What began as a surplus of bruised bananas in a university’s community fridge has quickly morphed into something altogether more substantial; namely a range of minimally processed, high fibre snack bars that salvage abandoned wonky fruit in the name of improved gut health.
Early July sees a 4-strong team of student entrepreneurs (Lucie Campbell, Hannah Plush, Ava Kind & Caden Aycliffe) from Harper Adams University and their Riff snack bar range represent the UK at the European finals of this year’s Young Enterprise finals.
According to Riff spokesperson Lucie Campbell, “What began as a hands-on university project to test business lecture learnings has seamlessly transformed into a registered business, thanks to the upbeat reactions we received from numerous industry experts who sat on the Young Enterprise National Finals panel, who assured us that the moment was ripe for a ‘planet responsible’ brand like Riff to succeed.”
In its first incarnation the 4-strong range of upcycled, plant powered heroes will consist of a Wonky Banana & Peanut, a Wonky Cacao & Hazelnut, A Wonky Spiced Apple & Seed and a Wonky Bey & Seed, however an ongoing commitment to celebrate rescued fruit and the natural rhythm of the seasons will hopefully result in a number of impromptu seasonal specials across the year (Pumpkin Spice, Rhubarb..)
The nutritional integrity of the Riff range is certainly impressive, offering in the region of 10g of fibre and 10g of fibre per bar, helped by the fact the business’s proud ‘waste not, want not’ vision includes deploying the very latest freeze-dried learnings and the whole fruit (cacao husks, banana peel…).
The European finals of the Young Enterprise Finals take place in the 2nd week of July
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