Over the weekend a new and exciting Behind the Biz interview hit my inbox. I read it immediately and found an instant longing to try the delicious baked goods that filled the email, especially the pancakes. Oh man I wish I was having for pancakes tomorrow morning. Scratch that, I want them now. I was also left wanting to learn more about keto and perhaps more importantly, discover more about Taeya Abdel-Majeed. We love an inspirational business woman..now let me find her IG!
You’ve probably already guessed it but today we’re diving into the world of keto with Taeya Abdel-Majeed, one of the co-founders of No Guilt Bakes.
Keto is having a moment. It’s all about living a high-fat and low carb diet. There is, of course, more to it than that so read on to find out all about the world of keto and go behind the biz with Taeya Abdel-Majeed.
Tell us about No Guilt Bakes
No Guilt Bakes is all about making it easier to stick to a ketogenic and low carb lifestyle if you have a sweet tooth and you want to keep enjoying ‘indulgent timeouts.’ We believe that FOMO (fear of missing out) is one of the central reasons why people find it hard to adopt to new lifestyles/ diets and why it’s crucial to always dismiss the notion that adhering to a healthier way of living automatically means giving up on all your favourite ‘foodie joy’ moments.
So how do we address this? By creating things that make life a little bit easier and enjoyable! With our baked treats, you know the macros before you tuck in – you don’t even have to calculate them yourselves. With the mixes, you don’t have to buy obscure or mystical ingredients… and because it’s so clear what your macros will be, you don’t even have to spend time faffing about worrying about measuring, prepping and all those other infuriating distractions!
What Sparked The Idea?
Maya (my co-founder & cousin) and I lost over 40kg between us and yet for all our shelf/online foraging, we just couldn’t find treats that satisfied our sweet cravings – the only alternative was to start making them ourselves.
Where did brand name & logo idea come from?
The Brand name came from a colleague at work who works in communications. At the time we were trying to be creative and memorable and had come up with the names like “sinless sensations” – but we thought it had the potential to sound a bit dodge even sexual, so having had a quick chat with about what our brand stood for he came back with an impressive scroll of options. The moment we saw NGB we thought YES that’s it! No stress all the joy.
Take us back to the start. how did you hook up with your 1st customers?
I suppose our first customers were work colleagues who didn’t want to have to make pancakes but were happy for me to make them and pay me £2 for the pleasure of generously-proportioned pancakes and berries.
But our first bona-fide paying customers were on ebay when we were trying to prove the concept to ourselves. We needed an impartial audience to give us honest, forthright feedback without fear of hurting our feelings.
The day we launched I recall being confused and wondering why people hadn’t bought anything yet (we had no SEO, no ads, no placement nothing – that’s how much of a novice we were!) Yet one day later I was flying back from Uganda only to discover that we had an order! (WIFI on board) I rushed home, embarked on a creating online ads crash course (created the cauliflower man ad on Facebook) and the rest as they say ….. is history.
What does ketogenic mean to you?
Being Ketogenic means being ‘Fat Fuelled’ and a body that has no debilitating dependence on pointless carbs and blood sugar highs. The result is less cravings, fewer binges and an end to depressing diets.
Tell us more about life before No Guilt Bakes
More sleep but faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar less fun and far less purpose. It’s been a big mindset enhancer, independently doing something that adds real value to other people’s daily eating routines.
Biggest lockdown learning?
Silver linings are not always apparent but they are there. We lost our placement at Brick Lane Market and also a grant opportunity to help us with our shelf life so we were feeling more than a little sorry for ourselves. We were so frantic the first week of lockdown because our sales slid to nothing overnight. But as people started to turn to online shopping they quickly doubled (& more) from what they had been before and we’ve grown exponentially from month-to-month ever since. We never give up, because a little voice in the back of our heads kept reminding us that we were onto something special.
Did you always plan to be self-employed?
Goodness me child of an African immigrant? No lol, we were supposed to be bankers, lawyers, doctors or engineers first and then perhaps open something in those fields. We should have both figured out that our shared love of food, baking and cooking would have a say in our futures
When it comes to the food & drink industry, what makes your blood boil?
I get a little frazzled by businesses that claim their products are sugar-free but continue to load them with ingredients that can still negatively affect blood sugars. Then again, I do feel like there’s a lot of misinformation (much driven by governments) about the untapped benefits of a ‘low carb’ diet.
Share a business high with us.
I will still always remember the sense of joy when we got an email from a speciality store out of the blue. Maya cried and I was so shocked she was crying (she rarely cries) that I didn’t even know what to do
Best single piece of advice to yourself if starting out tomorrow?
Don’t wait. It will never be perfect or please everyone. But it will always be delicious to most.
You can support No Guilt Bakes over on their site (that’s where you can buy their mixes) and of course, on Instagram.
Let me say a HUGE thank you for Taeya Abdel-Majeed for taking the time out to get involved with Behind the Biz. As far as I can tell No Guilt Bakes makes living a keto lifestyle easy and would be a perfect start for beginners.
I loved hearing about Taeya’s business journey and can’t wait to see this small biz GROW over the next year. I predict very exciting times ahead for the NGB duo.