Rubies in the Rubble

A British food brand that turns surplus fruit and vegetables into ketchups, mayonnaise and other condiments.

About Rubies in the Rubble

Rubies in the Rubble makes condiments from fruit and vegetables that would otherwise be thrown away, including a ketchup it calls its hero product. Its jars are sold in major UK supermarkets, and it has used around 350,000 kg of wonky produce so far, according to a 2022 profile.

The company was founded in 2012 by Jenny Costa, who grew up on a farm in Scotland and studied maths at master's level. After reading about the amount of edible food that is wasted, she visited a London wholesale market at 4am and saw perfectly good produce being thrown away. She had previously spent two years at a London hedge fund. She took some home, made chutneys from family recipes and sold them at a market, where they sold out by 2pm. The name comes from her description of the discarded vegetables as rubies in the rubble.

Its stated aim is to challenge the food system and make it normal practice to value and use everything, including wonky vegetables and even chickpea water. Early on Jenny collected surplus from London's Borough Market and New Covent Garden Market, then built a small kitchen in a local wholesale market and bought a van that worked as a mobile chutney parlour. Production was later outsourced as demand grew, and a 2018 Grocer interview said its ketchup was made by a manufacturer in Portugal. That interview also said the team had grown from four people to twelve in a year, with a vegan mayonnaise made from leftover chickpea water (aquafaba), relishes and chutneys alongside the ketchup, and ketchup made with half its sugar replaced by surplus pears.

It is a UK business with London roots, and by 2022 it reported rescuing 730 tonnes of fruit and vegetables over ten years and winning several Great Taste awards. Supermarkets and foodservice names in a 2022 article included Waitrose, Tesco, Ocado, Morrisons, The Pig, Marriott Hotels and Slug & Lettuce, and major supermarkets including Sainsbury's and Waitrose stock its products. We did not find a published head office address on the pages we read, so check the website. Day-to-day operations are run by chief executive Nick Turner, while Jenny Costa remains its founder and public voice. A 2022 trade article describes its values as entrepreneurship, challenging the norm and being willing to stand out.

A small food brand like this needs people in sales and retailer accounts, brand and marketing, product development, supply chain and sourcing, finance and sustainability. Because it outsources production, supply chain and quality skills matter as much as creative ones. Staff numbers were not given, so check Rubies in the Rubble's own pages for current roles.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Its hero product, made with rescued fruit and vegetables.', 'title': 'Surplus-produce ketchup'}
• {'desc': 'Chutneys, mayonnaise and sauces using surplus ingredients.', 'title': 'Condiments and pantry staples'}
• {'desc': 'Speaking up for a food system that values every ingredient.', 'title': 'Food-waste campaigning'}

Key facts

• Founded in 2012 by Jenny Costa
• About 350,000 kg of wonky fruit and vegetables used (City A.M. profile)
• Stocked by Sainsbury's and Waitrose among other supermarkets
• Chief executive Nick Turner runs day-to-day operations

Website: rubiesintherubble.com