STORY
inDEPENDENT BUSINESSES
AS KENT’ S THRIVING FOOD AND DRINK SCENE TAKES CENTRE STAGE THIS MONTH, WE’ RE EXPLORING THE STORIES OF THE BRILLIANT INDEPENDENTS WHOSE EXCEPTIONAL SIPS AND SAVOURS ARE DRIVEN BY PASSION AND INNOVATIVE FLAIR.
LUMA MUSHROOM lumamushroom. co. uk luma. mushroom
Janina Fleckhaus didn’ t set out to start a mushroom chocolate brand. It happened the way the best things do- two separate fascinations colliding at exactly the right moment.“ luma launched in 2024,” says Janina.“ At the time I was moving through one of the harder periods of my life- newly a single parent, feeling overwhelmed and stuck. I was craving something grounding rather than just functional. I’ d been taking lion’ s mane capsules but didn’ t like swallowing capsules, mushroom powder in coffee left a strange taste, and somewhere in the middle of all that, I fell into the world of drinking raw( ceremonial) cacao. I started combining the two and made my first lion’ s mane bars and they tasted so good that I thought this must be shared with others.” What stayed with Janina wasn’ t a promise of transformation, but the experience itself; the act of making chocolate, sharing it and creating a moment that is joyful, intentional and real. Using her background in photography, creative production and teaching, Janina began luma’ s journey crafting genuinely good chocolate that happens to be seriously good for you and today makes vegan chocolate bars infused with functional mushroom extracts. The range is currently made up of three bars, each built around a specific intention: Lion’ s Mane with Maca- for focus and cognitive clarity; Reishi with Tulsi- for calm and restoration, and Shiitake with Acerola Cherry- for immunity and vitality, with natural vitamin C from the acerola. Each bar contains 2,000mg of mushroom extract, highquality raw cacao and is vegan, palm-oil free, honestly labelled and truly delicious.
LITTLE SWIFT littleswift. co. uk littleswiftct9
With Charlotte Kimber holding a background in the jewellery industry honing her skills in tailored hospitality and championing independents, and Steve Taylor, an experienced hospitality professional having run award-winning pubs in London, the pair founded praised natural wine, cocktail bar and wine shop, Little Swift in 2019 with a simple mission: to serve drinks worthy of the‘ loveliest skies in all of Europe’( J. M. W. Turner).“ We have a unique position on Margate seafront, with a hatch window serving directly onto the beach and the sun setting in front of the bar in summer,” says Charlotte.“ We love curating a selection of drinks to wow our customers with across our core offering of seasonal cocktails, natural wine and craft beer. I don’ t think there are many places in the world where you can share a bottle of grower-producer Champagne, a round of frozen margaritas or crisp pints of German lager all in the same venue with an epic sunset.” Alongside a beautiful upstairs room for hosting private events such as birthday celebrations, wine tastings and parties, in late 2025, Little Swift also launched a wine school in collaboration with The Wild Wine School and Perennial Wines, and this year will be hosting WSET levels one, two and three courses, as well as an introductory course to wild wine. Little Swift has also become locally famed for its frozen margaritas, so are going big this year with several exciting pop-ups working with top-notch spirit brands and local growers to offer a diverse range of frozen serves.
MORE TASTY CRUMBS moretastycrumbs. co. uk moretastycrumbs
Based in the heart of Folkestone, More Tasty Crumbs began its truly scrumptious journey in 2020 after friends and family encouraged founder Amy to start selling cookie dough so more people could enjoy freshly baked cookies. As a self-procclaimed feeder, Amy missed sharing baked treats with friends and family during the pandemic, so researched ways to still share treats but also minimise waste- apparently not everyone wants to eat a tray of cookies every week! From that simple yet marvellous idea, More Tasty Crumbs was born. Today, the business makes lovingly crafted frozen cookie dough that you can bake into a delicious batch of cookies- scoop, bake and enjoy! Each full size tub makes 8-10 cookies depending on how generously you scoop and comes in a range of exciting flavours, from Classic Vanilla and Chocolate to the unique Cherry Bakewell.“ Our cookie dough has always been vegan, meaning it’ s egg and dairy free,” says Amy.“ Since our first markets, we have also improved the recipe to use gluten-free oat flour, meaning even more people can enjoy good cookies.” Amy attended the Growing Kent and Medway Food Accelerator, which enabled her to grow the business to also supply catering tubs to a host of local cafés, but you will often find them at an array of markets across Kent as well as stocked in local farm shops. This summer, be sure to catch More Tasty Crumbs at the Harbour Arm in Folkestone every weekend.
188 • www. insidekent. co. uk