battle between parents
04:48 and children and healthy snacking. And at the time, actually, there wasn't a huge amount.
04:53 So my passion at that time was just to create something that maybe parents and children
04:58 would both be happy to eat. But I hadn't any idea how big it could get, to be honest.
05:04 And you were saying that one of the core focuses for you is that sort of health, isn't it?
05:08 So there's no added sugar and it's one of your five a day as well, which you wouldn't
05:13 really expect from crisps, would you? So that's really good. So tell me why that's important
05:16 to you.
05:17 Well, we're the only crisps, I think, in the world possibly that's licensed as one of your
05:21 five a day. So Public Health England have licensed them as one of your five a day. I
05:25 used to feed my daughter. My daughter was really young when I first started this. And
05:29 you're always looking for healthy foods. And there were lots of snacks that said and foods
05:33 that said no nasties. But what they didn't say was there's any goodness left in there.
05:38 And there generally wasn't because of the processing. And what I wanted to make sure
05:42 was that if we make a snack that's delicious, that children want to eat, we should also
05:47 make sure it's nutritious. And one of your five a day in a packet of crisps is just an
05:51 easy way for parents, isn't it? To get that into their children.
05:55 Such a good way to get children on board, isn't it? Because children love crisps, don't
05:59 they? So it's such a good way of sort of quite sneakily getting your children to eat fruit
06:03 and veg. It's really good. And should we open some? I'd quite like to try these actually.
06:07 I was saving it and I wanted to try them fresh today. Which would you recommend?
06:11 Well, pineapple is the most popular, I would say. And that's obviously just pineapple,
06:17 which is sliced and then air dried until crispy. As simple as that.
06:20 Yeah, so tell me about the process. Is it you just slice it? I sort of saw it briefly
06:24 in your factory, but you slice it and then it goes through a dryer. Does anything else
06:28 get added to it at all?
06:29 Nothing whatsoever. It's actually a really, really simple process. And our main aim is
06:34 to also make sure there's no food waste. And we don't peel anything apart from pineapple.
06:38 I mean, I have to say, when I first started making these in my kitchen, I thought I'd
06:41 make pineapple crisps with the skin on. But it's not very nice on your throat with the
06:46 skin. So that's the only thing we peel. Everything else, all the vegetables, we don't peel at
06:51 all. So they're thinly sliced and dried and packed. And that's it.
06:55 And, sorry, I talked with my mouth full. They're so lovely. You've got the Queen's Award here,
07:01 I can see on here. So that's quite impressive as well. That must have been quite an exciting
07:05 day for you to get that as well.
07:07 I couldn't believe, actually. I mean, I met somebody at a networking event at, I think
07:12 it was Kent Town Hall or something. And they worked within the Queen's Award. And they
07:17 said, oh, you should enter. And I said, oh no, we're just a small company. They said,
07:20 yes, but you should enter for innovation because what you're doing is... And we are all about
07:24 innovation. And I had absolutely no hope of winning. I thought, no, there's no way. And
07:29 I could not believe it. And this was during COVID. And so to get good news during COVID
07:33 was amazing. It took about a year and a half before we got the award. But yeah, no, it's
07:38 such an honour.
07:39 Amazing. Shall we try another one? Maybe a savoury one this time.
07:42 Yeah. Tomato and cucumber. Do you want to try?
07:44 Shall we do cucumber? That sounds interesting. Lovely. Thank you so much. And whilst we've
07:50 got one of these in my hand, the packaging. So we were talking about how it is recyclable,
07:57 but there are many companies, you say, that greenwash and make out that they're recyclable
08:00 when it's actually not as accessibly recyclable. So that's something that you're working on,
08:05 isn't it?
08:06 Absolutely. I think transparently. What I want is for people to look at the NIMS brand
08:11 and trust what we're saying. So yes, they are fully recyclable, but only industrially
08:16 recyclable. There are very few packaging that you can actually throw into your domestic
08:23 bin. The cost of anything more than what we're doing would just not be viable for consumers
08:29 at the moment. But there just isn't really good packaging available at the moment.
08:33 And these ones look quite different from the other ones. It's cool because it's like a
08:37 mini vegetable, isn't it? Because it's just been dried. It just shrinks it. It's really
08:42 interesting.
