Small Business Spotlight – Pour

We have been working with Jared at Pour Hot Chocolate since the beginning and have always admired his journey, so we decided to do an interview with him to learn more about his background and how he got to where he is now. 

What were you doing prior to starting Pour? 

Before starting pour I was studying graphic design, I had just came back from undertaking a service project in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland for 2 years so also had a German-speaking job when I came back to Glasgow. 

What made you decide to start your own business? 

I started Pour when I was 20! I know pretty young right?! While I was in Switzerland  I came to the conclusion that the Swiss didn’t only make incredible chocolate but they loved it too! I was offered hot chocolate quite a lot but had to decline every time as the hot choco powder usually contained milk powder and having been vegan for my whole life, I couldn’t have it. So upon returning to Scotland I searched everywhere for great-tasting vegan hot chocolate but couldn’t find any, well… I could but all I could find was vegan hot choco that either tasted bad or was full of artificial flavours. I found that the perfect vegan hot chocolate didn’t exist, so I decided to make my own. 

Little did I know that people would be craving it all over the UK. Of course, I created the hot chocolate because I saw a need, but I created the business as I wanted to have a platform where I could do good. Plus I knew I was young and I could make mistakes, so I wanted it to be a learning experience:)

What are you most proud of since starting the company? 

I’m most proud of the impact I’ve made or rather other people have made but that I’ve facilitated. Planting one tree per pouch has been an extraordinary journey. To date, we have planted over 15000. 

What are your biggest challenges in starting and running a small business?

I would 10000% say knowing who to turn to if you’re on the right track if you’re doing everything right. Being 20 I didn’t know anyone in the food industry and navigating it was seemingly impossible.

Can we all just take a minute and appreciate Jared and what he has created -head over to POUR Hot Chocolate here to find out more information on their products.