A life of success didn’t start in business for British entrepreneur Jamie Laing. For years, Laing’s name has been instantly recognisable by the huge fanbase of award-winning reality TV series Made in Chelsea, which films the luxurious lives of young London socialites.
As the great-great-grandson of Sir Alexander Grant, the inventor of tea-time favourite the ‘digestive’ biscuit, Laing has combined his status as the heir of McVitie’s with reality TV stardom to launch his own successful candy company, Candy Kittens.
Following a number of successful series of Made in Chelsea, Laing launched the innovative gourmet sweet range in 2012 with quality in mind. Using only natural flavours and colourings, Laing’s gluten-free, gourmet confectionary brand has tasted the sweetness of success, with nationwide listings with Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Topshop and Selfridges.
The gummy sweets offered by Candy Kittens come in a range of unusual flavours, including sour watermelon, blood orange and Eton Mess, with the launch of “exotic fruit” flavours accelerating the growth of Laing’s business. Since bringing in Ed Williams to manage the business, Laing’s ventures have flourished, with Candy Kittens now exporting to 15 countries, and an annual turnover between £1 – 2 million. As one of many entrepreneurs to capitalise on the gourmet food boom, Laing is determined to dominate the gourmet confectionary market following an immensely successful round of crowdfunding via Seedr, providing the company with the £300k capital required to expand its operations in Britain and beyond.
With recent collaborations with Hello Kitty and London Fashion Week, it appears that the heir to the digestive biscuit is carving out an edible empire of his own.