Diabetic Hampers is a great start up company run by young entrepreneur Giles Peters.
We caught up with Giles of Diabetic Hampers to talk through the genesis of the company, what it does, and what the future holds.
Firstly, Giles, congratulations from everyone at Diabetes.co.uk, how did the original idea for DiabeticHampers.co.uk come about?
For the most part, the idea came about because members of my mother’s family have type 2 diabetes and there weren’t really food products suitable for people with type 2 diabetes in health food shops and supermarkets.
Your relations faced difficulty finding suitable dietary products in the past?
Yeah, definitely.
So what foods make up the basis of your hampers?
We obviously have foods with no sugar in our product range, we tend to go via the levels set by Diabetes UK .
Do you test them for taste?
Of course, family, friends, everyone gets involved!
Your business makes a genuine difference to the diabetes community, do you constantly refine your hampers to make them as healthy as possible?
Before we launched, we made sure our hampers were as healthy as they possibly could be. We are looking at expanding our range to include a make-your-own hamper. We like to make sure we’ve got healthy products, but also tasty ones.
Could you run the community through your product range?
We offer six hampers at the moment. These are the Larder Filler, our largest hamper, a large range of foods in a bamboo hamper for any occasion.
The Larder Filler includes a range of delights including organic popcorn, low G.I crisps, whole apricots and a Macadamia nut bar. We also have the Lounge Lizard hamper, for those who need a bit of time out to relax.
The Afternoon Tea hamper is ideal for an indulgent but guilt-free tea party.
Breakfast in Bed is ideal for a romantic morning, whilst the celebration hamper is ideal for spoiling a special someone. Last in the range is the pamper hamper, which also contains champagne, contrary to popular belief is suitable for diabetics, although Diabetes UK do recommend that alcohol should be drunk in moderation.
How old were you when you started the company?
I was 17 when I started Diabetic Hampers.
Last year you won a business award, for a recognition of your achievements, presented by Alistair Darling. Was that nerve-wracking?
I didn’t expect to win it, to be perfectly honest, but I was very glad when I did. It was quite scary being in front of all those people.
What will the future hold for diabetic hampers and for you?
Well now I can put my full attention into the business, and the next stage is to develop the make-your-own hamper.
Thanks for your time Giles, and best of luck with Diabetic Hampers from everyone at Diabetes.co.uk.