I’m rushing into the city like any other morning, however today I have an interview arranged with one of the founders of Two Chicks.
I spot Alla from afar as she trundles towards me with two large boxes full of product. I can see her emblematic egg white cartons, Chirps of different flavours and a big poster displaying text about the April 3rd International Egg Commission hosted in Monaco. She is beaming and excitedly quips, “everyone calls it an egg day, but why can’t it be my very own “egg white day?”
Indeed, her egg whites have had great success over the years. Two Chicks reached the final 10 of the HSBC Start Up Stars in 2008, and beat out hundreds of entries in the Natwest everywoman awards in 2014 to become finalists. Today, their products are sold in all major supermarkets in the UK, including Selfridges, Whole Foods, Waitrose, Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda and Ocado. Internationally, you can find their products in France, Holland, Dubai, Kuwait, Hong Kong, and Finland.
So a little about the brand: Two Chicks focuses on products made from egg whites, and has capitalised itself on the current trend towards high protein diets and the clean and lean lifestyle. The idea came around more than ten years ago when Alla graduated from UCL with a degree in Economics.
Alla tells me that she didn’t dream of starting her own business back then – she liked maths and thought about a career in banking. She even boasts about an internship at Deutsche Bank. She also liked sports, and looking at her today (a mother of one nonetheless) she has a great physique. It’s not all that surprising, I think, when I find out she is the daughter of a famous Russian Olympic Tennis Coach.
Growing up, she spent a lot of time in training camps and later even coached tennis herself. She talks fondly about her parents and her upbringing – her dad always promoted self-discipline and hard work. “He was always working hard himself and never taking time off… to support us and to build a better life for us in Britain”.
Anna, Alla’s friend and business partner, graduated in English, and had early ambitions to become a journalist. She was working for CNN when she realised she wanted to branch out on her own.
“She lived in LA for a few months after graduating,” Alla tells me. Anna came up with the idea of creating an egg-white brand in the UK after developing a penchant for quick whites while out in the US. She noticed a gap in the market when she returned to the UK.
“We became friends after meeting at a party and got on really well.” In November 2005 the girls registered their company and in August 2007 they launched Two Chicks’ first product – egg whites available in a carton. Why egg whites? Alla explains, “they are fat-free, cholesterol-free, low in carbs and an excellent source of protein. Many baking treats, such as meringues and macaroons, require separation of egg whites from egg yolks, yet back in 2006 you could not buy a carton of egg whites at a British supermarket. Our idea was simple – package free-range egg white into an easy-pour carton and market it to health-conscious consumers and bakers”.
Initially Alla looked after finance and operations and Anna took care of sales and marketing. Of course their company has grown and the girls now have their own prestigious offices in Mayfair, as well as production units in Holland, France and England. They are still looking to expand further, geographically and in terms of the product range. Their next target market is the Netherlands, where there are over 2000 shops that could potentially stock their produce.
The girls are particularly excited by Chirps. These are healthy low-carb, low-fat high-protein chips made from egg whites and rice flour. Alla says her favourite are the salt and pepper flavour, which she lets me sample during our meeting.
“How do they taste? Good? Crunchy?” Alla asks me inquisitively. She tells me they are constantly trying to improve on the taste and texture of these chips. In the future they hope to expand into rice cakes and other snack foods for kids. “It would be amazing to have something healthy for them, both salty and sweet tasting,” she says.
I mentioned that I have a bit of a sweet tooth and so far on my clean and lean diet I’m struggling to find delicious and low-carb sweet snacks besides Ketoslim and Atkins bars. She said that they will probably look into that too, even perhaps designing some protein rich, low in fat, ice cream. She also mentioned that even an egg white omelette can be a delicious sweet treat, sharing her favourite home recipe with me:
“Just use our Two Chick egg whites, add some coconut oil, some frozen berries, some peanut butter, and some chia seeds, and voila!… I love egg white omelettes, she continues, “I almost always have them for breakfast. I eat healthy almost all the time (but) I occasionally allow myself some rice or pasta, especially when I know I have to train. And I train 4-5 times a week!
“Apart from golf… I also go to military camps in Hyde Park… I also do a lot of running outdoors and I have completed numerous half marathons. I am an outdoor kind of girl, I think! During winter Alla likes to ski with her son. “Courchevel was my favourite when he was still little, now I prefer Verbier and Val D’Isere.”
Another market that Alla is keen to expand into is the US, followed by Australia. Sometimes choosing the geographical regions where to move next can be tricky, both in terms of production and costs, as egg is considered to be an allergen. In the UK, for example eggs are not kept in the fridge as they are in US. “So at times it doesn’t act to our advantage where the products are placed on the aisles, especially if we are now diversifying our product range… As we expand I may even think about opening franchises, it would be easier” says Alla. I ask her if the next step is an IPO but she is not sure at this stage. She says that she likes time to herself and recognises the importance of quiet time with her loved ones.
I ask Alla about fashion and what designers she likes. She beams and says “Like any girl I am a sucker for Dior. Especially their bags.” However she admits she often opts for comfort these days and doesn’t wear heels much – she prefers Balenciaga trainers. She was wearing a pair the morning we met. She was also wearing a tracksuit made by the Ukrainian designer, Kristina Bobkova. I mention the e-shop I am planning to open, that will champion smaller Eastern European designers, and give them exposure in the UK market. And Alla shows genuine enthusiasm for the idea. My first customer perhaps?
