The duo met through flat share site ‘SpareRoom’ and hit it off immediately.
“I was working for Pip & Nut and came in with, like, seven jars of almond butter,” laughed Harland.
The two of them bonded over a shared fondness for breakfast food and fitness; and their joint experiences in the FMCG world helped to spark experimentations in the kitchen with better-for-you sweet bakery.
“Everything in the supermarket was so full of preservatives, high in sugar, and white refined flour,” explained Harland.
“We noticed a problem and we wanted to create a solution,” added McGregor. “[But] it took a good few years to actually become a business.”
What began as a way to create healthier breakfasts just for themselves, developed into a range of frozen waffles aimed at giving consumers a sweet but nutritious option for the start of their days. The range currently includes Original, Choc Chip, (which also have higher protein versions) and Blueberry waffles.
From the get go, we really had clear recipes and ideas of what we would and wouldn’t put in the products.
Ella Harland, Griddle co-founder
From the start, their recipes were guided by clear principles – an ethos which the pair have maintained as the business has scaled.
“It has to be a kitchen cupboard ingredient,” Harland said. “We don’t have to include any preservatives, artificial stabilisers.”
Sugar reduction was also key, as the pair noted waffles with the likes of 30g of sugar per 100g is “just absolutely ludicrous”.
Since its somewhat serendipitous beginnings, Griddle has secured multiple listings including Asda, Ocado, Tesco, and Amazon Fresh. It has also received a six-figure investment and nabbed David Wagstaff, former Saint Pierre Bakery CEO, as its non-exec chairman.
On the future, Harland hinted that the brand – which has been strictly waffles so far – will branching out with other frozen bakery SKUs.
Click the play button above or head over to wherever you usually get your podcasts to listen to the episode in full.
