There really is nothing better than home baking, but who has the time these days? Baking mixes are super handy for the time-poor parent – all the measuring has already been done for you. But often baking mixes are full of refined flour, sugar, fillers, and other things we no longer want to feed our kids. We are plant-based, gluten free, refined sugar free, dairy free…and we no longer have to miss out! Soulfull Tribe create the best baking mixes with both dry and wet ingredients, that we are happy to feed our kids. Pre-heat the oven and get ready for some delicious home baking aromas! We spoke to Soulfull Tribe founder Angella Fitzpatrick to learn more about how she got started.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I have always had a huge passion in the health and wellness space. I have always loved cooking healthy versions of all the conventional treats. When my son developed a sugar, gluten and dairy intolerance I didn’t want him to miss out when he went to other people’s houses or parties and then develop a bad relationship with food. I see so many kids missing out because of their allergies and it breaks my heart! I’d make everything from scratch for him and he started to come home with requests from his friends to bring in extra for them the next day. It was so cute!
As a one-time single mum, I understand how hard life can be and how time poor we have become. Convenience has taken the front seat over nutritional meals. So many people send their kids off to school with a packet of shapes and store-bought cakes full of preservatives, chemicals and hormone disrupters. I wanted to help.
My mission for Soulfull Tribe was to bring back love and connection in the kitchen, just like the old days when home cooked meals was the only way. I want to help people slow down in their lives and be mindful with their kids. I want to be the solution to replace the fake fast foods in the supermarket aisles. I want to educate people that real food tastes amazing and our treats are exactly that!
I also wanted Soulfull Tribe to have a strong giving back message and to consider the planet and the future of our children in everything that we do. I wanted to pave the way for other businesses to stop doing things cheap and nasty and actually consider what they are putting in their products and also the effect it is having on our planet. Soulfull Tribe are a proud member of 1% for the planet and we use biodegradable bags to limit the impact on the environment. Our whole range is all natural and organic ingredients, gluten, dairy, egg and refined sugar free. But most importantly: absolutely delicious!
The Launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
I had been working in a role in the oil and gas industry doing FIFO work for over eight years and knew that the company was looking to make close to 700 jobs redundant in the new year. I decided to put my faith in the Universe and finally follow my soul’s purpose. I took the rest of my leave and got my finance in place while I still had a really well paid job and then did all the research I could and had a manufacturer on board, along with a deadline to coincide with my potential redundancy.
I had no Plan B and just believed in my dream 110%.
I got my company set up through an accountant and started working with a graphic designer for my logo and package designs. I knew nothing about manufacturing or recipe development and was pretty naïve at the start. I soon realized after my first back and forth with my manufacturer that it wasn’t just as easy as using the recipes I had invented, and had to spend months modifying them.
I remember making seven chocolate cakes in one day trying to perfect it, as I didn’t want to use any flax eggs and wanted to limit the amount of ingredients and processes that the consumer had to add. It was so tricky, not to mention trying to work with gluten free flours that require eggs to make them rise – and I didn’t want to use eggs! It took me so many attempts to perfect each recipe and it’s something that I am truly proud of as they are all my own and the end result is amazing.
I think my faith in the Universe allowed me to just trust in the belief that everything was working out exactly as it should be for my highest good. Every set back I saw as a better opportunity and organically the right people attracted to me to do my website build, photo shoots, social media, etc. There’s so many things I did wrong that would have saved me thousands and thousands of dollars and lessons I have learnt along the way and am still learning. But I think that is how we grow and it’s certainly been a learning curve for me and not an easy one.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
We aren’t quite there yet but being able to upscale and do things by machine rather than hand will refine our process and save us so much time and the cost of labour. There is so much more expense to develop our mixes, as we include the wet ingredients – something that is a first in the bake mix industry.
