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Meet the Glowgetter – Hayley Dawes, Dreem Distillery

Hayley Dawes is an interior designer and property developer with four young children who turned her insomnia into a wellness business.

What was your lightbulb moment for creating Dreem Distillery?

The real game changer was discovering the transformative power of broad-spectrum CBD . We initially launched with our signature Night Drops which have been hugely popular in transforming sleep for many, and we have since moved into “body care” with the most recent launch being a Travel Set, mini versions of our hero products, and our soon-to-be launching Moonlit Mask.

Why CBD?

We all have an internal endocannabinoid system (ECS) which is a network of compounds and receptors in the brain. This can influence one’s sleep – the aim of the ECS is to provide homeostasis within the body.

The majority of sleep problems relate to anxiety and stress. Our Night Drops are transformative.

When taken under the tongue, potent broad-spectrum CBD can alleviate these issues and help calm and body and mind ready for deep slumber. We have a calming neurotransmitter in our brain called GABA and taking broad-spectrum CBD with additional plant cannabinoids helps modulate our GABA, making our brain calmer and giving us more restful sleep.

Why sleep?

In the last few decades as a society, our sleep has become increasingly dysfunctional and medicinally induced to an alarming degree.

I certainly don’t take my sleep for granted and work hard to maintain a routine that enables me to have the very best, restorative sleep I possibly can. I’ve come to appreciate and value the benefits of good quality sleep and achieving this regularly is my number one priority.

We spend around a third of our lives sleeping so it is very important to make sure we are getting enough. It is vital for good health.

The biological need for sleep is essential to deliver benefits including higher energy, a reduction in stress and a boost to the immune system.

At night the brain processes include storing new information and removing toxic waste, a communication and reorganization of nerve cells, supporting healthy brain function, restoring cells and energy, and releasing molecules like hormones and protein. A lack of sleep can consequently lead to problems such as depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and a weak immune system.

There are plenty of myths around CBD and UK legislation has recently been tightened. Can you talk us through CBD and explain how it works and how yours is different?

Dreem Distillery specifically uses organically grown broad-spectrum CBD designed to enable sleep – the vision for the brand goes one step further in that despite there being plenty of CBD products on the market, most come in the form of CBD isolate. The significant difference with isolates is that they don’t contain some of the key relaxing terpenes which make high quality CBD more powerful – that’s the key to unlocking the power of the hemp plant as an aid to a restful and restorative night’s sleep.

The good news is that UK legislation has been tightened. We are delighted that we are on the Government report as a brand that can be sold in the UK. The Novel Food Act paperwork submission is vast and expensive but well worth it.

Talk us through your blend?

Our Night Drops contain our ‘Super Terpene Blend’ which is our broad-spectrum CBD and an array of calming and stress relieving plant terpenes to calm the body and mind. Our bath and body products are infused with our ‘Dreem Complex’ for elevated evening relaxation. This is made up of broad-spectrum CBD, arnica, juniper, and lavender.

And your packaging?

Our philosophy on packaging is simple. Every step of the way we use recyclable materials to have minimal environmental impact.

In some cases, the most sustainable solution is not always the fastest, or the cheapest, but we stand firm on our principles and will not compromise.

Our Night Drops are manufactured in recyclable glass bottles and our tubes are aluminium. We acknowledge there is always more than can be done to improve recyclability and our team is committed to working harder to find the best solutions to protect our planet.

The world has changed in a few short years. How has the pandemic been for your business?

With the world changing post pandemic and becoming more disjointed, people have turned to emotional beauty where they seek calm and self-care.  This has made people want to embrace small rituals to make themselves feel better and connect more to their wellbeing and emotions.

With this, we have extended our range into “body care” to enable people to embrace small rituals before sleep to help them really wind down for the evening, ahead of taking their CBD Night Drops just before bed. Customers have also understood how gaining quality sleep is a great investment in themselves.

What advice would you give to someone setting up a wellness business today?

Take time creating and ensuring the formulation of the product is perfect as customers want real results, which is essential in this market. Connecting with like-minded individuals within the industry and getting their feedback on your products is invaluable. It is also really important to keep thinking one step ahead and adapting to how the market and customers change.

What are your favourite 3 wellness books to read?

Manifest by Roxie Nafousi – Written by self-development coach, this is a must-have self-practice book that will enable you to reach your goals and cultivate self-love.

Thrive by Arianna Huffington – One of the most influential women in the world looks to redefine what it means to be successful in today’s world.

