Inspiring Entrepreneurs: Meet the Foodies

On the day, you can expect to:

• hear first-hand accounts of building a food business from the ground up, including overcoming obstacles and celebrating wins
• learn how to creatively build a loyal and growing social media following and generate revenue
• discuss the challenges and opportunities of operating a food business in today's market, including adapting to changing trends and consumer preferences
• explore innovative approaches to scaling and sustaining a thriving food business
• uncover the growing importance of health and wellness within the food industry
• see how cultural backgrounds are transformed into valuable opportunities for new customer markets
• connect with fellow food enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and our speakers
• enjoy a delicious product tasting from one of our featured speakers.

Amelia Christie-Miller is the founder of Bold Bean Co and author of bestselling cookbook, Bold Beans. On a mission ‘to make you obsessed with beans, by giving you the best of beans’, Bold Bean Co sells expertly sourced, slow cooked jarred beans and gourmet baked beans, stocked in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Ocado.

Marianne Olaleye is the co-founder of Puff Puff Ministry, the UK’s leading West African doughnut brand, and has worked with major clients including Google, Netflix, Meta, TikTok and Amazon. She is also the founder of JAIKU, a storytelling agency helping brands stay memorable. She has appeared on Channel 4’s Aldi’s Next Big Thing.

Natasha Orumbie is the founder of The Vegan Patty Lady – creating award-winning, plant-based patties inspired by authentic Caribbean flavours. Natasha’s brand is committed to clean, natural ingredients, catering to health-conscious consumers and aiming to redefine plant-based snacking.

Segun Akinwoleola is the founder of The Gym Kitchen, a thriving food brand that offers healthy, affordable meals, stocked in major UK supermarkets. Segun is an entrepreneur with a passion for business, innovation, and diversity in fast-moving consumer goods, and over 15 years of experience in sales and marketing.

Shelina Permaloo is a chef, restauranteur, author and TV personality, and previous winner of MasterChef UK. With a strong online following, Shelina has experience with cookery demonstrations and hosting, radio and TV broadcasting, menu development and food content creation.

The British Library Food Season returns for its seventh year, bringing together some of the most influential names in food, drink, hospitality, literature and science, for a series of events that highlight the stories, the politics and the people behind how and why we eat. Discover more Food Season events. 

This event will take place in the British Library Knowledge Centre and is also available to watch online. Tickets may be booked to attend in person, or to watch on our platform either live or during the next 7 days on catch up. Viewing links for the online version will be sent out in the confirmation email you receive after booking.   

If you’re attending in person, please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event. If you have specific access requirements please email customer@bl.uk