Join us on a journey of reflection for an exclusive behind the scenes insight into the past year!
RHEAL 2021 MILESTONES
Reflecting on this year stirs up so many emotions for us. There's no denying that it has been our most challenging year to date, but it's also been our most rewarding - and looking back, we wouldn't change a thing.
Here are our Rheal highlights of 2021.
Expanding Into Our First Premises 🔑
One of our main priorities going into the New Year was securing a bigger premises so that we could expand our capacity to fulfil orders and manage production.
We found a 5000 sqft empty industrial space and took the plunge - transforming it into a fully functioning production unit in a few months, with the help of our amazing family and friends.
Moving into our new premises has been a real game changer, allowing us to really manage quality control of our products. From the manufacturing process right through to distribution to customers and retailers - keeping things in-house has allowed us to take our products to the next level.
And just when we thought we had enough space to do that, it didn't take long for us to outgrow our still new premises! We are now in the process of doubling our space with a shiny new 10,000 sqft Rheal Superfoods HQ.
Pitching to The Dragons 🐉
We couldn't reflect on 2021 without mentioning Dragons' Den!
Pitching our business to the dragons was one of our biggest challenges yet and we really didn't know what to expect from the experience itself - let along the reaction when it aired in April.
Despite us knowing how well it went on the day and doing our best to prepare for a huge response, we could never have anticipated what would happen next. Within minutes we received thousands of new orders and customers - eventually causing our inventory system to crash!
We worked round the clock to fulfil these orders and welcome our new customers. But that came with its challenges, with a delay on receiving new stock and a backlog of pre-orders - it was a 6 weeks I don't think anyone in the team will ever forget... But, we couldn't have been happier to get the word about superfoods out to so many people. It was worth the stress (and tears).
Dragons' Den has opened the doors for future growth and opportunities we've only ever dreamed of. As well as being a catalyst for the business, it has also been a truly life changing experience for us both.
Growing the Team 📈
Up until this year it has always been just myself and Sean working full-time in the business. Working all hours, we've just about managed to keep on top of things. But as our ambitions started to become a reality, we started to crumble under the pressure and knew we needed help!
Along came Dragons' Den and it was perfect timing to recruit our first full-time employee, Steph. The next 6 weeks were the most difficult of our lives to date, but we made it through to the other side with our new team member and the ongoing help of family and friends.
Fast forward just a few months and we now have 13 people in the team; from operations and warehouse management, to customer experience and marketing. We've also just had our first team social where we got to finally all meet in person! 🎉
Then Things Got Rheal! 🚀
After the hype of Dragons' Den settled and with our amazing new team behind us, it was the perfect opportunity to start our rebrand.
Transitioning from Super U to Rheal was another huge challenge both operationally and visually. We didn't want to lose our identity completely, but we needed a fresh start that could take the business to the next level.
The name Super U turned out to be quite restrictive within Europe, so we decided to rebrand as Rheal and launched our fresh new look and website. We've had an amazing response so far, so thank you for your love and support!
Our goal is to become the leading superfood brand in the UK and Europe and we know that Rheal can take us there.
REFLECTING ON OUR JOURNEY SO FAR
We started our business from scratch, juggling being young entrepreneurs with finishing our degrees and travelling to small food and yoga fairs to showcase our products.
So looking back to where it all began, it is really humbling to reflect on how far we have come. We couldn't be more proud and we wouldn't have got to where we are today without our customers - that's YOU!
With every order you have placed, you have also helped us to plant one tree with our partner One Tree Planted. To date we have planted over 40,000 trees to help tackle deforestation - and are set to triple that in 2021.
We wanted to take this opportunity to personally thank you for your support and wish you all the very best for the New Year 💚
THE FUTURE IS RHEAL
Whatever next year brings, there will be big things ahead and we are more than ready for the next chapter in our story. We will continue to make real foods which heal from within as accessible as possible for everyone to enjoy.
With our own premises, an ever-growing team behind us and thousands of loyal amazing customers - we are so proud and excited to see what the future holds for Rheal Superfoods.
2022, We're Coming for You!
