Tess Reed is the Founder of All Dressed Up, an exciting new all natural dressings brand with a super simple mission, to make healthy eating more delicious, fun and easy. Set to shake up the world of salads, sauces, marinades and more, it offers a range of four seriously flavourful dressings, each making a quick and easy way to enhance everyday dishes. Launched to market just a year ago, the brand has now secured its first nationwide supermarket listing with Ocado and can also be found at a host of prestigious retailers such as Wholefoods, Bayley & Sage and Panzers.
Can you tell us a little about your background and your company? – Having lost my job during lockdown, I signed up to Leiths and completed the Year’s Diploma in Food and Wine. I then worked as a private chef on film sets, and then as a Product Development Chef for Simplycook. I’d always made salad dressings (for as long as I could remember!) and it was actually my boyfriend who noticed that there was a huge gap in the category for all natural, delicious salad dressings. He suggested I should make my own, so I did just that! I started All Dressed Up, making dressings from my own kitchen and the business has grown from there! We focus on making all natural dressings that taste great, are fun to use and are good for you too!
What inspired you to start your business? – I was hugely inspired by other female founders who had created great challenger brands. I look up to the likes of Pippa Murray who founded Pip & Nut when I was about 21. I love that she has built the brand from scratch, and she provides so much inspiration for someone like me to try and do the same in the salad dressing space.
How did you create awareness for your brand? At the beginning, it was all via Instagram. I put out a post saying I was thinking of starting up a business selling salad dressing, and we then sold over 350 bottles in the first couple of weeks. We then had lots of people asking to reorder, and spreading the word, and the business grew from there!
What strategies helped you secure funding and scale your business? – I kept the business super lean to begin with, and had very little costs. Any money made then went back into building the business. The strategy for scaling was to build really good foundation blocks, start small and grow organically (which so far we are continuing to do!)
What have been your biggest successes so far? – launching into all Wholefoods stores with such good exposure was a huge success back in June last year. We then launched with Ocado earlier this year which has been our biggest and most exciting retail launch to date!
What challenges have you faced, and how did you overcome them? – There have been challenges along the way! Too many to list, but a handful would be, finding the right production partner, sourcing the right bottles and caps, cash flow issues and stock issues. I think everything is possible to overcome if it’s broken down into bite sized pieces. I try to get as much information as possible and ask a lot of questions as to how we can fix the problem (there’s normally a solution!)
What are your plans for the future? – I’d love to go full time working for All Dressed Up, and grow the team! It would be amazing for us to be the go to challenger brand in the UK for salad dressings, condiments and who knows what else..watch this space!
What advice would you give to aspiring female entrepreneurs? – Trust your gut, and surround yourself with people who believe in your idea and product. There are so many amazing people who will be happy to share their own journey, tips and tricks – ask as many questions as you can to become an expert in your industry!
What are your top three tips for entrepreneurial success? – 1. Hustle, don’t hassle! 2. Trust your instincts, but be open to feedback and be prepared to be agile. 3. Learn to love juggling many plates, be comfortable being in the uncomfortable!
Who are five people who inspire you the most, and why? – 1. Pip Murray, as mentioned above. For me she was the first FMCG female founder that I could relate to in trying to build a challenger brand in a fiercely competitive space. 2. Amelia Christie Miller, Founder of Bold Bean. She has created such a fantastic brand, mission and shines positivity and realism. 3. My mum! – She built a really successful career alongside having 3 kids, and always has a great perspective on everything. 4. Elizabeth Day, I love her on How To Fail, and think she is a raw and brilliant interviewer. 5. Ottolenghi – I own pretty much all of his cook books, so he inspires the type of food I love to cook and eat often!
What are your favourite inspirational or motivational quotes? – If you’re going to miss the bus, miss it running.
Where can our readers connect with you?
@alldressedupdressings, www.alldressedupdressings.com
