Hillary Graves of Little Dish

Who:  Hillary Graves

Company: Little Dish

In the wings: I am married to Dean and we have two children, Monty who will soon be turning 3 and Ridley who is 7 months.

Where: We currently live in West London which is also the location of the Little Dish office.  

What: Little Dish is the first and only brand to launch a range of fresh, natural food for toddlers and young children made with 100% natural ingredients and no added salt or sugar. We replicate what mums and dads make at home in their own kitchens, offering busy parents a fresh, nutritionally balanced meal when they haven’t got time to cook. All Little Dish recipes are created with a paediatric dietician, and every dish is taste tested by lots of kids.

Previous Life:  Before I set up Little Dish, I worked in marketing. I’m originally from the States and moved to London in 2000 to set up iVillage UK – a women’s website. Then I met my husband, and that’s when I decided to stay in London!

The elevator pitch…. Our Little Dish recipes contain no added salt or sugar and are made with 100% natural ingredients replicating what mothers make in their own kitchens. We want kids to eat healthily and love their food, and we want mums and dads to feel guilt free and confident in the nutritious recipes that we make.

Your light-bulb moment was... I met John Stapleton, my business partner, who was on the founding team of the New Covent Garden Soup Company in 2004. We recognised that children were over-fed and under-nourished as traditional food brands were making over processed products with added preservatives and high levels of sugar and salt. We became very excited about the opportunity to make the UK’s first ever fresh, healthy meals for kids, so we decided to join forces and it’s been a fantastic journey ever since. Little Dish was born in April 2006 offering busy mums something that hadn’t been available in supermarkets before.

Heroes and Villains?  We like to be positive so I’m going to mention 3 heroes:
Our investors who support and love the brand, and its mission to get kids eating fresh, healthy food. Ocado who were first to list the Little Dish range, they sold out within hours on our first day.
Nick Jr who saw the potential in a partnership with us which led to the launch of the first Little Dish TV advert in May this year.

Pass on your best bit of advice: If you have a good idea you can always realise it. Stay focused and get a good team on board!

Kids, work, life…..how do you juggle?  It’s definitely a challenge. You have to be organised. I currently work four days a week and am also fortunate enough to be able to work from home at times, so that I can spend time with my two little ones. We also have a lovely nanny called Emma who looks after Monty and Ridley when I’m at work. They often pop by the office to say hello which is always a treat. 


What is the secret to your success? Getting the right team in place. My background is in marketing so I’ve focused on sales and marketing. John is in charge of the operational side of business, drawing on his wide experience of working with fresh food with no additives or preservatives. I think the fact we have such clear roles really helps the rest of the team know exactly who to turn to if they have a question or an idea. Whatever you do or make, your business is all about its people and we’re really luck in having a brilliant team helping us fulfil our vision of feeding fresh, healthy food to as many kids as possible.

Hedge fund, cash in the attic or the kid's piggy bank? Investors who wanted to see the brand grow and reach as many kids as possible.

If you had your time again you would… not do anything differently!

Wealth or comfort…?  Comfortable but a lot of hard work! Knowing that we’re now feeding over 50,000 kids a week is very rewarding.

You'd like to thank: My son Monty who is our chief taster and his little brother Ridley who will soon be joining him on the taste testing panel.

For my next trick: Wait and see! Something healthy and nutritious that will get kids’ taste buds racing.

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