Catford inventor wins national award for smoothie business inspired by living with one kidney 

By Daisy Graham-Brown, Local Democracy Reporter

Letisha Larmond was born with only one kidney. That would not normally be the automatic route to an award-winning business – but for her it was.

The 25-year-old spent her childhood experimenting in the kitchen with her dad.

He was determined not to let his daughter’s symptoms get the better of her.

Now Letisha is launching her own smoothie business – the result of those years of bonding in the kitchen with her dad.

Letisha, from Broadfield Road, Catford, is among 63 winners across the UK of this year’s Young Innovator Award.

They all receive a £5,000 grant, one-on-one coaching, and an allowance to cover living costs.

She won that package for Frooted, the UK’s first blender-free smoothie business – Letisha’s company sells frozen smoothie cubes that just need hot water added.

She said: “The smoothies were inspired by my dad. I was born with one kidney and my dad and I are both naturalists so, growing up, we would always blend anything we could find in our kitchen such as red kidney beans, ripe mangos and chia seeds.

“He wanted me to overcome any symptoms I had so I could continue being my best self and he always said that one of the biggest indicators of good health is our diet.

“As I got older, I spoke to lots of friends and family members, and I realised that many of them faced small but annoying health issues, such as fuzzy brain, digestive pains, and tiredness.”

She understood the frustrations and wanted to create a healthy, on-the-go product for busy people. So Letisha settled on smoothies which prioritised gut and digestive health.

She added: “I didn’t know how to create nutritious smoothies that were quick to make, stayed fresh and tasty, lasted a long time, had no preservatives and met government’s guidelines – there were just so many boxes to tick.

“But I was adamant that I was going to keep making mistakes, keep taste testing with anyone I saw and keep studying until I got it right.”

Letisha is now focusing on growing Frooted by running a three-month paid taster trial for supporters, launching a website and getting ready for her summer 2022 launch.

“When I found out I won the Innovate award I was filled with so much gratitude,” she said. “For me, winning this award isn’t about the money – it’s about the high level of support Innovate UK is offering me to help get my idea off the ground.

Having an experienced business mentor who is happy to spend a couple of hours each week to go through my idea for a whole year is invaluable.”

“Having an experienced business mentor who is happy to spend a couple of hours each week to go through my idea for a whole year is invaluable.”

Ashley Ling, 26, from St John’s Hill, Clapham Junction, won the award for his jigsaw business, Piece and Quiet, which sells puzzles that use designs from up-and-coming UK artists.

“I left my corporate job back in September to focus full time on my business, a month later I found out I’d won the award,” said Ashley, who began his business with his friend, James Edwards.

“We launched Piece and Quiet back in 2020 when we found ourselves during lockdown with more time on our hands but struggling to switch off – particularly with working from home,” he said.

“We got back into doing puzzles like a lot of people did, but we quickly realised that a lot of puzzles are very old fashioned with thatched cottages and steam trains – so we thought they needed to be reinvented.

“We decided to partner with a range of incredible UK artists that we find across Instagram, through recommendations or artists reaching out to us so we can create modern and exciting jigsaws.

“Every artist receives a share of each sale, which means that even the first artist we worked with still gets a commission each month.”

Piece and Quiet was listed in Harrods in December 2021 and now Ashley is focussing on growing the business even further by increasing the number of wholesalers he works with.

Other London winners of the Young Innovators award include Joanne Power, 23, from Mitcham, who created a washing machine which uses filtered shower water to reduce water usage.

Thomas Constant, 27, from White City also won with his insect growing pods that recycle food waste.

Emily Nott, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Innovate UK said: “2021 continued to be a challenging year of uncertainty which makes it even more extraordinary how many of the winners have made such progress on their ideas.

“Working alongside this year’s winners, Innovate UK will help them grow and develop their business idea to make the world a better, and more innovative place.

We can’t wait to see what they achieve next.”

 

Main Picture: Letisha Larmond