Fermenting a Sustainable Food Business Ecosystem: Marie's Innovation Story
Meet Marie-Laure Prevost
Fermenti was founded by Marie-Laure Prevost, a registered dietitian and public health nutritionist. She wanted to break the mould of traditional fermented foods, like kimchi, kefir, and kombucha, and create something new: an innovative fermented snack that was small, sweet, convenient, and still delivered the gut-health benefits of fermentation.
By experimenting with fermenting freeze-dried fruit and nuts, Marie developed a plant-based, macaron-like snack containing billions of live cultures from 35 bacterial strains. But scaling up these production techniques came with challenges, and with sustainability in the front of her mind, Marie turned to Growing Kent & Medway for support.
How Growing Kent & Medway Supported Marie’s Journey
Marie’s journey with Growing Kent & Medway began through our Food Accelerator programme. It was here that she was introduced to Dr Parag Acharya at the Medway Food Innovation Centre (MFIC), also funded by Growing Kent & Medway. Parag, alongside microbiologists from the University of Greenwich, supported Marie with the technical aspects of scaling her product production.
Marie was also introduced to Nimisha Raja MBE, founder of Nim’s Naturally, through our Mentoring Programme. Nim’s Naturally produces the UK’s only air-dried fruit and vegetable crisps. Together, Marie and Nimisha successfully applied for our Business Sustainability Challenge grant to fund a collaborative project exploring whether Fermenti’s products could be produced using waste from Nim’s production process.
Growing Kent & Medway also awarded Fermenti a Business Innovation Voucher to explore more energy-efficient drying methods, working with Dr Stacey Duvenage at the Natural Resources Institute (NRI), University of Greenwich. The project aimed to reduce the company’s carbon footprint and energy costs while maintaining the quality of their products. Marie continues to work closely with scientists at the NRI, MFIC, and across the University of Greenwich to investigate more sustainable alternatives to freeze-drying.
Reflecting on this support, Marie said, ‘I think also sharing the journey with other people is very nice. It's also encouraging for mental support. When you start out, you need to build your ecosystem. Being part of Growing Kent & Medway is very helpful because of the network. It's more than just receiving a grant for the cash — I think the network is very important, especially if you come from another field, if you haven't been in the food business sector before.’
What’s Next for Fermenti?
The Business Sustainability Challenge project is still ongoing, but Marie is optimistic about the results so far. In the meantime, she’s focused on expanding her list of stockists and continuing to spread the word about the power of fermented foods for gut health.
When asked about how the project is going, Marie said, ‘We're still in the developing phase, so we don't know exactly what we will need at which stage because we're fermenting, we're drying, we're doing all these things in parallel. We are quite confident about what we're going to find, but it's still that experimenting, actually.’
Marie is also passionate about supporting disadvantaged women in her local area. Fermenti’s snacks are produced by graduates of Luminary Bakery, a social enterprise that empowers women who have experienced homelessness, domestic abuse, or sexual exploitation. These women are paid a fair wage by Fermenti, providing a valuable source of income, community, and stability.
About Growing Kent & Medway
The Southeast is home to a vibrant mix of kitchen-based start-ups, but building a successful food business takes more than just a good idea. It requires holistic support: technical expertise to help scale up a safe and tasty recipe, mentoring to guide strategic decisions and long-term planning, and financial support to keep the business running during this crucial transition.
That’s why Growing Kent & Medway is much more than a grant provider. We’re an integrated network that facilitates collaboration between businesses, academics, and research facilities. We take pride in offering this comprehensive business support and in connecting like-minded individuals to grow the local economy into something greater than the sum of its parts. Fermenti exemplifies this philosophy.
Watch the Video
To find out more about Marie’s innovation journey, watch the case study video below. You can also read more about Fermenti's Business Innovation Voucher project with the University of Greenwich here, and Business Sustainability Challenge project with Nim's Naturally here.