A WOMAN who is passionate about healthy eating has revealed how she created her very own products from her kitchen counter and is now raking in millions of pounds every single month.

Natasha Bowes, an entrepreneur in her 40s, explained that she grew up in Eastern Europe, where kefir was a part of many people’s staple diet.

That’s where the idea for Biotiful – a probiotic kefir brand – came to life.

Back in March 2012, the savvy mum-of-one came up with the brand  idea and using £1,000 from her savings, was able to bring her dream to a reality.

What started off as a home-based side hustle, Biotiful is now stocked in every major supermarket, as well as Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and Harrods.

Not only this, but the London-based entrepreneur's health drinks are sold to more than six million customers across the UK and her business generates £2.5 million revenue every month. 

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Natasha told Fabulous: “Having grown up on kefir and natural, unsweetened dairy products and having been an athlete in my teenage years, I missed these products so much when I came to the UK. 

“It was a great opportunity to demonstrate to the UK consumer that you can have dairy products that are made really naturally, in a very tasty way.”

Prior to launching Biotiful, Natasha had a successful career in finance. She had no knowledge of how to run a food business, and was met with raised eyebrows from family members when she launched the company.

She explained: “I had worked in finance for about 15 years. Almost exactly two years before I started the business I had my daughter.

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"What tipped me into starting this business and moving industries, from finance to healthy food, was looking at the back of the packaging of growing up milk, which my daughter was drinking, as I saw the monumental number of less than natural products in it. 

“I’d always been into nutrition and I grew up educated on the benefits of natural foods. 

“To cut a long story short, kefir is such a balanced and comprehensive product that I really wanted it to be part of the diet of my family, my friends and then spread the word out as much as I possibly could, delivering something so natural, that when made as well as we make it, can be so tasty and so easy to consume. 

“I had no idea about food businesses. I just followed my passion. I felt that this was the way that I could make a big, positive difference in society.

I started with very premium stores, including Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and Harrods. I knocked on their doors and talked to the decision makers and got my products on the shelves.

“These products are great for anyone, at any time of the day. They’re great for after illnesses and they’re phenomenal for detoxing and slimming, because they’re so light and easy to digest.

“There was a lot of surprise when I started the business, in particular from my parents, who were very aware of the fact that I had the best quality education in corporate finance and economics. 

“They raise eyebrows with me making dairy products instead of building a big career in banking.”

However, Natasha followed her passion and worked 21 hour days to get her business off of the ground. 

She added: “I was extremely lucky, my husband at the time was so supportive. The reason I could follow my passion and follow through on the company is because he essentially supported the family whilst I was doing it.

“For the first three and a half years, I ran the business entirely from home to save costs and I did just about everything myself.

“With the £1,000, in order for me to kick start the business, I had to take some very basic courses in food safety and food processing with Westminster City Council, which was my local council at the time.

“I read every single text book I could get my hands on and visited a production site in Eastern Europe where the best practices of kefir are deployed, as I wanted to learn from the best, and then I registered the business in August 2012.

“Then I did the courses in Autumn 2012 to get fully up to speed on the manufacturing process and in November 2012 I began running production trials, to make sure we made the best quality product.

“Once I had a plan, I asked for more structured help, from a brilliant dairy specialist from Cornwall, so he essentially coached me and helped me take it off.

I worked 21 hour days for the production.

“The very first samples I made in my kitchen but I then switched to a diary so I could scale up. Then I was getting up at 4am, getting the first train from London Victoria to West Sussex, to a lovely organic diary, to do the whole of the production myself. 

“The fermentation of milk takes between 10 and 12 hours, so I was doing the fermentation, the packing and the cleaning all by myself.

“I had a three hour journey each way. I was getting the first train out of London and getting the last train back into London. I was arriving back to Victoria at 1am in the morning, the following day.

“I worked 21 hour days for the production.”

Once the product was perfected, Natasha didn’t have much money to promote the brand, so instead approached premium stores such as Selfridges, in the hope they would stock her products. And they did.

She revealed: “I started with very premium stores, including Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and Harrods. I knocked on their doors and talked to the decision makers and got my products on the shelves, whilst I was making the products myself.

“I didn’t have much money to promote the business and I didn’t want to borrow to get the business off to a good start. I strongly believed that it was my idea and my risk and it needed to be my cost, so I didn’t want to borrow money elsewhere.

“The growth has been very organic and gradual. I wanted to grow the business in an honest and sustainable way. 

“It took a few years to bring in the bigger retailers and over three years to bring in the first big supermarket on board. 

In the first twelve months, sales were around £50,000. Now the business runs at £2.5 million revenue per month.

“But once we got going and demonstrated how relevant Biotiful kefir is for the consumer in the UK, we went from strength to strength as far as the growth is concerned.”

Natasha explained that the company now makes £2.5 million a month and has a 70% market share in kefir drinks.

She noted: “In the first twelve months, sales were around £50,000. Now the business runs at £2.5 million revenue per month. It took a little while to get there and a lot of work. 

“We have a 70% market share in kefir drinks, in a category that’s worth nearly £100 million and we are the pioneers of kefir products in the UK.

“Almost every month we have is the best every month, we are growing significantly. Even through the pandemic, we continued growing and now, six million people consume our products in the UK.

“We're stocked in all of the major supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose. We have just over 40 employees now.

“We have over 50 different industry awards that we have received over the last 10 years for our products. Every year we receive a bunch, which is a testament to how focused we are on the quality of the products.”

Reflecting on her journey, Natasha explained that it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.

She explained: “There’s been many difficulties along the way.

“Building the right team has been challenging. That’s been the hardest thing.

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“You’ve got to be extremely determined and resilient to stick with it.” 

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