Meet The Maker: Susan Gafsen, Co-Founder of Pep & Lekker

Pep & Lekker: healthy Seed Snacks for the whole family!

Respectful of his wishes to be a vegan, I began to carefully scrutinise labels and was shocked that so much of the food that I was buying was not as healthy as it purported to be. I did not understand half of the ingredients on the labels and could see that all the food that I was buying was loaded with sugar and salt. 

My first few shopping experiences of bringing back ‘healthy vegan’ food were a disaster. The rest of my family who were not vegan would not eat it and even Henry was unimpressed. Clearly there was a gap in the market for nutritious plant-based food that tasted great. 

I thought that I could do better so the idea of Pep & Lekker was born. It is all in the name, ‘Pep’ as in a ‘pep in your step’ as our snacks are loaded with protein, fibre and nutrients’ and ‘Lekker’ means tasty. A word with Dutch and Afrikaans origin, that’s also in the English Oxford dictionary. 

Our snacks include 14 all natural kitchen cupboard ingredients, which we list vertically on the back of the pack so that they can be scrutinised. They are free of all allergens (because why add an unnecessary allergen?), high in fibre, a source of protein and low in sugar. In fact, the savoury flavours have no sugar added.

My co-founder Juliette is a psychotherapist, and she understands that people’s relationship with food is a tricky one, and can start at a very young age. So we have provided a range of flavours, and made the snacks very versatile so they can be enjoyed by the whole family. 

I like to eat the Apple + Cinnamon and Cacao + Coconut flavours on their own, my husband likes to add salt and vinegar to his Rosemary + Hemp, and my boys Oliver and Henry eat the Fennel + Chia Seed Snacks with hummus. When the family gathers at the weekend, I add the Cumin & Linseed to salads for a bit of extra crunch and texture. The boys say they don’t like cumin but no one seems to notice!

I hope you find a flavour that is right for you!