Breathe by James Nestor – There is nothing more essential to our health and wellbeing than breathing, explore the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices.

And your top 3 wellness products?

MPowder – Peri-Boost Daily – I blend this powdered supplement with coconut milk. I really love it as it addresses one’s body’s nutritional needs as one changes during peri-menopause.

Vida Glow – I pour these collagen sachets into plenty of drinks!

Young LDN – The Gua Sha Stones help to firm my skin and are great to use in the morning and evening with a face mask.

And finally your daily wellness life hack?

As soon as I wake up, I go outside for 20 minutes. Exposure to natural light helps our bodies produce Vitamin D which improves our circadian rhythms and sleep patterns. It is also key to my physical and psychological wellbeing. In my case, this helps me to focus better and gives me more energy to achieve my tasks.

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Meet the Glowgetter – Louisa Birkhahn, The Matcha Union Pioneer

As the world emerges from the pandemic we meet the Founders taking wellness forward. First up, Louisa Birkhahn who has brought the ritual of Matcha drinking home from Shanghai.

Why did you launch Matcha Union?

I graduated from business school, moved to Shanghai, and founded my first business “Tartine” an all-day dining cafe. It was a concept I developed in my branding module! I never really drank coffee as it always gave me a jittery feeling and drank and served matcha every day.  After experiencing the perks (and challenges) of having my own business I was motivated to start over when moving back to U.K.! I wanted to create something that had more reach than a physical café.

Having had matcha every day for years – Matcha Union was born. Japanese Matcha green tea has so many benefits and always helped me to be in tune with my inner self and consequently with the world around me. The idea was to grow beyond my personal “union” and empower others to be in their element too.

What are the health benefits and history of Matcha?

Matcha has been part of Eastern culture since as early as the 12th century and plays an integral role in the Traditional Japanese Tea ceremony. Its powdered form is the result of specially grown green tea leaves (grown in the shade) which are finely ground. It’s unmistakable green tint comes from the high chlorophyll content the leaves earn from their shaded location and enhances it’s concentration of nutrients.

Matcha Union specialises in the highest quality Matcha, rich in complexion boosting antioxidants and providing a natural source of L-Theanine, it promises to boost your energy, focus and radiance. L-Theanine is an amino acid and promises to reduce stress and enhance mood, this green goodness also enhances brain function and boosts metabolism.

What is your USP?

Matcha Union is more than just a modern take on the traditional type of tea with a plethora of health benefits. It’s about joining a community.

It recognises the importance of creating harmonious unions. Whether the union is among friends, between ourselves and the world around us, or the union of matcha with water to create a vibrant froth. There is always more to it than just a cup of tea.

What are the greatest joys of being a wellness entrepreneur?

Enabling others to feel their best and connecting with like-minded souls that do the same.

And the challenges?

There seems to be a new wellness trend every other month and sometimes it is challenging not to get side-lined trying to do it all.

 

What have you learnt over the past two years running a business through a pandemic?

I launched Matcha Union in December 2020 and developed it all the way through the pandemic. I have seen self-care becoming more and more apparent and learned about the importance of building relationships with your customers online especially when offline opportunities such as pop-ups were not available. Luckily, this has now passed, and we are excited to have a couple of events planned in real life – nothing beats this!

What is the best advice you were ever given about running a wellness business?

Be persistent. I believe this applies to anything really!

What are your top 3 best life hacks for staying well?

Get your 8 hours of sleep. Do your 10k steps, remember the 4 agreements which is a book I live by and, if I am allowed another, drink matcha ofc!

Which are your top 3 wellness small brands for us to follow and support?

drinkbruce.com for their amazing nut milks without additives – I love their oat/almond milk with our Ceremonial Matcha.
Karve Pilates – for their fire reformer classes.
Ede – for their skincare and aromatherapy and beautiful branding

What are your best 3 wellness places to visit?

Versa class with Carli or Alex at BXR
Juice baby Acai Bowl never gets old.
Selfridges Food and Beauty department – they rolled out a whole new section of wellness products and I love discovering new brands there, next on the list Ancient Brave Cacao collagen!

Words of wellness wisdom in this new world?

The goal is to grow so strong on the inside that nothing on the outside can affect your inner wellness without your conscious permission.

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Borough 22

Looking for vegan, gluten-free and award-winning doughnuts that can be delivered to your door in a pandemic?

Borough 22 first caught our attention when we went to a baby shower back when we were allowed to meet in groups and Ryan Panchoo’s doughnuts were handed round to the gluten intolerant.