08:43 It depends how much water is in the fresh fruit. So let's say you would need 15 kilos
08:48 of pineapple, fresh pineapple to make one kilo of dried pineapple. But with cucumber,
08:53 you need something like 28 kilos of fresh cucumber to make one kilo of crisps because
09:00 it's mostly water and it evaporates during the drying process. And yes, as you say, they
09:04 shrink. But if you put them in water, they go back to their normal state again.
09:08 And that was sort of how you discovered the tea, wasn't it? You were telling me that you
09:12 actually accidentally dropped it in water and you were impressed at – we see the tea
09:16 now on the screen – you were impressed at how much it had coloured the water because
09:21 of how vibrant beetroot is. So do you have many sort of accidental creations like that
09:28 one?
09:29 I don't have only an accidental one, I have to say. But yes, I was in a meeting and opened
09:33 a packet of beetroot and parsnip, had water next to me, and I dropped the crisp in the
09:37 water and it just coloured. And I thought, oh, wow. And it tasted of beetroot after a
09:42 while.
09:43 Amazing.
09:44 But no, before the teas, we brought out the infusions, which are the garnishes for cocktails
09:49 and cold drinks. But they're great for even your bottle of water. And again, they sort
09:53 of rehydrate back to their natural state when they're in water.
09:57 I wanted to open it to see because with typical tea, you couldn't eat the leaves, could you?
10:03 Because it might not taste very pleasant. But these, you could just even grab them and
10:07 eat them, couldn't you? So it's loose tea, but you could just eat them. And this is watermelon
10:14 and lime. And it's one of your five a day again as well, so that's interesting. So how
10:19 do you remain diverse? Because there are a few sort of dried fruit crisp brands out there,
10:25 so how do you keep yourself diverse and essentially compete with your competitors?
10:31 I think there are quite a few which are actually fried as well. So although it's made of fruit,
10:36 but they're fried or vacuum fried. Ours is 100% natural. We are the only ones that make
10:41 it here in the UK as well. And I think it's the quality of it. And that's more to do with
10:46 our process. I think a lot of people who dry fruit at home will know it takes about 10,
10:52 12, 15 hours to dry anything. Whereas our process is about two and a half, three hours,
10:57 four hours, depending on the product. So it's not heat treated to a really large extent.
11:03 And we can see the process there on the screen. I found that really interesting to watch and
11:06 sort of the quality control of your sort of the perfection of it was really interesting
11:12 as well. Now, we don't have very long left now, unfortunately. Time does fly, doesn't
11:16 it? But what does the future look like for you? Where do you hope to go from here?
11:20 Well, we've achieved sort of zero food waste at our factory, which we're really, really
11:24 proud of. What we want to do now is to help consumers with their zero food waste at home
11:29 or try to get to or at least reduce their food waste. And this year, we're going to
11:33 launch several new products which watch this space, which hopefully will help people do
11:38 that in this climate as well. Something that's affordable and reduces food waste.
11:42 Perfect. Well, we'll have to pay you another visit when those new releases do come out.
11:47 Thank you so much for joining us. That's all we've got time for today. But great to
11:50 see you and thank you for bringing in so many amazing products. Thank you.
11:53 You're welcome. Thank you.
11:55 It's time for us to take a quick break. Now, I'll be back in just a few minutes' time.
11:58 I'll see you then.
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15:13 Hello and welcome back to Made in Kent live on KMTV.
15:17 Now with rising inflation, manufacturing prices and a changing climate,
15:21 it's a challenging time for independent producers in the Garden of England.
15:25 What does the industry look like and how can they be supported?
15:28 Well I caught up with Produced in Kent earlier today to find out.
15:33 Well thanks for joining us today Jill.
15:37 So just wanted to ask you firstly, for those who might not be too familiar with Produced in Kent,
15:43 how do you support local businesses?
15:46 Well we work with our member businesses in the food, drink and craft sector across Kent
15:53 and we provide them with business advice, we provide them with lots of marketing support
15:57 and we're here really to act as their vocal, their voice box and talk about the issues of the industry
16:04 but also encourage customers to support and buy local.
16:07 And you represent individual creators across Kent don't you?
16:10 So what are some of those challenges that they're currently facing?
