This month at Rubies in the Rubble, we saved our one millionth perfect but otherwise rejected piece of fruit from the bin – a great milestone!
Obviously this is a rough count. I didn’t actually count each blueberry or cherry tomato. We record fruits saved by the kg of fruit in each of our products multiplied by the average weight of each fruit or vegetable. And I understand that, depending on whether we save blueberries or pears, this number could alter a lot. Therefore, one could say it’s a bit of an arbitrary celebration!
However, having spent years handling, chopping, dicing or puréeing every piece – and knowing the impact and energy that goes into growing fruit & veg – it feels a very meaningful achievement for me.
If you’d asked me in those early days – when chopping up 100 onions felt like a big day – whether we would ever hit the million mark, I would have laughed. So today, it feels a dream to have got here, and I give a huge thank you to everyone’s support in buying our products and backing our mission.
I’ve always believed it important to have milestones for three reasons.
To keep focused. If the average human concentration span is 45 minutes, it seems essential for everyone to have critical, short-term business goals in order to keep our attention on the business’s greatest needs.
To keep going. Humans don’t do anything without expecting an outcome. We need a purpose and a goal that is within reach to give a sense of achievement and the knowledge that what we do makes a difference.
To keep the joy. It’s a long journey and sometimes tough, so it’s important to remind ourselves of progress to keep the love going for the journey.
I still remember creating our first range of products, selling our first jar at Hay-on-Wye festival, the excitement of my first trading day at Borough Market, pitching to our first supermarket, hiring our first employee, sampling in stores, expanding the range, creating catering sizes… These are all big milestones that can easily pass you by.
Instead, try to remember to cherish them all, keep focused on the next step ahead, and ensure you celebrate the journey!
Jenny Costa is the founder of Rubies in the Rubble
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