Holy Moly wants to offer homemade dips to the masses… and Trump's tariffs might help
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- Childhood friends Gaz Booth and Tom Walker launched Holy Moly in 2016
Gaz Booth and Tom Walker have very different ideas of what should go into guacamole. The main issue? Coriander.
An argument nine years ago at Tom's flat in North London over who could make the best guacamole eventually led to the pair creating Holy Moly.
Launching in a category dominated by supermarkets' own label dips was a shot in the dark for the duo, who had no experience in the food industry.
Their mission? To make dips that don't sacrifice taste for convenience.
There is no shortage of challenges for the pair, who have been best friends since secondary school, as they work out how to operate in a febrile time for small businesses.
From school to startup
Booth and Walker have been joined at the hip since they were at school before they both headed to Aston University to study business, after which they both joined the same BT graduate scheme.
In 2016, the duo had a Mexican night at Walker's flat where they argued over who made the best guacamole. Having a supermarket dip was out of the question, Walker says: 'It tasted nothing like homemade - they were so bad'.
Their main issue was with how many preservatives, thickeners or gums were used, but homemade dips were also a labour of love.
'Like any avocado lover would know, you have to play the avocado lottery,' says Walker. 'You have to fondle every avocado in the aisle, then whenever you want one it's either too ripe or brown inside, or rock hard.
'We thought, stupidly, how hard could it be to create guacamole, and more broadly dips that taste like homemade that you could sell in a supermarket? Turns out it was difficult.'
The idea for Holy Moly was born. Unlike other categories, dips had seen very little innovation or challenge to the major supermarket dominance prior to 2016.
Booth and Walker quickly found a Mexican supplier that would grow and make their guacamole using high-pressure processing (HPP) which extends shelf-life without using preservatives.
When they approached buyers with a polystyrene tub of their newly-created product, they were asked by two major supermarkets to supply them exclusively - but they wanted the guacamole to be sold under their brand name as an own-label product.
The duo walked away from what would have been a lucrative contract.
'We believed there was a problem even though the industry told us there wasn't,' Walker says.
'Had we come from industry and had access to the data and category insight there's no way we would have started the business. Everything would have pointed to there being no opportunity.'
Inflation costs won't be passed on to consumers
The duo found that opportunity and is now listed in 16,000 supermarkets, including Tesco and Sainsbury's. It expects to reach £15million in revenue this year.
However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to operate, particularly as Holy Moly looks to expand its availability and product range.
The startup manufactures some of its products - namely its cheese dips and salsa - in the UK, but production costs are mounting and the National Insurance hike is only adding to that.
'We've had probably four-digit percentage increases in our costs. It's on everything - not only does packaging become more expensive but there is also increasing taxation on packaging,' says Walker.
'There's no easy way around it to avoid those additional costs, other than automation. So there's huge pressure.'
Walker maintains that he will not pass the additional costs on to customers 'because we're trying to scale up and we don't have giant budgets to advertise us'.
Instead, Holy Moly is looking for efficiencies where they can find them, even if it's a fraction of a penny.
'It's really difficult as a small-scale business,' he says. 'We don't have the clout of a massive food brand to be able to have big increases and expect consumers to carry on paying higher prices.'
How Trump's tariffs will help Holy Moly
The duo found a family that grew avocados in Mexico when they launched in 2016, and have since grown their supplier base to include family farms in Colombia and Peru.
However, the farms are struggling with President Trump's tariffs, given 90 per cent of their Mexican suppliers' avocado goes to the US.
Walker says the tariff turmoil represents an opportunity for Holy Moly.
'We've got a free trade deal with Mexico which means we can bring our products across without any tariffs,' he says. 'We offer a different route for their produce where they don't need to worry about tariffs.
'All of our producers are family-run businesses and we have that partnership with them. We can offer them a route to grow their businesses… it's a real opportunity for us and great for them to have access to the UK and not just depend on the US.'
Holy Moly plans to embrace the changes by ramping up its supply, as well as targeting international expansion.
While the US is off the cards for now, the team has already launched in France and is planning further growth across Europe and as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.
However, the fallout from Trump's tariffs will add to existing domestic pressures, and any uncertainty only increases the difficulties for small businesses looking to scale.
Walker is optimistic. Even if tariffs are relaxed by Trump, he says business will continue as usual.
'I think the current uncertainty of trading with America makes the UK a more reliable trading partner for our supply partners,' he says.
As the ambitious duo navigate scaling a business for the first time, perhaps the uncertainty is a blessing in disguise in the long-run.
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