Today we’d like to introduce you to Verity Noble.
Hi Verity, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Quick overview: 1 part serial-entrepreneur, 2 parts mum (she’s British, hence the spelling), 1 part zero-waste obsessive, 1 part vegan and 3 parts exuberant lover of life (think dancing ‘til dawn, singing – badly – out loud while mountain biking and the total absence of the embarrassment gene). Too many parts? Maybe for most people, but not this lady. Verity’s obsession with zero-waste has stealthily changed the habits of almost everyone she knows. She doesn’t jam with the word impossible. There’s always a way.
Career-wise, I’ve mostly been an entrepreneur. My first company put on events for thousands of young professionals – from week-long ski trips to one day events designed to build community and inclusivity. Then I took some time out to do an MBA and transition my focus from organizing people’s social lives to having a social impact.
This led me to South Africa where I consulted for multiple impact companies then to the US to work for the Unreasonable Institute, a dream job where I was part of a team selecting and bringing in entrepreneurs from all over the world who were solving a major problem for at least a million people (or were at least had the potential to.) Think clean water in India, maternal health in sub-Saharan Africa and access to education in underserved areas of the world.
Unreasonable’s belief is that for-profit business can solve some of the greatest challenges for humankind, and that is a belief that has become integral to my approach to business.
While at Unreasonable, my husband and I noticed that a major gap in most entrepreneur’s skill set was the finance side of the business. They all had the vision but the biggest complaint from potential investors was that they didn’t have a good understanding of the finances. So, we set up Simple Startup, a finance and accounting company designed to support entrepreneurs in high-growth startups understand their numbers, feel in control, and therefore grow sustainably.
I have always been super passionate about zero waste. If you know the movie Wall-E (where the world gets taken over by trash and obliterates all the greenery), that’s the vision that plays over and over in my head. Ever since moving to Boulder in 2013, I’ve had a vision of starting a zero-waste grocery store but had never got around to it.
In 2019, Katarina, owner of Havenly Baked Goods, introduced me to 3 other people who had the same vision which is when Nude Foods Market was born.
We each have very different yet complementary skill sets which has made starting a running a surprisingly complex business easier than it would otherwise have been.
Nude Foods Market is Boulder’s first zero-waste grocery store. We began as a grocery delivery business (due to Covid) and built such a strong customer base that opening a store was the clear next step.
Nude Foods is groundbreaking in that we pre-package all the food in glass containers which customers pay a deposit for and receive that deposit back when they return them. We are also Boulder’s first cashier-less store. Customers scan items and check out on their own phone.
In short, we’re like a traditional grocery store, just without all the plastic.
We’re not stopping at just one store; this is just the start!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Ha, being an entrepreneur is NEVER a smooth road 🙂
At Nude Foods, we’ve had to work out how to streamline adding a whole set of business processes that most grocery stores don’t have to deal with – filling jars.
Not only do we need to fill jars but we also need to label the jars and as we’re zero waste, we try to reuse each label for at least a year so each lid has a label that then needs to be washed and assigned to the correct product.
With almost 500 products in-store that is a BIG jigsaw puzzle!
Personally, working out what path to take career-wise was a huge challenge. I definitely had plenty of moments (or even years!) of doubt about what I should be doing. Luckily, I’ve ended up in exactly the right place.
My ultimate challenge is balancing being a Mum with driving Nude Foods forward as fast as I’d like to.
As you know, we’re big fans of Nude Foods Market. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Nude Foods Market is Boulder’s first zero-waste grocery store.
We offer mostly organic, local groceries, household products, and prepared meals. We’re like a traditional grocery store just without all the plastic.
Customers pay a deposit per container and then receive that deposit back minus a small cleaning and sanitizing fee to spend in-store.
We are a cashier-less store. Customers scan a QR code to open a web app and then scan each item as they put it in their basket. No need to line up, just checkout on your phone and leave the store!
How do you think about happiness?
Moving my body! Be it biking up mountains, skiing down them, or dancing like a maniac.
And of course, laughing with family and friends. Connection is truly the best medicine.
Contact Info:
- Email: verity@nudefoodsmarket.com
- Website: www.nudefoodsmarket.com
- Instagram: @nudefoodsmarket
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nudefoodsmarket