They were so good we ordered another box straight away and now they are one of our favourite vegan treats.

Deliver them to a loved one to put a smile on their face or send some to yourself if you need cheering up. We wanted to know how Ryan started his journey to create one of our favourite treats.

What was your lightbulb moment for setting up Borough 22?

It was back in 2012 when my wife @thelondonmother was invited to press events where there would be a host of goodies on offer for our children but none of which was allergen-free. It really frustrated me that they couldn’t have any of the wonderful looking treats that they were surrounded by. It was absolute torture for them.

It was very difficult explaining to a 2-year old why he couldn’t have that cake or cookie.

I decided enough was enough. I would come up with something myself just for them. It was a labour of love with many trials and many errors but I came up with several recipes that really worked. I was then coerced or rather ordered by my wife into setting up Borough 22 in October 2014 in a bid to stop me giving away my goods for free.

What was your journey to this moment?

It’s been a real rollercoaster. Bake a good brownie, cake or doughnut then I’m your guy. Run a business? completely different ball game. I’ve had to learn every aspect of it but I’ve had tremendous support.

Our first major stockist was Selfridges back in April 2015. They held our hand through the process of setting up and supplying a retail stockist. That then meant that we were prepared for every stockist we engaged with afterwards. Many have commented on how slick our set up is which is awesome given that we are dealing with allergen-free products.

It has been tough, doing everything single-handedly and then going from working full time, running the business on the side to 100% full time. February 2017 was a major struggle for me. To get my head around working for myself, unconventional hours, time management really took its toll on my mental and physical health.

But I had great support from stockists such as the Erin of the Broca and Vicky (we have regular quarterly meetings) of Good Food and Ruth and Darren who ran Timberyard coffee. We managed to put systems in place, employ staff to get the business working in a structured way. As much as 3am starts are structured!

What are your dreams for the business?

Simple really. I want as many people as possible to have access to our amazing doughnuts. I’d like to see the business grow so that we can supply more stockists and maybe even have a couple of outlets ourselves or mobile outlets.

What was the best bit of advice you were ever given for setting up your own business?

There are so many useful gems that have been shared with me along the way. One of the best was to jump on your emails.

When you receive an email from a potential client it means they are thinking about you, you have their attention.

The trick is to keep the conversation going. Its surprising what you can achieve over 5 minutes of back and forth emails, which could if left unchecked, take months to iron out.

What is the best bit of advice you can give to someone thinking of starting a plant-based business?

Do your research. Check out what is already out there. Try to understand why companies are doing the things they do, making the decisions they are making which will help to build a clear vision of what you want your business to achieve.

This vision is what will drive you. You need that drive to make anything you work at successful.

Why gluten-free? Why vegan? Why doughnuts?

Gluten-free was the main goal. Whatever I made it had to be gluten-free as that was my wife’s main allergy and we discovered that there was a severe lack of options at the time. Vegan – because, quite frankly, I was fed up of telling people which doughnuts were vegan and which were not.

The actual doughnut was vegan it was just the topping like Nutella or Salted caramel that were not so I made the decision to make everything vegan and gluten-free.

It felt amazing to be able to tell people that they could have anything on display.

I remember a sampling I did at Selfridges Manchester where a young lady came up to see what was on offer.

I purposely was not advertising the doughnuts as gluten-free or vegan just to get customers to try them first. This particular lady declined, stating that she was vegan. I told her that they were vegan, you would have thought that I told her she had won the lottery initially, but her excitement died down as she said she was coeliac too. I told her that they were also gluten-free and I had made them myself this morning.

She burst into tears of joy. More tears followed when she ate some. Honestly, moments like that remind me of why I started the business. They keep me grounded and fuel my drive.

When you are gluten intolerant the things you miss the most are gluten-containing products like bread and pasta and pastries. About 10 years ago we had a cupcake boom because they are so versatile in flavours and decorations. I think doughnuts are the same in that respect. Most people love a good doughnut.

What are the highs and lows of running a vegan business?

The highs are creating something that is not full of junk that actually tastes indulgent.

The misconception that vegan food is boring and plain and unadventurous has been well and truly dispelled now.

People are getting creative and making food that equals or surpasses the non-vegan equivalent. I guess the lows are the trial and error period where you see something that looks amazing and you try to make a vegan version of it but it doesn’t quite work. To be fair I could probably get there but I’m also running a business and have a young family.

