This week we caught up with Jess Higgins, Co-Founder of Freja to talk about how the idea of Freja came about, what’s so good about bone broth and much more.

What inspired you to create Freja Bone Broth?

As with many successful businesses, the idea was born out of necessity. As a working mum in a busy household, finding quick, easy and nutritious meal solutions was always a challenge I would run into. I’ve always been interested in food and nutrition and had long been fed up with the amount of ultra-processed ‘healthy’ foods on supermarket shelves. Frustrated with the lack of delicious, nutritious fast food to feed our family of six, Ed and I wanted a genuinely healthy alternative. Something delicious, with no additives, is cupboard-friendly and sustainable too. Enter Freja!

We wanted to recreate the slowly simmered bone broths of our childhoods, but now as a delicious store-cupboard staple. We decided to create one, armed with an ambitious list of non-negotiables: a long shelf-life, 100% natural ingredients and high animal welfare standards. It had to be delicious and nutrient-packed, too.

Did you come across any difficulties when creating Freja Bone Broth?

I would say, at first, it was the reduced awareness amongst today’s consumers of the benefits bone broth can offer. Thankfully, we’ve already noticed big changes in that department and continue to put a lot of effort into educating people about how it can help them.

Bone broth is a forgotten foundational food, which we’re bringing to the modern household. Freja is made from entirely natural ingredients, with a delicious homemade-style flavour, and a convenient 24-month shelf-life. Packed with protein and collagen, the broths are a rich source of amino acids and minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, making them highly sought after by health-conscious consumers for a multitude of concerns.

It’s no secret, the bouillon aisle is one of the most boring fixtures in the supermarket and has seen little innovation since the Knorr stock pot. At the same time, customers’ desire for natural products and the rising awareness of ultra-processed foods has driven consumers to seek products, like bone broth, that have a clean label and don’t have long lists of ingredients you can’t pronounce.

Our bone broths are shelf stable, so they could become a store-cupboard staple. As well as being easier to store and ship, making it more viable from an e-commerce perspective, our bone broth eliminates emission-heavy refrigeration from the supply chain.

Are you working on anything new that you can share with us?

We’re planning on launching some new products later this year, in order to make bone broth more accessible to the mass market. It’s all top secret at this point, but watch this space!

What has been the best piece of advice you have been given?

‘If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.’

It’s a bit of a cliché, but it is so true in any walk of life. I’ve experienced my fair share of failures in life, but as long as you pick yourself back up, get back in the saddle and go again, you will get what you deserve in the end.

What would your ideal day in London be like?

I’d start with a trip to Wholefoods in Kensington to scope out new brands and sample some of the delicious offerings there. Then I’d head out for a dim sum lunch in Chinatown, catch an exhibition or a show and retreat back to the countryside!

For more information visit https://frejafoods.com