When I later went to University, I assumed everyone would know how to cook good food and that I would be able to find the ingredients I liked to use easily. However, it quickly became clear that wasn’t the case. I realised so many people were missing out on incredible flavours and experiences, and so I wanted to make the ingredients more widely accessible in the UK.
In 2017, Red Rickshaw was born and today, I’m the CEO and Founder of Red Rickshaw and sister brand FeastBox, with my mission to source authentic, high-quality, seasonal ingredients from all over the world and introduce them to UK consumers.
Red Rickshaw is the largest international online grocery store in the UK, primarily operating in the grocery and retail sector, providing services to a wide range of consumers and wholesale food outlets, including Michelin-starred restaurants and street-food market vendors across the country.
FeastBox is a world cuisine recipe box, bringing discovery and adventure back to weeknight cooking. Showing people how to use global, unknown ingredients with step-by-step guides delivered directly to the door, FeastBox operates in the food and beverage sector.
I was always very planned in terms of my corporate career, but making my passion into my main career was something that slowly became my reality the more the business grew. I had a passion for food ever since it was nurtured in my family home while cooking dinner with my grandmother, and so I always knew food was going to become a big part of my life.
I identified an opportunity in the market and used my passion to drive forward my vision for an online platform to help consumers, like me, who loved experiencing new flavours and rare ingredients from around the world.
Your career can take you in different directions, often spurred on by meeting new people and having new experiences – and owning a business is similar.
Through my first business, Red Rickshaw, I was sourcing rare ingredients but struggling to find the time to experiment with them. Like my customers, I needed a convenient way to inject excitement back into everyday meals and so FeastBox was born, growing rapidly during the pandemic as demand for home delivery meal kits boomed.
As with many other businesses, the pandemic presented a significant obstacle over the past two years. At the time of the first lockdown, our core team was made up of just six people. As a digital platform though, we were well placed to pivot to the ‘stay at home’ guidance. As a result, we saw a monumental increase in huge, urgent orders. Meeting customers’ demand for products became the hardest challenge of my entrepreneurial career thus far.
I was often working until 2am and totally burnt out. Over time, we were able to work through the pain points and supported each other. We sourced new suppliers, upgraded our technology, and hired new, fantastic staff members. We showed that with the right mindset, there is no problem that can’t be solved.
Looking back at my career, one of the things I’m most proud of is that I’ve created something that allows foodies to discover. Both businesses take people on a journey of delicious, fresh food.
What’s more, I’ve done it in an industry with restrictive, age-old traditions that make it even more difficult for someone like me to be successful.
More recently, I’ve been particularly proud of our achievements as a business to make a positive change to society. In October 2020, we altered our business model to make sure that every time a customer purchased a FeastBox, a donation is made to Action Against Hunger: a global humanitarian organisation dedicated to tackling global hunger and malnutrition around the world. We also support campaigns like World Food Day to raise money for medical supplies.
We’re also making sure that sustainability and positive environmental impact are at the heart of our business. Our insulation material is made from recycled denim offcuts, our ice packs are reusable and our pods, box & paper bags are all recyclable. We are also leading the industry on reducing plastic packaging on vegetables and are working with partners that support our mission, such as delivery companies that have offset carbon emissions.
Other partnerships such as with Give Back Box, enable customers to reuse our packaging and to donate unwanted items such as clothes, shoes and books to a charity of their choice, simply by using the Give Back Box label. We’re extremely proud as a business to be giving back to those who really need it and helping our customers do the same.
I’m always on the lookout for inspiration, but ultimately the most influential person throughout my life has to be my grandmother. She’s a truly remarkable character. She never went to school and was married by the age of 13. She instilled in me a can-do attitude, a willingness to be positive in the face of life’s challenges and the importance of sharing joy and happiness along the way.
I believe there are more barriers to becoming an entrepreneur as a woman. I started Red Rickshaw when I was pregnant with my first child who was closely followed by my second; I was finding my feet in business whilst also finding my feet as a new mum.
You have to wear many hats as an entrepreneur and get hands-on across an array of tasks – from accounting, to legal, to procurement and manufacturing, marketing, and recruitment. It meant a lot of hard work with many late nights, which took time away from family life. To this day, I still feel mum guilt, but I also want to inspire them to follow their dreams too.
My experience shows that it’s possible to be a mum, as well as a successful business owner. Women cannot let glass ceilings hold us back from dreaming big and making it happen. I’d be happy if I’m able to inspire even just one woman to take a leap and follow her passions.
There is so much that can be done to make proactive changes to accelerate the pace for Gender Equality – but I do believe it starts with wider communities and businesses creating opportunities that promote gender parity, setting an example to others. Within both of our businesses, we ensure there are equal opportunities for everyone, based on your skillset and experience and nothing else.
We proudly have a wide range of women in senior roles across the business, offering flexible and agile working conditions to make work more accessible to all. Being a mum, I understand how hard it can be to juggle work and family, but it is on companies to step up and ensure they are proactive in striving for gender equality.
