5 Minutes With: Amber Fraser

WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF YOU WEREN’T IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY?
I’d be following one of my other passions of either helping people to live longer and healthier lives or working within animal activism.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
Working as a waitress at the restaurant of a golf club when I was 16. I loved the social aspect of it – it was a lot of fun!

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Seeing people making a difference, even if it’s just a small one. Our mission is to encourage people to eat more sustainable plant-based food.

WHAT’S THE WORST JOB YOU’VE DONE?
Straight out of university I was selling printers and software to offices. I was never passionate about printers and you needed a lot of determination to succeed.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF YOUR JOB?
Hearing customer feedback has got to be the most rewarding thing about all of this. I met a woman who was explaining to her mum why she loved our peas so much – when she found out I was the founder, she thanked us over and over for making her favourite snack!

AND YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE?
Making difficult decisions that don’t really have a clear right or wrong answer.

TEA OF COFFEE?
I tend to stick to caffeine-free teas. I’m a pretty high energy person naturally so caffeine winds me up a little too much!

HOW ABOUT THE FOOD INDUSTRY – IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO CHANGE?
The industry can, be quite wasteful when it comes to expending a lot of resources importing ingredients or even whole products from all over the world. We’d love it if more companies used great local ingredients in their products.

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR LAST SUPPER?
A veggie curry and a gooey vegan chocolate brownie, yum!

WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO?
Fortune favours the brave.

WHAT’S THE WEIRDEST THING THAT YOU’VE EVER EATEN?
That’s got to be Natto, a Japanese dish made from fermented soybeans and other spices.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. A few key life lessons that I’ve taken away from that book: don’t panic, the answer to everything in life is 42, and always carry a towel.

SWEET OR SAVOURY?
Savoury