For our first post, we thought we'd tell the tale of how Pinches came to be, and share a bit more about us.

Our whole family has always loved cooking, eating, drinking, and dining. From fine dining, fancy food, and no-frills beige comfort food, to buffets and retro classics. We pretty much love it all. Food and drink have always been a focal point of family gatherings, birthdays, holidays, and any other event where there's a group of us. 

The first salt

In 2019, Jan (my mum) who has always been an imaginative gift-giver surprised me on Christmas day by gifting me a beautiful wooden box with nine salts that she blended herself. I (Kate) love to cook, and was chuffed with this thoughtful gift she had put time and care into producing for me. It got used a lot over the following year in a vast array of dishes and was proudly shown off to any guest who entered my kitchen. 

By early 2022, Jan had retired from her job as an Office Administrator for an independent funeral home, and after a break full of dog walks and helping dig the allotment, she called me one day to say she was bored and needed a project. At first, she floated the idea of 'buying and selling' which instantly made me think of her in a Delboy Trotter-style sheepskin coat and wasn't something I could imagine her doing. But very quickly it occurred to me that she should make salt, as she did for me, and sell it. Just as a small thing, to keep her busy and given it is such a nice and useful thing - I thought people would buy it. 

How it happened...

Jan was not sure at first - the kitchen at home isn't huge, and there'd be a steep learning curve regarding food hygiene, traceability of ingredients, legal labeling requirements, and understanding trading standards. Being quite excited by it all, I blithely told her she'd be fiiine and that researching it all would give her something to do. Honestly, I wasn't sure it'd go anywhere because hearing her concerns made me think "Oh, actually that is a lot to do...she only wanted a little hobby". Selfishly, though, I was running out of my supply of salt and needed her to get making more! 

A few weeks later, a spot in the kitchen had been designated as the 'salt zone' and deep-cleaned, a food hygiene course had been completed, and the environmental health inspector was in our kitchen chatting away. Despite all the anxiety over our set-up being good enough, big enough, and separate enough from the main kitchen - we needn't have worried as we passed with a 5* hygiene rating. Next was researching jars, a good sea salt supplier with a quality product, and other suppliers for just about everything else. Oh, and a name...and a plan for how we would sell. Just about everything, really. 

It's.... happening...apparently

By October 2022, a few weeks after our hygiene inspection we had our first stall at the local village hall's coffee morning and the rest is history. Over the last year, we've been semi-regulars at our closest farmers market at Wyken Vineyards and have also dipped our toe into others across the county. We sell on Etsy and now have our very own website (which feels like a big deal). 

In the last few months, we have become wholesalers to various incredible stockists and that number keeps growing! 

Pinches' success has kind of taken us both by surprise. It has snowballed to be more than we thought it would be. Only just over a year in, it's still early days and we won't be rich off of our hard work any time soon, but we sure do LOVE Pinches and the experiences it gives us. Our whole family is consistently amazed that we haven't killed each other and to be honest, we are surprised at how well we work together. We've not even had any touch-and-go-moments, which is actually shocking.

Who does what...

Mum is in charge of all things legal and financial, and is a fabulous record-keeper. She spent her career working in administration and office management, so is great at this. She also is our head of production and while I am busy working four days a week in my day job, she is often blending salt and packing orders at home solo. Honourable mention to my Dad, John who often personally delivers local orders and does post office runs for us. 

If you ever DM us on socials or email us, it's me (Kate) who responds, for I am chief of how Pinches looks and interacts in the world. I studied graphic design and have always enjoyed making things look nice. After I didn't complete my degree in Design I tried to become a chef - such is my love of food and cooking but a rubbish trial shift made me firmly close that door and before I knew it, my career was off on a different trajectory. I am super passionate about food (obviously) but also our product - experimenting with flavours and dishes is a big part of why I get such a kick out of running Pinches with my Mum. 

And now...

2024 for us is all about expanding our product range a bit, trying to continuously offer an online shop front, keeping up with stock levels (currently a challenge!), and growing our stockist list. We love our local markets so will keep doing these, too. 

We're both grateful to everyone who has praised, supported, or purchased something from Pinches so far. And to the amazing stockists we have who have reached out to us -  we are very excited to be working with each of you! What started as a hobby to keep my mum from boredom post-retirement is now something incredibly special to us. Thanks for being a part of it!