16:14 Our businesses are facing a whole host of challenges unfortunately,
16:21 some of which we've seen for quite some time and some of which are sort of slightly newer.
16:28 So we've still got huge pressure on prices, the price of raw materials is still high
16:37 and we've still got issues with recruitment and filling empty jobs within the various industries across the county.
16:46 And then unfortunately the great British weather's not really been very helpful at the moment.
16:53 We've got quite a late harvest because of the weather earlier in the year
16:59 and the sort of current heavy downpours are not helping in some areas for harvest and for things like soft fruit.
17:07 That's had a real impact on farmers, we know Kent is the garden of England,
17:12 there are so much green land, so many farmers here, so that's had a real impact on them hasn't it?
17:17 So how has that impacted you? I imagine that you, you're produced in Kent actually, helps a lot of farmers.
17:24 So how's that impacted them?
17:26 Yeah we do, it's because we are the garden of England and we're actually great at growing so many things,
17:34 there'll be some that will be quite grateful for the rain that we've had right now,
17:38 for others depending on the crop not so helpful.
17:41 As I say things like where we've got soft fruit like cherries on the trees,
17:46 heavy rain can actually cause them to split and damage the crop.
17:50 We've got issues as I say with the weather earlier in the year actually causing delays of between a week to 14 days
17:59 in terms of when crops are coming online, so there's a bit of a lag from when people might be expecting to see things in the shop
18:06 to when they're actually appearing.
18:09 But you know our farmers are nothing if not resilient,
18:14 they will be doing their very best to make sure that you know the produce that they've got actually reaches the end customer
18:21 and in the greatest possible condition.
18:24 Now it must be a struggle as well for independent businesses competing with those larger names, those larger competitors.
18:31 So how do they compete essentially?
18:34 How do they make sure that people in Kent shop locally but also people from outside of Kent get to know their produce as well?
18:41 I think it's really important for people to consider you know the bigger picture.
18:51 A few pence on an item in a large chain or a large supermarket might seem like a great reduction
19:01 but actually that two, three, four, five pence can make a huge difference to your local community,
19:08 to your local economy, providing people with jobs, providing people with you know a green and pleasant land and countryside
19:18 that we really appreciate in Kent.
19:21 But the way our producers are doing it, they're producing a great quality product,
19:26 they are always there to provide an excellent customer service and a lot of knowledge as well.
19:32 So if you're in a local farm shop or a small independent retailer or your village store,
19:37 you're going to get a much kind of broader customer service experience than you would do perhaps just sort of you know in one of the large retail environments.
19:49 Thank you very much for joining us today, really interesting to hear from you.
19:54 Next, a family farm in Sevenoaks which dates back five generations has become the UK's largest producer of lavender in the past three decades.
20:03 They're right in the middle of their lavender season which lasts one short month
20:07 and whether it's lavender oil, lavender shortbread or even lavender gin, the dried plant has a number of uses.
20:14 Well I went along at the start of the season to see the fields for myself.
20:19 Short but sweet, that's one way to describe the lavender season which lasts just one month.
20:26 Nestled in Kent's north downs is Castle Farm which dates back five generations
20:32 and in the past 30 years they've become the UK's largest lavender farm,
20:37 offering fresh cut lavender, lavender oil and my personal favourite, lavender gin.
20:44 So possibly one of the most popular things that are on offer here today is this lavender gin and tonic which Nicola is going to show me how to make.
20:51 So how do we make one of these?
20:53 Start off with ice, this is the single, this is the lavender gin, put in a single,
21:00 and then I can have a can of tonic for us.
21:06 And finish it off with a nice sprig of lavender powder.
21:14 Oh that's lovely, really nice.
21:16 Something I learnt today is there are a range of varieties of lavender.
21:20 It's not just used for decorative or cosmetic purposes either, it's actually edible too.
21:26 What we've got behind me at the moment is a variety called Ladybird Lavender
21:29 and that one is particularly good for perfume and aromatherapy.
21:33 It's very relaxing, it's got a very honeyed, smooth scent to it.
21:37 A fulgate variety that we grow which is also a pure lavender,
21:40 when that's distilled into the oil the plant naturally has a high level of antiseptic in it
21:45 so it's really good for healing and to be able to use on your skin.
