Rebelicious with a cause: The sauce brand on a mission to make family meals healthy

Ottilia Aviram is the co-founder of Rebelicious Sauces, which sells healthy cook-in sauces for babies, toddlers and adults to enjoy.

The Cornwall-based entrepreneur explains the story behind her company and how the Amazon Small Business Accelerator e-learning programme has helped her refine her strategy for selling products on Amazon's online store.

The free Amazon Small Business Accelerator e-learning programme is advice from more than 30 business experts in 218 bitesize videos. 
 
If you're already an Enterprise Nation member, log-in to your member dashboard to access the e-learning. If you're not an Enterprise Nation member, you can join the Amazon Small Business Accelerator for free here.

How did you come up with your business idea?

I was spending a lot of time commuting in London and found it hard to cook quick healthy food for my child. We looked at low sugar and salt sauces and condiments but couldn't find any that were suitable so we decided to come up with our own recipes. We tried out our sauces on friends and family. We also used our daughter as the chief tasterl

At first, we decided to go for chilled sauces and I designed the branding. Not long after creating our recipes and sauces, we moved to Cornwall, found local suppliers, collaborated with other businesses and starting coming up with new flavours.

We've won Taste of the West and Nourish awards for our Korma Sauce and Beetroot and Horseradish Ketchup.

What start-up challenges have you faced?

We came up against challenges when trademarking the name we first thought of and had to go back to the drawing board. We loved Rebelicious, which was the first name we came up with. We used a trademark lawyer with our application as we felt that it would help if there were any issues but luckily there weren't!

Another challenge was the shelf life of our products. We worked with a local food innovation college who helped us with testing and lengthening the shelf life.

We also faced challenges with advertising but by joining the Amazon Small Business Accelerator, we have picked up some useful tips for promoting our products on Amazon.

How has the Amazon Small Business Accelerator e-learning programme helped?

We were inspired by the blog writing and email marketing videos which have helped because we were not aware of how to do those tasks before.

The email marketing tips from Minal Patel have helped us to create our email marketing strategy and grow our subscriber list. We will now be emailing customers once a month and following Minal's advice for keeping 80% of the content about non-sales messages. It is essential that customers hear from you regularly, and you keep them updated on your offers and plans.  
 
The 'How to write a blog and keep it fresh' video with Sophie Segal was very useful, particularly the tips about creating 'evergreen' content and providing tips as well as product messages. I am currently planning a new blog based on the methods Sophie talks about and brainstorming ideas for content.

What are your plans for the future of your business?

We will be growing the range of sauces and condiments as well as collaborating with more businesses.

We are excited about what we can offer as healthy options for children and families. We know that during this time of home schooling, it can be hard to have time to cook. Our sauces and condiments help to make it easy to eat healthy foods.

What's your strategy for selling on Amazon?

Taking advice from the Amazon Small Business Accelerator e-learning programme has been very helpful. We have used the videos to assist with our Amazon advertising by finding relevant keywords to target our key audiences.

We have launched with a distributor and are using Prime delivery. This has given us access to wider regions and attracted more customers.

We've customised our product descriptions by looking at customer searches. We've also added clear imagery and ingredient information.

Which other entrepreneurs inspire you and why?

I attended a talk with Damien Lee from Mr Lee's Noodles. It was truly inspiring to hear the resilience he showed in dealing with the challenges and setbacks he faced. His enthusiasm, vision and tenacity to grow his business really inspired me.

Also, Maxine Laceby of Absolute Collagen. She started her business aged 50 in her kitchen. She put her family as a priority and this comes across in the values of her company. Seeing her talk at an event in London was very inspiring.

What are your top tips for business success based on your own experiences so far?

Try out ideas and products on friends and family. They will be honest with you and support you on your journey. Feedback is essential to a business so always ask for it so you know how to improve. 
 
Look at the design of other products and think about what makes you pick them up and buy them. Look at branding, packaging, websites and user experience. Work with a good designer who really understands what you want. You'll have to pay but if you get it right, you'll get a great return on your investment. 
 
Listen to your customers. Find out what they want and how you can help them. If there is a problem, always over deliver. 
  
Never be afraid to ask for advice from other business owners. I have found business owners so helpful in providing knowledge and insight. They have helped me with partnerships, suppliers and collaborations.

The free Amazon Small Business Accelerator e-learning programme is advice from more than 30 business experts in 218 bitesize videos. 
 
If you're already an Enterprise Nation member, log-in to your member dashboard to access the e-learning. If you're not an Enterprise Nation member, you can join the Amazon Small Business Accelerator for free here.