Meet the founder of MOMA

I’m Tom, founder of oat brand MOMA. I used to be based in London, which is where the MOMA story began and continues to this day, but now live in the country with my wife and two daughters. I still regularly spend time in the office so we can collaborate as a team- this was something I really missed during lockdown so I try to make in-person catch ups a priority now. In 2001 I graduated from Cambridge and then spent four years at a management consultancy before deciding to start a breakfast brand exclusively focused on crafting the tastiest products from the finest quality oats.

I’m from an entrepreneurial farming family, which has given me a passion for supporting British farmers and suppliers, which is reflected within the work we do.

There’s always a lightbulb moment before the beginning of a new venture. What was that moment for you?

In the early noughties, I worked at a management consultancy in the City. Back then on my commute there wasn’t a huge amount of choice available for healthy on-the-go breakfast options that were quick and tasted good. I used to blend my own oat smoothies at home and drank them as I walked from Waterloo to my office every morning.

I figured that I couldn’t be the only commuter that had this dilemma, and quickly found through research that this could be the start of a solid business idea. I tested the concept out on fellow commuters, getting up in the early hours of the morning to create a mix of yogurt, oats and fruit (which actually formed the basis of MOMA’s Oatie Shake). I poured it into plastic (clean!) recycled bottles and distributed samples outside the station, and asked them to email me with feedback. This was always an interesting exercise as people didn’t always want to take samples from the ‘dodgy looking bloke’ under a bridge! The rest is history, really!

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

You can’t solve everything, no matter how good your service or product might be. It’s in these moments you need to be objective as an entrepreneur and sometimes shift your offering or shake things up and try something completely new. For example, our bircher muesli is amazing, but it was a bit niche for the supermarkets we were selling it in at the time. It’s something we realised and adapted to, but it did take several years to reach that realisation! From this we then diversified and expanded into other areas in the oat space, such as oat drink. We’ve recently launched our new chilled oat drink range, and spent a lot of time ensuring it was perfect before going to market. We trialled over 250 different recipes and are pleased to have had a great response from the launch already.

How did you conquer those moments of doubt that so often affect entrepreneurs or stop many with great ideas – what pushes you through?

I was toying with the idea of starting my business for a while when, like many entrepreneurs, I reached a crossroad; either to push for a promotion in my then current role or leave and be my own boss. Becoming my own boss appealed to me more as I was passionate about making a go of MOMA and seeing where it could take me. I genuinely believed in my idea to provide a healthier and filling range of breakfast options for consumers, and for me this was enough to push through and set aside those moments of doubt.

One of the toughest challenges when starting out was also the change in lifestyle compared to my previous work duties. In the beginning I was having to get up at 1.45am each morning to make the breakfasts, to be ready to sell at 6.00am, which meant I was often working 70+ hours a week. 

My company at the time was incredibly supportive of me pursuing the concept for MOMA and even gave me a leave of absence to explore the viability of the business. Making sure I had a goal to focus on and why I started in the business in the first place really helped me to push through – especially with the help of my small team at the start of everything.

What does your business offer its target audience?

We're exclusively focused on crafting the tastiest products from the finest quality oats. We create instant porridge pots and sachets, bircher muesli, granola, and more recently, oat milk. 

Keeping an eye on the numbers in any business is important. How do you ensure that you’re always up to date?

Having the right team in place is a must for any business owner, especially when it comes to numbers. I was what you would call a ‘typical entrepreneur’ in the beginning; trying to do everything myself. But hiring qualified team members such as our accountant and Head of Operations helps with the smooth running of the business. This gives me peace of mind and allows me time to focus on other elements of the business such as product launches, innovation and new ideas. 

What plans do you have for MOMA over the next two years?

We plan to really cement our new chilled oat milk range, which we launched in February, and expand our offering across more retail sites across the UK and worldwide. We also have some exciting plans in the pipeline for our marketing and innovation, I’m excited for our next chapter!

How important is company culture and what is your top tip to get it right?

We no longer operate from stalls in railway stations and are now sold in the biggest retailers nationwide. 

Getting the right team around you is crucial for company culture. I know it’s cliché but it really does make a difference – when you have people that do their job better than you could do it, and that make it enjoyable, you know you’re on to a good thing and getting it right.

What are your top tips for entrepreneurs wanting to get their business out there?

Be super objective about the quality and viability of your product or business idea. As an entrepreneur passion and drive go without saying, but this can often be many people’s downfall by letting this cloud their judgement – get external feedback and base your decisions on logic, rather than emotion.

Also do your homework! I spent six months doing research before launching MOMA to make sure I had developed a sound business plan. This included looking into the market I wanted to break into, conducting online surveys, doing taste tests and much more.

Any new product launches we should know about?

Given our obsession is oats, it made complete sense for us to branch into the oat drink market – not to mention the booming popularity of dairy alternatives. Following the success of our ambient oat drink range in 2020, selling more than two million litres in the first 15 months, we launched our new chilled range into Waitrose last month, with plans to launch in Ocado and Morrisons in April.

The new range was two years in the making, with over 250 recipes trialled by our talented in-house Oat Scientist, Dr Ryan Williams, to provide a great-tasting, quality chilled oat drink, perfect for tea, coffee and anywhere you’d use milk!

Describe your business in three words.

Innovative, premium, Oats!