21:48 And another variety that we grow which is actually a Lavendin Grosso variety,
21:53 it's got a very high level of camphor in it and it actually wakes you up as opposed to sending you to sleep.
21:57 And for lavender to thrive its roots need to remain dry.
22:01 Therefore the gentle sloping field means the soil is free draining.
22:05 But running an 130 acre farm is no easy feat.
22:09 So how have the Alexander family remained sustainable in more than 100 years of farming
22:14 and how will they continue to?
22:17 My great grandfather in fact who came down from Scotland,
22:20 putting a small herd of cows on a train and bringing them down to take up a tenancy
22:26 here in the Darren Valley at Ainsford.
22:29 And then it was my grandfather and father who continued the business
22:34 and I've been farming here since the late 70s.
22:38 One of the things that we're embarking upon is a big environmental programme
22:45 across the valley, across the river catchment to work with other farmers
22:50 in a collaborative way to improve the environment and improve the river quality.
22:56 But it doesn't look this extravagant all year round.
22:59 It really only is this way for a month or so.
23:02 So if you want to see it for yourself there's not long left.
23:06 Sophia Akin for KMTV in Sevenoaks.
23:10 And finally tonight Swale Media Arts Centre are launching their Zero to Hero environment project.
23:16 They're focusing on how we can reuse items and upcycle to create art
23:20 while highlighting the importance of caring for the environment.
23:23 They've even teamed up with two local schools to create and decorate animal statues.
23:29 Well Gabriel Morris spoke to Julie Bradshaw-Drewery and Anna Piles
23:33 from the project on Kent on Climate last week.
23:36 What's the project all about?
23:38 Well it's actually happened.
23:40 So it's actually taken part and we're actually having the exhibition
23:45 but we are hoping to raise more funding so we can then create some more sessions.
23:51 We've got lots of people putting their names down wanting to join us.
23:55 So there will be more. There will be more definitely.
23:59 And the whole idea is to inspire people to re-upcycle items in their house.
24:04 How simple is this to do? Is it hard to do it?
24:07 No I'd say it's really simple because you can get the children at home to collect their sweet wrappers
24:14 or you've got your egg boxes and just anything really is able to be made into art isn't it?
24:20 And that's one of the things that we really concentrated on the children with when we was at the schools
24:25 and said you know don't think about running out straight away to the shop
24:29 and buying these boxes where they're already set up for you.
24:32 You can create art from what you've got at home and all you need is a bit of glue really
24:36 and they just absolutely loved it didn't they?
24:39 Well we can see some of the pictures on the screen now.
24:41 I mean giraffe, the elephant. Why are the school children chosen to go for the animals?
24:49 Well because we've linked it. We're also running concurrently an endangered species exhibition
24:56 and it's four generations of my family are exhibiting various paintings and sculpture to do with wildlife.
25:04 So we thought we'd team it up with that and the children love animals anyway don't they?
25:09 So we thought by having an animal to decorate with all of the recycling items
25:16 and it brings up great conversation with them and even with the adults as well isn't it?
25:22 That you can use the recycling you have at home and stop putting it in the bin straight away.
25:28 And we were very fortunate because Next at Maidstone donated lots and lots of material to us
25:34 which they very often give me for various projects because I'm always on the go doing some sort of project.
25:40 And very kindly Nicky Smith who was in charge of the manager of Next actually donated quite a lot of materials
25:49 which the adults particularly enjoyed working with and making these various things.
25:54 So that was good rather than it just be put on a land tip and things. It gets used again.
26:01 It's a great use of these items. It makes you maybe a bit more creative.
26:04 You have to think a little bit more outside of the box.
26:06 What sort of crazy little thing did you find that you turn into these amazing endangered animals?
26:12 Well to be honest old jewellery is another thing as well.
26:15 Very popular.
26:16 And everybody, children and adults alike, loved working with old jewellery.
26:21 You can use it to sort of decorate the animal or you create the actual animal with it.
26:29 We used seashells as well didn't we?
26:31 Driftwood.
26:33 So we sort of combined a lot of natural things as well as the throw away sweet wrappers and things like that.
26:40 Bottle caps.
26:41 Well that's all from us here at KMTV. You've been watching Made in Kent.
26:45 We'll be back at 8 o'clock with our evening news bulletin.
26:48 But for now from me, goodnight.
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