James Eid, founder of Earth & Wheat, in a kitchen with a pile of vegetables and baked goods

Source: Earth & Wheat

Founder James Eid will remain ‘firmly involved’ in the business

Wonky bread and biscuit subscription service Earth & Wheat has launched a recruitment campaign as it looks to expand its operations over the next year.

It comes just after the firm, which was launched 18 months ago by James Eid, appointed Amine Benchaoui as managing director.

Benchaoui joins from Signature Flatbreads – Earth & Wheat’s parent company – having spent the past 10 years there. However, Eid will remain ‘firmly involved’ in the business, it added.

Further new faces are expected as Earth & Wheat recruits for several roles including a brand manager, buyer, and technical manager. These recruits will help the business accelerate partnerships with sustainable UK manufacturers and producers looking to reduce food waste, it said.

Earth & Wheat started by redistributing bakery items such as pancakes, crumpets, and flatbreads which would otherwise have been disposed of during the production process due to their appearance, size, or overproduction. These were sold direct to consumers via a subscription box, selling 10,000 in the first 12 weeks.

It added a broken biscuits box to its line-up last November and entered the vegetable market with its ‘wonky veg’ box in May.

The business has already turned over £1m with £150,000 donated to surplus food charities, including The Felix Project.

“I’m looking forward to guiding Earth & Wheat on the next part of its journey,” said Benchaoui. “The brand has already come an incredibly long way in a very short space of time with no less than three different ‘wonky’ foods lines, including bread, biscuits and vegetables, added within 18 months.

“We’re launching a recruitment drive as we have a big and bold 12-month plan ahead, so we’d love to hear from anybody who is interested in applying for any of the positions, especially if they are in similar roles or are already working in the food industry.”