Dr Will’s: A pioneer in the sauce industry. We’re excited to say that they are in the spotlight of this instalment of our Start-Up Stories! We got talking with William Breakey, the co-founder of Dr Will’s, to get to know the story behind the sauces people are going crazy for!
What inspired Dr Will’s to be created?
I was going to a CrossFit gym in Newcastle and knew one of the other members owned a restaurant and thought I’d have a chat with him about business. Before too long we were both talking about how unhealthy condiments were. Josh’s restaurant was opposite a Waitrose; so we headed over and realised that the sauce aisle was totally stale. Nothing new seemed to be happening and it was full of unhealthy products. I was a pretty keen cook, so started making ketchup at home. I took every ketchup recipe I could find, from every cookery book and blog I knew of and started to take out all the unhealthy, unnatural ingredients and basically remake ketchup from the basic ingredients. We knew we only wanted to use natural ingredients so that limited us, but was actually really helpful as it kept us focused.
What does Dr Will’s mean to you?
For me, Dr Will’s means opportunity; the opportunity to provide better foods to the nation and the opportunity to explore how to build a business that does this.
Out of your three flavours, which sauce is your go to?
This changes all the time! Currently, I’m loving the Beetroot. It tastes amazing and after some Christmas excess it’s healthy too!
“Understanding that things always take longer than you want! I was used to ordering tests in the hospital and getting results a few hours later, but this just isn’t the case in business!”
You have classic sauces like BBQ and Ketchup, where did the idea come from for Beetroot Ketchup?
We stumbled upon the beetroot ketchup by mistake. We decided our tomato ketchup needed to be slightly sweeter than our first recipe, and adding beetroot allowed us to increase the sugar ever so slightly and in a really natural way. When we were experimenting with this we massively overdid the beetroot one day and it tasted amazing, so that was that! Dr Will’s beetroot ketchup was born.
Can we be expecting any more fantastic flavours in the near future?
Yes! We have a whole host of new sauces and flavours coming out over the next 6-9 months.
What’s been your biggest challenge so far?
Understanding that things always take longer than you want! I was used to ordering tests in the hospital and getting results a few hours later, but this just isn’t the case in business!
What advice would you give to a start-up looking to get their products out to the world?
It’s a bit boring but – just do it. I think lots of people have great ideas but are put off by how daunting getting the product out there is. We started really small and grew and I’d say that’s all you need to do. Make some samples, take them to the public, get some feedback and repeat.
What’s it like to be part of the Dr Will’s team?
I love being part of the Dr Will’s team, it’s small, close knit and hard working. To give a better idea (as maybe I’m a bit biased!) I asked Tash a member of the team who said “It’s a team where no one’s opinions are ignored. Every idea from every team member is taken into account, which makes it actually feel like a team.”
Where can people get their hands on these sumptuous sauces?
We deliver nationwide from the Dr. Wills website but we’re also in lots of great independent stores around the country. For the Londoners, we’re in Planet Organic, As Nature Intended, Sourced Market, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols (nationwide). We’re available on quite a few online retailers including Amazon and very soon we’ll be available for delivery on Ocado.
What’s next for Dr Will’s?
Well our team is growing steadily and we’re launching new products. We’re talking to some exciting new retailers both UK and abroad so 2018 should be fun!
It’s safe to say all of us here at Logical can’t wait to see what the future holds for Dr Will’s, no doubt their future is very bright! Their sublime sauces, as well as their magnificent merch (including aprons) can be found on their website https://www.dr-wills.com/
You can also find their products on the likes of Amazon and Revital!
