Peter Ahye, Founder of Freaks of Nature, has always had an entrepreneurial streak, which began with selling mangoes on the streets of Trinidad as a child.

A chance conversation with a vegan lady at a cricket match, who was clearly perturbed with continually being served fruit salad as a dessert option, sparked an idea in Peter’s mind. After many hours of trawling up and down supermarkets and specialist food stores throughout the country, he realised there was a gap in the free-from chilled food market.

Based on his research, Peter decided to develop a vegan dessert range, that was soya, dairy, gluten and egg free, but was also free of the ‘nasties’. He settled for a nut-based product and Freaks of Nature was born.

Holmach was approached and it was immediately obvious that the Roboqbo range would be ideal as it can homogenise at high speed, whilst retaining vital nutrients and the quality of the fresh ingredients, perfect for ‘creamy’ desserts. Because the Roboqbo can cut, cook and cool, it is also ideal for rich chocolate ganache, fruity compotes and crumbly toppings and bases, just what Peter needed.

To allow him to develop his recipes and ensure that he was happy with the quality and the end results, Holmach introduced him to the Food Processing Facilities at the University of Nottingham, which has a 15 litre Roboqbo as part of its NPD kitchen.

As a result of the trials, Peter invested in a brand-new factory facility and three Roboqbo machines; allowing the production of more than one dessert at a time.

Peter commented: “There is so much to learn about innovating new desserts, but we are getting there quickly. The team at Holmach have certainly helped us with their technical knowledge and were very supportive of a start-up business.”