It’s fair to say that Bahram and I (Behnam) earned our nut stripes from the ground up having both grown up in Iran working on the pistachio farms of a good family friend, which later lead us to launching Borna Foods.

I attended Greenwich University and immediately fell in love with the region. I would later transfer to Oxford University’s Executive leadership programme, but knew deep down that I’d return to South London when I set up my fledgling food business.

Bahram was studying engineering back in Iran however I convinced him that our shared future lay in nut procurement and wholesale. 

Tell me about your career background?

It’s important to work in a field you love (no pun intended). We honestly love each and every aspect of the business, from scouring the world for best-in-class ingredients to seeing our finished Borna products on shelf. We didn’t set out to enter the retail product fray however when you’ve worked the wholesale and export ropes for a while it’s hard not to look around and think you can do better than what’s already out there in store. 

What gives you confidence that you’ve struck upon a great idea? 

Nuts quite simply provide the last word in tasty, versatile, nutrient-dense ingredients that come in every imaginable size, shape, texture and flavour. Looking back, nuts may well have been taken for granted in the past, especially if one considers that they represent the perfect on-the-go nibble that over-index in terms of beneficial, essential fatty acids, protein and fibre.

In more recent times, a growing appetite for well-balanced diets of every imaginable nutritional persuasion (vegan, gluten-free, ketogenic….) has further fuelled a growing appetite for ‘good gut health’ nuts that just happen to be brimming with healthy fats, beneficial nutrients and a low glycaemic index.

The other thing that’s highlighting about nuts is their sheer versatility which means they’re as at home mingling with fruits and cacao as they are meats and fish. 

Having worked in the procurement, sourcing and distribution of top-notch nuts, a move into innovative, nut-based products was always on the cards. 

Did you always want to be of foodpreneur?

Bahram and I have always had a healthy appreciation for great food and we always wanted to work side-by-side. So whilst we both gravitated towards nuts in 2014 when Borna Foods was born, I honestly believe we would have succeeded in whatever kind of ‘disruptor’ business we’d set our minds to but are very happy to have made nuts our specialist subject.

Give us an interesting pistachio fact.

Pistachios are known as the ‘smiling nut’ in Iran and the ‘happy nut’ in China. More interestingly still is the fact that pistachios have strong genetic ties with mangoes. Nutritionally speaking an ounce of pistachios contains more potassium than half a large banana.

Worst moment of anxiety?

Like many of our food and drink producing peers, lockdown was probably a timely reminder that our online presence wasn’t where it needed to be. That said, if it hadn’t of been for lockdown, we probably wouldn’t have prioritised Amazon and Ocado and so would still be in the dark regarding two incredible retail opportunities (Amazon and Ocado) that are now helping our business grow exponentially.  

Best business high thus far?

This changes on an almost monthly basis. Whole Foods taking us on back in 2019 still feels like a significant sea-change moment as does our Amazon shop which has enjoyed unprecedented growth since the beginning of the pandemic. Winning a FoodBev World Innovation award for Best Drink Concept (our pistachio milks) was a real milestone because we’ve believed for some while that incumbent nut milks (almond, cashew) somehow lacked the ‘wow’ factor to re-energise an alternative milk category increasingly dominated by oat and soy-based milks.

Selfridges also came on board in Feb 22, a massive win that goes far beyond the sheer sales it generates.  If you have a product that can stand tall in London’s most prestigious food halls you can pretty much succeed anywhere!

Cotswold Fayre is another massive NEW win because if we’re to truly succeed we need long-standing ties with the UK’s most discerning delis, independent specialist stores and highbrow garden centres   

Lockdown winner or loser?

Bit of both – a little slow out of the blocks with our online offer but now sales are snowballing at a breath-taking pace (so probably a net winner).    

Thoughts on failure?

There’s not enough time in the world to dwell on what might have been. Appreciate your successes, understand why errors happened but don’t waste energy mulling over what could have been, should have been… 

Favourite Borna product?

No ‘brand parent’ should never have choose between his children but our sweet roasted crunchy pistachio butter and unsweetened pistachio milk are genuine ‘game-changers’ within their respective categories but if it’s unashamed me-time that we’re talking about it’s hard to look beyond our 2 NEW trail mixes.    

Biggest lessons learnt so far?

• Listen to your hunches, they are more often than not right on the money!

• When times are good go the extra yard to give back. We actively support the Felix Project in Greenwich (Borna’s spiritual home) which helps tackle child hunger in London. In our capital alone there are 400,000 kids who go without food on any given day, which simply isn’t good enough when Britain represents the world’s 5th richest economy.

What’s your best advice for fellow founders?

Don’t waste time doing something you a) truly don’t love b) where you can’t make a real difference because lifes’s too short to short change your ambitions!