Founded in 2015 by husband and wife duo Kyle and Kelly, with the help of a carefully curated selection of professional nutritionists, KIN encapsulates the wants and needs of the modern consumer.

100% natural and 100% recyclable, KIN specialise in natural vegan and whey protein powders and supplements with an aim to enable people to lead a healthier and happier lifestyle, in an honest, natural and eco-friendly way.

Working backwards to eliminate unnecessary ingredients, KIN keeps things simple with just six core ingredients that are vital for the body and digestion. We caught up with Kelly from KIN to find out how they got to this point.

WHAT WAS YOUR EUREKA MOMENT? 

Our clients at the time in both Kyle’s Personal Training and my yoga were drinking protein shakes which caused stomach irritations and bloating which affected their daily life and progress. This is when we knew we had to create a new product for the market with simple ingredients to help support gut health.

When we started the business, our lives were fully consumed by it with the energy, time and money it took to build, and it was hard to predict how it was going to grow. After our first year when it began to grow organically, and our KIN community started to grow, it showed us that people believed in it. For us this meant EVERYTHING!

WHAT WAS YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH?

KIN offer a 360-degree wellness solution to customers through fitness, nutrition and retreats. We specialise in 100% natural vegan and whey protein powders with added probiotics and fibre, and luxury Ibiza retreats. Our ethos is to enable people to live better, through all aspects of health.

HOW DID YOU TEST KIN? 

We had a huge base of PT clients at the time that were able to give us real-time feedback about ingredients and taste for KIN and who naturally became our retreat guests. We are very customer focused, social media has enabled us to carry on this relationship directly with them.

WHAT IS THE MOST WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT YOU HAVE MADE?

Taking the time and energy to make a good product and build the brand. Building the business is hard but keeping the momentum going year on year is a huge investment of energy.

WHAT ONE FAILURE ARE YOU GLAD YOU EXPERIENCED?

Growing too quickly. In our second year, we had to scale back KIN Retreats from 4 retreats a year to 1 so we could focus on scaling KIN Nutrition in the UK. It’s best to agree on a strategic direction and focus on that rather than doing lots of things at the same time because plans don’t always go as planned.

WHAT PIECE OF INDUSTRY ADVICE DO YOU OFTEN HEAR THAT YOU DISAGREE WITH?

The line, ‘The market is saturated and there is no point in bringing out a similar product‘. If your product is unique and you believe in it, you should 100% run with it. Imagine if Rhianna has said there was no point in creating Fenty because there are already tons of existing beauty brands.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE THINKING OF STARTING A BUSINESS ON THEIR OWN? 

Depending on how much backing you have, make sure you have enough money to start. Plan ahead and make sure you can earn more than you spend. It sounds simple but it is easy to overlook how much it costs to start a business and keep it going.

Don’t forget to make time to network too. It helps you to grow your business and presents opportunities that you wouldn’t usually get. Surround yourself with people who you can learn from and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

WHICH BOOK DO YOU RECOMMEND EVERYONE READS?

Kyle: Think & Grow Rich by Napolen Hill. It is a game changer for any aspiring entrepreneur and changed the way I thought, giving me the tools to make plans and action them into the daily business.

Kelly: I love how simple and direct DO/PURPOSE is by David Hieet. He also runs the Do Lectures, which is a great networking and learning platform.