Q & A with Sam Murphy, Founder of Ki Kefir

What do you love most about the brand you’ve created?

Ki was created from a true passion for helping others to be healthy and to feel their best. This has been the driving force behind years of hard work. It’s so rewarding to connect with our customers and to hear what a difference Ki has made to their lives. 

When I started Ki, I made all the deliveries myself either on my bike or on foot. My deliveries in the early stages of the business gave me the perfect opportunity to really get to know our loyal customers (as well as their dogs!).  I loved hearing their stories and the many ways Ki had benefited their lives. 

As the business grew it became impossible for me to keep up the deliveries myself, which concerned me as I desperately wanted to ensure I kept the personal connection I had built.  I’m so happy that we’ve managed to maintain and build our loyal community over the years and that the personal connection has not been lost, as is so often the case as businesses grow.  

Have you always wanted to work in this industry?

I come from a family of small, self-made entrepreneurs, so I think it was always in my blood!  I am a real people person and love helping people, so I always knew that I had to do something that would make a difference to people’s lives. 

My background is in the arts, so starting a food-based business was not something I had imagined for my future but I found my passion and discovered the life changing benefits of Ki – it felt like everything naturally fell into place and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  

What are you most proud of?

When I started Ki over five years ago, my aim was to bring a traditional, authentic Kefir to the market, that offered something unlike any of the commercial options out there and truly made a difference to people’s health. Despite many challenges along the way, I’m proud to say that Ki continues to uphold these same principles.

What advice would you give to someone keen to start a business but ensure where to begin?

I learn something new every day, but if I had known everything I needed to know from the start, I’m not sure I would have taken the leap!

My advice would be to just get going. Start small, trial and experiment and sooner or later things will come together, and your path forward will become clearer.  

Running a business is a lot like navigating an obstacle course with many hurdles – there is always something in your way, and you’re constantly having to figure out how to get around things to move forward!

Who is one of your biggest inspirations? Either professionally or personally.

I have listened to numerous business podcasts and read a lot of books, so it’s quite hard to narrow it down to just a few. 

There are so many inspiring stories of people who have overcome so much and achieved such incredible things, and I have taken learnings from every single one of them.  

Two that particularly spring to mind are Whole Foods founder, John Mackey and the Co-founder of Lush, Mark Constantine. Both of their stories resonated with me as they built brands centred around healthy and natural products that improve people’s lives – at a time when the health and wellbeing space was nowhere near what it is today.

If you could attribute your success to anyone who gave you a big break who would it be?  

Natoora was our very first stockist and they believed in us from the very beginning. 

Franco, Natoora’s founder, was looking for a kefir for his stores. When he tried Ki, he loved it and immediately signed us up to stock in all of his stores.  

Having the approval of someone so well-known and respected in the food industry not only helped to show potential customers that we were a high-quality product, but it also gave me a huge confidence boost knowing that we had the Franco seal of approval!  This was the moment when things took off for us.

 What’s the hardest part of your job?

Wearing so many hats – production, marketing, customer service, finance, operations. It’s an endless list!  

Also being a start-up that has grown organically,  without external investment has certainly presented challenges in terms of growth.  I’ve had another job alongside building Ki and have invested my earnings into the business. I’m excited about the prospect of securing investment and expanding the team so we can have more hands on deck!

 Which part of your job do you most enjoy?

I love meeting our customers. Although I was working 14-hour days back in my “Milklady” role, it was such a joy to meet everyone and that personal connection really kept me going.  To this day, it is meeting and talking to people that I really love, whether that’s at an event, workshop or market stall.

 Do you find it easy to balance work and play?

In the last year I have certainly got better at my work/life balance. However, I never manage to lose the guilt of stepping back for a few days if I go on holiday. It sits with me the whole time I’m away. I imagine it’s like being a parent and how you feel about your child when you’re not with them!  I find it hard to let go and Ki is so much a part of who I am.