Where are your 3 favourite organic places to eat?

A bit of a cheat but the first has to be right here at home. We rustle up some amazing food here with a heavy focus on flavour over presentation.

That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

My friend Boris runs B-Raw Cakes, a plant-based cheesecake bakery in North London. The cakes are beautiful and in all honesty taste even better than they look. It’s been great seeing him grow from strength-to-strength.

Rock My Bowl. Not a store but a catering company run by Rebecca Rhodes-Evans. She caters for a lot of corporate clients, photo and video shoots and events and is now offering a door-step delivery service in the Brockley SE4 are of London where her kitchen is based.

If you are fortunate enough to be at an event she has catered then you will shed a tear as you eat. She nails the presentation and flavours exceptionally every single time. and will always use organic where possible. She knows where to source the best everything in London too

What are your top 5 things that make you glow?

Spending time with the family away from the kitchen. Just being able to relax and do something fun with them.

Getting a lay in or a mini staycation when we are not going through a pandemic. I recently stayed at The Native apartment hotel in Manchester and it was amazing. Amazing location, amazing room, amazing amenities, amazing food and coffee. They exceeded everything I could have ever hoped for. Such a treat.

Holidays. The whole experience from driving to the airport, to duty-free, to the flight. I love it .I can’t wait for life to return to a new normal.

Adapting our recipe to suit someone with specific allergies. We have done this numerous times and have even launched a Low FODMAP range of doughnuts. The emails, DMs and Tweets we receive when our customers receive their doughnuts is overwhelming. Truly glow-inducing.

Cook Daily’s Pad Thai. Honestly, if you have not been before then you need to make a pilgrimage to one of King’s stores after Lockdown. Yes, it’s vegan but more than that, its just absolute glow in a bowl.

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Malibu Kitchen Miami

We’re super fans of the original Malibu Farm overlooking the Pacific at the end of Malibu Pier in California. In fact it was stumbling upon this gem of a plant-based café on a road trip that led us to create Glowcation.

We couldn’t believe that gems like this could be missed on road trips and travels and we wanted to share our discoveries with the world so that you too could find a healthy meal with a view when you are on the go.

So we were thrilled on a recent visit to Miami to have the chance to visit the sister location. Would it have the same menu? The same vibe? Or would it be different?

Three reasons to go there:

• The sensational views over the ocean. Like the original Malibu Kitchen this Glowcation sits overlooking beautiful views of the ocean. Add in the boardwalk and some Miami fun.

• The plant-based and vegan menu with fresh produce.

• The super stylish decor and smartly dressed staff in navy uniforms

The Location

Malibu Farm Miami is part of the Eden Roc hotel so we struggled a bit to get in at first. We found the gate to the hotel but then had to wait for a hotel resident to let us in. Not the easiest way to get in but worth it!

Once in through the gate you go up the stairs to the main restaurant and look down across the view.

It’s set at the far end of South Beach so expect it to be a quieter area than the rest of this lively strip of beach packed with party hotels.

The Space

It was a scorching hot Miami day and the restaurant is open air so expect it to be warm! The tables, chairs and setting is Cali chic -wide planked wooden floors and tables and w love the branded kilner jars filled with cold-pressed juices.

The crowd

It was a mix of corporate customers and holiday makers when we went.

What we ordered:

The Greek Salad with a tangy dressing although it could have done with more feta. We added freshly grilled shrimps for some added protein. We ordered plenty of watermelon juice to quench our thirst which was totally delicious.

We also tried the rainbow coloured vegetable platter which we loved.

Whilst its unfair to compare sisters we did feel that the original Malibu Kitchen had the edge over its Miami sister in both menu and taste for vegans and plant-based food lovers. There are more meat options on this menu though if you are travelling or visiting with a meat lover.

The Bill

Greek Salad — $22 local feta – olives – cucumber – bell pepper onions plus shrimp $ 15
Watermelon Juice — $11
Cruditè — $17 seasonal garden vegetables – garbanzo beans hummus green goddess dressing

The little things that make a difference

Don’t forget the 18% service charge that is standard in Miami.

That view.

 

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Our Top 5 Juicers

Summer is coming which always makes us want to pack in as many rainbow coloured organic plants as possible into our diet.  A quick and easy way to do this is by juicing them. And whilst blending is a better way to retain their fibre, who doesn’t love a fresh glass of juiced carrot and ginger first thing or a spinach, kale and apple to go? Here’s a round up of our favourite juicers on the market.