PODCAST

Julianne Ponan: The campaigner and entrepreneur building a successful allergen free snack brand | Small Business Sessions (S9E5)

Dan MartinDan Martin Content & Events

Posted: Wed 12th Nov 2025

The Small Business Sessions, Enterprise Nation's podcast, is back for a ninth exciting series of inspiring entrepreneurial stories and expert business tips!

The podcast is powered by the business.connected online training programme and our partner Vodafone Business.

Episode five: Julianne Ponan, Creative Nature

Joining freelance journalist Dan Martin for the fifth episode is Julianne Ponan, founder of Creative Nature, the range of snack bars and other products that are free of the top 14 allergens.

Julianne was inspired to start the business after suffering with anaphylaxis and allergies from the age of two. Her conditions have led to her being admitted to intensive care several times.

Creative Nature products are now stocked in hundreds of stores and sold in countries around the world.

Topics discussed in the episode include:

How she got started with Creative Nature.
How she got her products stocked in several large retail chains.
Why she pulled out of having her products in Holland & Barrett.
Her experience appearing on Dragons’ Den and why she turned down the deal.
Her advice for growing a team.
Lessons from failing at crowdfunding before she successfully crowdfunded £500,000.
Securing significant media coverage and how other entrepreneurs can do the same.
Exporting her products to over 16 countries.

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Dan MartinDan Martin Content & Events

I'm a freelance content creator and event host who helps small businesses and the organisations that support them. I'm also Enterprise Nation's Local Leader for Bristol. I have 20 years of experience as a small business journalist having interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs from famous names like Sir Richard Branson and Deborah Meaden to the founders behind brand new start-ups. I've worked for a range of leading small business publications and support groups, most recently as head of content at Enterprise Nation where I was responsible for the prolific output of content on the company's blog and social media. I now freelance for Enterprise Nation as the website's news reporter and as the host of the Small Business sessions podcast. I'm based in Bristol where I run and host regular events with the local small business community in my role as Enterprise Nation's Local Leader for Bristol. I also have strong connections with other major business organisations in the south west region. In total, I've hosted over 100 events including conferences with an audience of hundreds for international brands like Xero and Facebook and live web chats from inside 10 Downing Street. With my partner, I co-run Lifestyle District, a lifestyle blog focused on culture, art, theatre and photography.

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