SpiceBox

“Planet Organic is the perfect place to promote SpiceBox – as a retailer, they really care about the products they have listed, and they’ve opened so many doors for us to expand the brand’s healthy message.” Grace Regan, founder of SpiceBox.

After leaving university and working abroad in media tech, Grace Regan knew she wanted to do something more creative. She decided to head back to London, where she began to tap into her passion for Indian and vegan food and started selling vegan curries from her front door. As word spread, her small venture soon turned into a fully-fledged business: SpiceBox.

Launching in 2016, the idea for SpiceBox began when Grace started cooking vegan-based curry recipes. Building up a good reputation thanks to her at-home takeaway venture, Grace was able to start selling Spice Boxes at London’s street food markets and at various festivals across the UK. “It was really exciting back then; the business was just starting to take off. It’s hard to believe it all started from the recipes I was cooking in my kitchen.”

The choice to go vegan was what inspired Grace to launch the brand, “For me, it was an environmental decision, but I also grew up cooking and eating Indian food, thanks to my Great Aunt who is South Indian. I knew how perfectly Indian food lent itself to a vegan diet, which is how I came up with the idea for SpiceBox.” Following the brand’s success at street food markets and festivals, she set about expanding the business further, looking to open her own restaurants and go into retail.

Despite being a lengthy process, Grace managed to open two new curry houses in Leytonstone and Walthamstow, beginning with the Walthamstow venue in early 2019. “The business exceeded all my expectations – it was such a pinch-me moment when we actually opened the first restaurant.” Grace then began to venture into retail spaces, keen to launch her own range of retail products alongside her new curry houses.

Originally, she found it difficult to get a retailer onboard, especially during the pandemic, “During Covid, it was a challenge to get face-to-face with wholesalers and stand out as a brand, but I was determined not to give up.” Grace decided to try the independent shops in Walthamstow instead, so she could get customers’ thoughts on her retail products. The positive response encouraged her to reach out to Planet Organic with some sample boxes, which went down a treat.

After pitching her retail product range to Planet Organic, Grace says it was smooth sailing from the off, “Planet saw something special in the business early on, they were very ahead of the game and so positive about the brand as a whole.” Grace went on to launch her various vegan dhals at Planet Organic in early 2022.

Having always admired Planet Organic and its various brands, the chance to get her product listed with us was something which really appealed to Grace. “There are so many inspiring brands at Planet. I love Moju, the way they’ve built their brand is amazing. Their founder Charlie has been super helpful on my own brand journey, he’s given me lots of advice. I just think it’s a great space to be right now – Planet really shares our brand’s ethos on health and the environment.”

To find out more about SpiceBox, head to www.eatspicebox.co.uk and check them out on Instagram @eatspicebox. To purchase, head into a Planet Organic store or to www.planetorganic.com .