An easy to use squeezy bottle to enhance meals with All Dressed Up

What was the catalyst for launching All Dressed Up?

It was sparked around our kitchen table, and sort of happened by accident! I'd made a simple tahini dressing to pair with roast chicken one night, and then we used the same tahini dressing the next evening to make a chicken, sweet potato and couscous salad. My boyfriend texted me the next day, saying he had a business idea. He said that having eaten the tahini dressing two nights in a row, in two different ways, he felt that there was a real gap in the category for all natural, delicious dressings. He said that you can't buy dressing like that anywhere in the shops, and "what did I think of the name All Dressed Up?" That was the catalyst, and I suppose you could say the rest was history!

Tell us about the business – what it is, what it aims to achieve, who you work with, how you reach customers and so on?

We are on a mission to create bold, flavour-first all-natural dressings that empower people to eat better. We want people to have the confidence to make delicious food that not only tastes great, but is good for you too. By just using a drizzle of the dressings with a few simple ingredients, suddenly your meals are packed full of flavour, without compromising on nutritional value. We work with a local rapeseed farmer in the Cotswolds, using the best possible ingredients we can get our hands on, which are all sustainably sourced, and the dressings are made in small batches. We now work with 100+ farm shops, deli's and independents across the UK, as well as sell the dressings in the likes of Wholefoods, Bayley & Sage and Ocado. We also have an online presence on DELLI and through our own website. 

How has the business evolved since its launch?

I launched the business in December 2023. I was making and labelling each batch in the kitchen, and was making about 10 bottles per run. I put a post out on my Instagram saying I was going to sell them as Christmas stocking fillers (I thought I'd sell about 50!) and we sold over 350 bottles in the first 2 weeks. From then on, momentum picked up, farm shops and deli's were interested in listing them, and I couldn't keep up with demand from my own kitchen. So I partnered with a manufacturer so that we were able to keep up with demand, and soon we were listed in Bayley & Sage and Wholefoods. We then went on to launch with Ocado at the beginning of this year. 

Tell us about the working culture at All Dressed Up?

I've actually been working another job alongside building All Dressed Up, and it's still only me in the business (so you could say it's definitely been a juggling act!) My approach has always been to enjoy the juggle as much as possible, and always put things into perspective. Building the business alongside working another job has meant I've really had to hustle and find a second energy to push the business forward. There are some evenings/weekends when I ask myself what I've got myself into! But I'm grateful for that, as it's meant I've had to fight a bit harder, and dig a bit deeper at times, and hopefully that will pay off! 

How are you funded?

To date, I have funded everything myself on a very shoestring budget! This has had its challenges, but I wanted to prove the concept before outsourcing investment, to see whether the business had legs. We are now just about to close our first SEIS investment round, which feels like a big milestone!

What has been your biggest challenge so far and how have you overcome this?

I think it's probably been the constant juggle of trying to keep on top of everything, whilst also trying to manage another job and all the other weird and wonderful things that pop up in life! I sometimes have found that difficult, as I've felt a pressure to perform, yet sometimes it has felt like I'm always playing catch up. It also means that a lot of the time I'm trying to just keep the business going, rather than strategise how to grow it and where to dedicate my time. I've tried to overcome it by setting out time each day to do little and often, rather than let it all pile up. It's then more like bite size pieces to take on at a time, which feels more achievable. 

How does All Dressed Up answer an unmet need?

I think the proof is in the pudding in regards to how the idea came about. Like so many businesses, ideas are often sparked from a problem that you can't find a solution to. I wasn't necessarily your traditional salad dressing shopper, but one of the best things about building the business is hearing how many people's lives we've made easier by having a delicious, squeezy dressing to hand to pimp up their meals! They are so much more than salad dressings, and can be used in a whole variety of ways, so I love to think of them as a bit of a kitchen staple superhero!

What’s in store for the future?

Good question! I've just made the decision to go full time with All Dressed Up, so I am officially taking the leap into full on founder life! We've got some really exciting conversations in the pipeline with bigger retailers, new innovation in terms of new products and flavours, and hopefully there will be the opportunity to grow the team in the near future.

What one piece of advice would you give other founders or future founders?

Don't be too hard on yourself, believe in your vision and try to enjoy the process as much as possible. It's a very steep learning curve, but there are so many amazing people in the industry who are so generous with their time. I'd recommend absorbing as much information as you can, and knocking on every door! You are constantly testing, learning and improving, and I think that in itself is pretty cool. 

And finally, a more personal question! What’s your daily routine and the rules you’re living by at the moment?

It really does look pretty different day to day at the moment! But I'm currently training for a half marathon (and have never considered myself a runner!) so I'm really enjoying getting up and making the most of the sunnier mornings in Hyde Park. I always swear by list writing, I tend to write a list each week & month of everything I want to set out to achieve, and I love the satisfaction of ticking things off, so I'll continue to live by that for now!

Tess Reed is the Founder of All Dressed Up.