Lesley’s Sauces

How Natalie Dinning is bringing passion and purpose to people’s plates with the help of the Lloyds Bank and Foundervine Accelerator Programme.?

Natalie Dinning co-founded Lesley’s Sauces, delivering a range of delicious condiments and seasonings with flavours rooted from the streets of Jamaica. Based on family recipes and named after her mum, the sauces were a long-standing favourite at her father’s then Jerk Kitchen stall outside the Emirates Stadium on match days.

Natalie first appreciated the sauces’ popularity when helping out and seeing queues stretching down the street at every home game. “I knew at this point my dad was onto something phenomenal. There was so much love and appreciation for what he was doing.” So, from her initial involvement in hand-drawing menus, Natalie immediately saw how big this could be.

?With her passion for business, she dived straight into rebranding, setting up social media platforms and researching ways to add value to the stall.

After serving sensational jerk chicken for over a decade and having had so many requests to buy bottles of the jerk sauce at the stall, Natalie’s love for the products was the catalyst to take them to the wider market, doing a soft launch right before lockdown.

With help from their family, her brother went to Jamaica to learn about the family’s recipes, how the sauces were being made, and what ingredients were used. He came back to the UK with samples in hand.

Meanwhile, Natalie and her dad began meeting with manufacturers and navigating a new side of running a business they had never experienced before. Finally, when they found a manufacturer, they began the process of scaling from a home recipe to producing much larger volumes.?

A helping hand into retail?

The business emerged from the other side of the pandemic in a strong position with over 60 stockists in London, Essex and Kent, and later went on to launch into Whole Foods UK as the 1st Female owned Caribbean Sauce/Condiment brand with only one source of external funding so far.

Customers at the food stall who owned shops were enquiring about stocking the sauces, so Natalie, her dad and brother set about growing the business by selling the bottles they had to shops across London.

Early on, Natalie decided she wanted their brand to be premium, as Caribbean food and drink brands are rarely seen in this food retail space. Lesley’s Sauces has gone on to launch into more butchers, farm shops, delis and independent food stores and still with only one source of external funding so far.

Natalie’s business received support from Foundervine’s Immerse Level Up Accelerator in partnership with Lloyds Bank through a ￡12,000 grant as well as other great benefits, including:

• Two hours of coaching and support every week from mentors and fellow founders.
• The capital to switch manufacturing companies helped the business prosper by ensuring the condiments and seasonings were of the highest possible quality.
• Launching new products and hiring a chef on a consultancy basis to work on new product recipes.

They have formed such a great bond that Natalie still keeps in touch with the programme’s other founders, who support each other as they navigate the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.

“Having banked with Lloyds since being a child, I just love the help they are giving through initiatives such as this and helping entrepreneurs from minority backgrounds access exciting new opportunities,” Natalie adds.

How condiments can help the local community

Despite all the demands on her time, Natalie's non-negotiable goal is to help her local community.

There are a lot of food banks in her area, and Natalie regularly donates hundreds of bottles to help people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. “The products in food banks need to reflect all cultures and diets for the people who use them,” she states.

It’s not always a case of just dropping off the bottles at a local food bank. Natalie has been asked to hand them out directly, and the response is always hugely positive. “My 15-year-old son and I love meeting people, and one lady whose kids went to his school was getting tearful on one of their drop-offs because she felt embarrassed. So many of us are only one pay check away from being in the same position,” she admits.?

Influential credentials?

Natalie’s been pleasantly surprised to be asked by others if she’d like to be a Growth Consultant for their businesses and really enjoys it. “People say that I inspire them. I am just doing my best to represent people that look like me, whether a fellow mum, someone from my culture and heritage, or women in business, to show them what’s possible,” she says.?

Natalie is also passionate about educating young people on entrepreneurship. She regularly mentors youth and has spoken at universities, giving talks about her experiences to inspire the next generation of business founders with a real heart for those from minority backgrounds in particular. A few people have influenced Natalie’s approach to life and business. Her grandma especially, who came to the UK from Jamaica as part of the Windrush Generation, worked tirelessly while raising five children alone before becoming bed-bound with arthritis.?

“My grandma never complained and gave me so much support and confidence in everything I did. She was always so proud of us all. Even though she was confined to her bed, she remained the absolute rock of the family. The inspiration she gave me is amazing, and even though she’s no longer here, I want to achieve so many things for her,” Natalie enthuses.?

Though the business is named after her mum, she describes her dad as “the best man you could ever meet.” He’s provided encouragement, moral and financial support to help Natalie pursue her dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur. She has some wise words for others who want to do all they can to support their entrepreneurial friends and family.

• Buy from them. Don’t assume that their businesses are always doing well. Your purchases are so helpful if you can afford them.?
• Make more conscious choices to support local independent businesses rather than big-name brands.?
• Most small businesses don’t have big marketing budgets, so they rely on customer loyalty and word of mouth. It’s crucial to shout about them!

Finding the right ingredients for work-life balance

She’s also keen to stress the other side of running a business people rarely see. As an entrepreneur, a mum raising two boys by herself and a carer for her own mum, Natalie is open and honest about her experiences with burnout.?

She’s had to navigate manufacturing issues as the business scaled up after getting a listing in Whole Foods’ seven London stores. There have also been cash flow issues due to bootstrapping the business from the start and going on to launch new product ranges.?

Natalie describes herself as an “octopus", but how does she make time for herself with so many things to juggle on a daily basis? With no big team to support her in the business, although she recently hired her eldest son, Natalie has been speaking to more entrepreneurs to help better understand the burdens of running a business and how to achieve the right work-life balance.?

Here are her top three tips:

• Plan non-negotiable times into your day. Natalie goes for an hour-long walk every evening to help her focus without any distractions or just switch off completely.?
• Don’t put yourself under too much pressure. Having a trusted group of other business owners, you can pick up the phone to can help you put things in perspective rather than struggling alone.?
• Know your limits. Natalie’s honest about the fact that some days, she gets up and doesn’t feel like working. Having experienced burnout, she’s now better at recognising when things are getting too much and giving herself time to reset.?

She feels she needs to talk about this more because so many entrepreneurs would benefit from having clearer boundaries between work and everyday life.?

A flavour of what’s coming next

Natalie’s journey has had many highs and lows. One highlight that stands out for her is being hugged by a fan of her brand at the Taste of London food festival.

The woman said she’d seen the Jamaican flag on Lesley’s Sauces in Whole Foods and bought the product because she instantly knew it was a Caribbean brand, making her feel seen.?

“That floored me. At that moment, the launch with Whole Foods made sense. I cried because I was feeling overwhelmed at the time due to manufacturing problems, but her words made me realise I couldn’t stop,” she recalls.?

Natalie has several exciting plans already underway, including:?

• A big community event this summer to bring locals together through food.
• More talks about her experience as an entrepreneur in schools and universities.
• Continuing her mission to make Lesley’s Sauces a household name.

And what about Natalie’s legacy? “Being able to help my community is what gets me so excited. I just want to positively impact the economy of my local area and its people,” she concludes.?

While Lesley’s Sauces continues to fly off the shelves, Natalie’s incredible approach to life and entrepreneurship is something that can’t be bottled.??