QA - Novia Trechman and Sara Trechman, Co-Founders, Well Truly

QA - Novia Trechman and Sara Trechman, Co-Founders, Well Truly QA Maria Trechman and Sara Trechman, Co-Founders, Well Truly IMAGE SOURCE: SARA TRECHMAN  Truly cracked it with their pioneering healthfood snack brand.Well Truly  is a range of delicious but healthy tortilla chips, cheese sticks and gazpacho drinks are all-natural and gluten-free. The chips and sticks contain 40 percent less fat than other brands, and the gazpacho drink is made from vitamin-rich tomatoes, cucumber, red peppers, white wine vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt. There’s no added sugar, only 125 calories per bottle and there is probably no more delicious and refreshing way to get two of your five-a-day!Launched in 2016, Well Truly’s tortilla chips and cheese sticks are now stocked by in 1,200 stores throughout the UK, including 1,000 Tesco shops (and the grocery giant’s  online arm) in addition to Wholefoods Market and a number of London-based independent stores. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 11 Questions for Well Truly Co-Founders, Maria Trechman and Sara TrechmanMaria Trechman and Sara Trechman took some time out of their busy Well Truly schedule to chat to AGENT about the story of their business to date, to reflect on their achievements and most major challenges, and to share important advice for young entrepreneurs setting up in business for the first time. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. Briefly tell us how you first got into business, and describe your business goals.Sara: I’ll keep this simple as that’s a big part of the Well Truly philosophy! Why add something unnecessarily or overcomplicate a product when ‘All Natural’ ingredients speak for themselves. That’s the foundation of Well Truly, and we set out to change snacking so that healthier didn’t mean boring or tasteless.Well Truly was born in 2015 because we saw a gap in the market for an innovative exciting British brand with great tasting snacks that were also better for you whether it is lower fat, fewer calories or lower sugar. With 55% of the UKs population buying into FreeFrom we knew that allergen free products were extremely important. All our products are vegetarian certified gluten free above all taste just as good or better than the unhealthy versions.The brand is built upon making small choices towards a better diet, using creativity rather than additives to make an interesting and tasty product. Using familiar snacks that appealed to the mass market, we took away artificial flavourings and nasties to make a range of heathier snacks. We’re on a mission to get the UK to #EatWellLiveTruly through making delicious yet healthier everyday snacks.2. What age were you when you realised you wanted to run your own business? Sara: I had always been in awe of people who had set up their own companies and were making a change. Nutrition has always played a huge part in my life and I wanted to help consumers make easy healthier choices. I needed to gain experience and it wasn’t until my 30’s when I felt I had learnt enough from working in large companies to launch something on my own.Maria: I knew from a really young age that I would like to run my own business one day. My grandmother who I was very close to set up a hairdressing business in the 1950s, and hearing her talk about that time had a big influence on me growing up. Setting up my own business was always on the cards, it was always just a question of when. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. Who are your business icons and inspirations?Sara: We are lucky to be based in London where we are surrounded by many young healthy food drink entrepreneurs who we can be inspired by, learn from and bounce ideas off. Any brand or person who makes it easy to incorporate a healthy change in our lifestyle is a healthy hero to us!4. What has been your biggest challenge in business, and how did you surmount it?Sara: As a start-up you face challenges on a daily basis. You need to juggle so many roles and tasks which you don’t always have experience in, but bein g co-founders has helped us a lot as we always have someone to bounce ideas off and challenge each other. Two of our biggest challenges at the moment are always being on top of our cash flow to ensure we can continue to launch new products and building the right team to help us grow. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 5. Work-Life balance: is it possible? How do you achieve it?Sara: Exercising outside has always been really important to me so I make sure I schedule an hour everyday to go for a run or a walk. It helps me feel more relaxed and I find that I solve problems faster with a clearer head.Maria: By scheduling in time to do things I find relaxing such as cooking, seeing friends or exercising I make sure I give myself small breaks from the world of Well Truly. This is not to say that its not always at the back of my mind though but more through choice than anything else! I love what I do and its a big part of my life.6. What is the first thing you do every d ay? Sara: Check our social media. It is really important to me that we reply as fast as possible to any consumer questions.Maria: Make sure my 4 month old baby is fed and happy. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 7. What screen saver picture is currently on your phone? Sara: I’m an avid climber and mountaineer so I have a series of 6 mountains I have climbed.Maria: A photo with my husband from our wedding.8. What is the most important app on your mobile phone, and why?Sara: We have two favourite apps: Xero, our online accounting software so we can keep track of our cashflow any time, anywhere; and Receipt Bank, which  saves us from the painful task of keeping recording expense receipts. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 9. What is the last thing you googled?Sara: “AGENTs Worldwide” 10. What item do you never leave the house without, and why? Sara: My iPhone â€" you never know when you come across a great social media shot or need to answer a n urgent call / emailMaria: My sunglasses Ive got ridiculously sensitive eyes! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 11. What advice would you give to your younger self starting out in business?Sara: Do it! It’s the best thing we’ve ever done but make sure you have a good network team around you to help guide you and offer advice when you need it. We both say that we couldn’t do it on our own, being able to share the journey with someone has made all the ups and downs so much better.Make sure you have a product or idea that you believe in and thats been tried and tested. It sounds obvious, but if you have a great product / idea and you know its better than the competition, the journey will be so much easier!Build a good network of other start-ups who you can meet for a chat or coffee. The start-up scene in London is very supportive and always happy to share any advice or tips. We’ve also enjoyed partnering with other start-ups for competitions and sampling to help raise our brand awareness to different consumer groups.image source: Sara Trechman / Maria Trechman