Looking back to the early days of Red Rickshaw and FeastBox, it would have been a lot easier if I had the excellent team I have now. Although recruiting the right people takes time, often the solution to many obstacles is to have a talented team working towards a common goal. When the business started out, we were just a team of six, but by growing the number of employees and bringing in experts in their respective fields, we were much better positioned to tackle any obstacles that could come our way during the pandemic.
I hope I have helped to make the world a slightly better, fairer place. I’m really excited to see what a difference both FeastBox and Red Rickshaw can make to peoples’ lives over the course of the next decade and the positive impact it has on the planet.
February
20feb12:0012:45Creating a menopause-friendly workplace | Free lunch & learn with Menospace
20/02/2025 12:00 - 12:45(GMT+00:00)
This free Lunch & Learn event is designed to provide an introduction to supporting menopause at
It’s a great opportunity to learn how small changes can make a big difference.
Hosted by Haley White, Founder of Menospace, this session will cover key topics such as understanding the impact of menopause in the workplace, recognising common symptoms, and exploring practical strategies for fostering a menopause-friendly environment. Attendees will gain actionable advice on how to implement policies, open conversations, and ensure that those experiencing menopause feel heard, valued, and supported in their professional roles.
This informative and engaging session will take place on Thursday 20th February 2025, from 12.00pm to 12.45pm via Zoom, making it accessible for professionals across different locations. The 45-minute session is structured to fit conveniently within the workday, allowing participants to join during lunch and walk away with key takeaways that they can apply immediately in their workplace, helping to drive meaningful change.
By attending this session, participants will better understand why menopause awareness is crucial, how to implement small but impactful changes in the workplace, and how organisations can create an environment where employees feel comfortable discussing menopause-related challenges, leading to improved wellbeing and productivity.
Whether you’re a business leader, HR professional, line manager, or employee interested in learning more, this session is an excellent opportunity to gain practical knowledge and be part of the movement towards greater workplace inclusivity and better support for menopausal employees.
Join the conversation, learn from an expert, and take the first step towards making your workplace menopause-friendly and empowering your team!
25feb09:0017:30International Women's Day Conference & Exhibition 2025 | ThinkFest IWD
25/02/2025 09:00 - 17:30(GMT+00:00)
Millennium Point - Birmingham
Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG
Join us for a kick-ass International Women’s Day Conference & Exhibition, celebrating and empowering women from all walks of life! International Women’s
Join us for an inspiring and empowering event celebrating women’s achievements and promoting gender equality. The International Women’s Day Conference & Exhibition will take place at Millennium Point – Birmingham. This in-person event brings together influential speakers, thought-provoking discussions, and a vibrant exhibition showcasing the talents of women from various fields. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and be inspired by remarkable women from around the world. Come and be part of this incredible celebration of women’s accomplishments and the journey towards a more inclusive society.
The Event is split in two, a ticketed Conference and a free to attend Expo.
FREE TO ATTEND EXPO – This part of the event will feature a number of exhibition stands as well as seminar stage delivering content to individuals, small businesses and young females. This is completely free to attend and we have content running throughout the day.
For more for more information about all of the sessions we are running, please take a look at our website. www.IWDExpo.com
We look forward to welcoming you all there, don’t forget it’s not just for women, we need more men in the room to create a greater alliance for gender parity.
10:00 AM Welcome & Introduction
10:30 AM Motivational Networking
11:00 AM How to Start and Scale Your Business
11:30 AM The Magic of Writing Your Book
12:00 PM Funding Females
12:30 PM Mental Health & Wellbeing
1:00 PM Women In STEM
2:00 PM Women in Media
3:00 PM Empowering Girls for Career Success
4:00 PM Building Your Personal Brand
4:40 PM Monetise your Passion
5:10 PM Finish
PAID TICKET CONFERENCE – The content delivered at the conference will be targeted towards senior leaders across business and corporate as well as third-sector organisations. We will be exploring a range of different topics, looking at key issues that women face and what we can do to improve the experience for women in the workplace. A key part of the conference will focus on how we increase the number of male allies for females and have a dedicated panel of speakers discussing this. To top it all off we will be hearing from fashion entrepreneur Karen Millen OBE, founder of Karen Millen.
25feb10:3011:30The FTSE Women Leaders Review | Report Launch Tuesday 25 February 2025
25/02/2025 10:30 - 11:30(GMT+00:00)
We are delighted to extend to you a special invitation to the live broadcast launch of the FTSE Women Leaders Review report on Tuesday 25 February 2025 from
The FTSE Women Leaders Review has made remarkable strides, with the FTSE 350 achieving over 40% women’s representation on boards ahead of the target. However, our work is far from complete. Achieving gender balance and diversity on boards and leadership teams has never been more crucial to harness the wealth of experience, expertise and skills essential for business to navigate complex issues successfully.
