Olivia Atkins met Brixton based Snact co-founder Ilana Taub to discuss her plans to tackle food poverty with her new tasty treats.
Picture the scene… You are running late for work, no time for breakfast and you are starving. You will probably pick up something quick to snack on later, which will normally be an unhealthy and unsatisfying hit for the short-term craving.
Now, imagine a snack that is good for you, that is part of a project to tackle national food poverty and actually tastes good. Oh! And soon, the man by the station selling the Big Issue will be stocking it too.
‘Snact’ provides the solution with the launch of its first product – bite sized portions of fruit jerky, which is similar to beef jerky but sweet. It is made of dehydrated blended fruit. The company co-founder, Ilana, says it’s like a dried smoothie, and it is made up of 100 per cent fruit without any additives or preservatives.
Snact is a new business initiative from Ilana and her friend, Michael Minch Dixon. The two of them have been friends since school and are both interested in food sustainability. They came up with the idea nine months ago in a bid to address and reduce food wastage.
Ilana talked me through the process.
“We tackle the wholesale markets and go to places like East London and Vauxhall to buy their surplus fruit. We’re focusing on the business behind the supermarkets by approaching their suppliers.”
The intention is to use fruit, which would otherwise be discarded. Snact targets fruit waste deemed unfit for sale, either because it is too ripe or it does not fit the subscribed size or shape people have come to expect. Snact offers a creative way of looking at food and makes social and environmental change fun and accessible.
Since October, the Snact team has been extremely busy.