With just one year remaining to reach our recommendations, realising genuine equality and enabling further progress will require a united commitment from us all to achieve the 40% women in leadership target and to drive more appointments of women into the ‘four key roles’; the Chair, Senior Independent Director, CEO and Finance Director.
We therefore warmly invite you to join us for the 2024 report launch, where we will share new and exclusive findings on the progress made in achieving gender balance during the year. We are delighted that the Secretary of State for the Department of Business & Trade and the Minister for Women & Equalities will be sharing their support for the Review, and we are excited to host a panel of distinguished guests who will share insights on how they are accelerating progress.
Our panellists include:
– Allison Kirkby, CEO BT Group Plc
– Lee Chambers, Business Psychologist, Speaker, Author
– Yetunde Hofmann, Non-Executive Director Cranswick Plc
– Mary Ann Sieghart, Author of ‘The Authority Gap’
Please confirm your attendance at this virtual event by completing this registration form. If you encounter any difficulties during the registration process, our team is available to assist you at [email protected]
This year, our event will be exclusively a live broadcast, and so we encourage you to share this invitation with your network.
27feb08:3014:00Clarity Connect International Women's Day Conference | Clarity Leadership Ltd
27/02/2025 08:30 - 14:00(GMT+00:00)
Bloomsbury Ballroom
Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1B 4DA
Ahead of IWD2025, please join Clarity Leadership as we hear from leaders and generate discussion around the key themes of gender equality. Ahead of International Women’s Day
Ahead of International Women’s Day 2025, please join Clarity Leadership as we invite you to join us for an open and inclusive morning of presentations and lively debate. To follow the IWD 2025 theme, #AcclerateAction, the speakers will be generating discussion and debate around female leadership, gender equality and the creation of an inclusive and more gender-equal world.
We will be joined by two exceptional leaders, Lee Chambers, Founding Director of Male Allies UK, and Riham Satti, Co-Founder and CEO of MeVitae, Creating Fairness in the Workplace. They will share their experiences, challenges, and the obstacles they’ve overcome in their efforts to create a more equal world.
We also invite you to hear research, experiences, and views from a group of leaders who identify as women from several leading organisations, including Pfizer, Microsoft, Vodafone, Reckitt, and Bayer. The speakers join us from all over the world and around the UK, providing a global perspective on their discussions. This is the culmination of six months’ work by 16 leaders who identify as women, who have been through our Women in Leadership Programme. The final part of their journey has been the design and delivery of this event.
This is an event for everyone and we look forward to welcoming you!
Free
27/02/2025 12:30 - 13:30(GMT+00:00)
We are delighted to be joined by Laura Bates, Best-selling Author, Keynote Speaker and Founder of the Everyday Sexism Project.
Laura will be setting out the existing and potential ways in which emerging technologies can have unintended negative impacts on women and marginalised groups, both in and outside the workplace. From the metaverse and deepfake technology to AI and adult robots, these technologies are fast becoming the building blocks of our future societies, so it is vital that we understand the risks and act now to prevent them from reinventing existing forms of inequality in our brave new world.
Laura Bates is a best-selling author, keynote speaker and founder of the Everyday Sexism Project. Her books include Everyday Sexism, Girl Up and Fix the System, Not the Women. Laura writes regularly for the New York Times, Guardian and others, and is a frequent media commentator and consultant for TV productions tackling issues around gender inequality.
She works closely with government, schools, businesses, police forces and bodies from the United Nations to the Council of Europe on sexism and inequality.
In recognition of Laura’s work surrounding sexism and gender inequality, she was awarded a British Empire Medal in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours List and has been named Woman of the Year by Cosmopolitan, Red Magazine and The Sunday Times Magazine. She is also an Honorary Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Please note, this event will be hosted as a Teams Town hall. Please register your place on Eventbrite and we will share the Teams meeting link.
We look forward to seeing you!
free
27feb18:0020:30Planning and Goals Workshop | WeAreTheCity
27/02/2025 18:00 - 20:30(GMT+00:00)
Nomura
1 Angel Lane, London, EC4R 3AB
Join Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE to discover why and how to create your career strategy and plan in order to
This interactive session is aimed at injecting the “va va voom” back into your career.
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE, CEO of WeAreTheCity, will share why leaving your career solely in the hands of your line manager is no longer enough. Vanessa will provide insights on how to take charge of your career, create a strategic plan, and actively seek opportunities to propel your professional growth.
The workshop focuses on why and how to create a career strategy and plan, to unlock your potential and path to success. This session is not about theory, science or blue sky thinking, it is about a realistic look at what you want to achieve and actions to take in order to get where you want to go!
Session includes:
By the end of this session, participants will have the foundation of a career plan they can continue to develop and implement throughout 2025.
We will close the evening with networking and drinks/canapés.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Please note that on arrival at Nomura guests will be asked to provide photographic ID, a passport or driving licence.