What happens when two people who love coffee, food, good conversation and living a healthier life decide that the humble coffee shop could do things a little differently?
For Clare and Stu, it became the starting point for Microbiome Cafe – a new, mobile coffee and food venture built around great coffee, genuinely tasty snacks and a simple idea: eating well shouldn’t mean compromising on taste.
We caught up with them for the latest episode of Made In Ely, recorded here at Ely Work Collective, to hear how the idea started, why they’re taking a deliberately different approach to food, and what they’ve learned about starting a business along the way.
From a coffee shop dream to something a little different
The idea for Microbiome Cafe started several years ago, with a conversation between Clare and Stu.
Stu had always loved coffee and floated the idea of opening a coffee shop. Clare loved the idea too – but quickly identified something she felt was missing from the typical coffee shop experience.
They loved going out for coffee, but sometimes you don’t want a full meal. You just want a snack.
And sometimes, you want that snack to be a healthier option.
The problem? Walk into most coffee shops and you’re faced with the same familiar selection of cakes, pastries and increasingly elaborate brownies – delicious, certainly, but not necessarily what you want every time.
That conversation became the seed of Microbiome Cafe.
Rather than simply creating another coffee shop, they wanted to create something where healthy food was genuinely enjoyable, accessible and appealing.
And importantly, they didn’t want “healthy” to mean boring.
Healthy doesn’t have to look healthy
One of the most interesting parts of Clare and Stu’s approach is that many of their snacks don’t immediately look like the sort of food you’d associate with gut health.
Their recipes make use of ingredients such as oats, dates, sweet potato, black beans, chickpeas, fruit and nuts.
But you’d never necessarily know it from looking at them.
In fact, when they first started testing their products at local markets, they found that giving people samples was one of the best ways to get around that initial hesitation.
Someone might look at a brownie containing sweet potato and black beans and think, I’m not sure about that.
Taste it first, however, and the reaction is often very different.
That’s the point.
Microbiome Cafe isn’t about telling people what they should or shouldn’t eat. It’s about giving people more choices.
As Clare and Stu put it during the podcast, they’re not trying to be puritanical about food. They still enjoy a croissant and a coffee. The idea is simply to make it easier to choose something different when you want to.
The raspberry brownie that keeps winning
So, what’s actually on the menu?
The current bestseller is the raspberry brownie – a brownie-sized snack bar topped with a raspberry sauce made by reducing raspberries.
It’s colourful, it looks great and, most importantly, it tastes good.
There’s also a walnut brownie and their date and ginger cake bar, which evolved from an earlier pancake recipe.
Then there’s the Powerball – a snack packed with fibre, protein and a wide variety of plant-based ingredients.
And there’s a reason they’re called Powerballs rather than “health balls”.
Because, as Clare explained, sometimes even the name of a product can make a difference.
The whole brand is about making better food feel exciting rather than worthy.
Accidentally vegan
Interestingly, all of the Microbiome Cafe snacks happen to be vegan – but that’s not because Clare and Stu set out to create a vegan business.
They’re not vegan or vegetarian themselves.
Instead, the recipes naturally evolved that way because using a wider variety of plants is central to what they’re trying to achieve.
One example is aquafaba – the liquid from chickpeas – which can be used in place of eggs in some recipes.
It means more plant diversity, while also opening the products up to a wider audience.
And when they attend markets, they’ve found that vegan customers are often particularly excited to discover somewhere offering more than one vegan option.
Building the business one step at a time
One of the things we particularly enjoyed about Clare and Stu’s story is that Microbiome Cafe didn’t happen overnight.
For years, the idea existed as a conversation.
They talked about it, imagined what life could look like, discussed the possibilities and slowly built towards it.
Eventually, Stu made the decision to hand in his notice from his long-standing career and commit to making Microbiome Cafe happen.
But even then, they didn’t simply jump straight into opening a permanent café.
They considered the risks involved in taking on premises, rent, business rates and all of the other overheads that come with a fixed location.
Instead, they started small.
They tested the products at markets, learned what people liked, developed the recipes and began building an audience.
That eventually led them to their mobile horsebox – giving them the flexibility to take the business to the people rather than waiting for people to come to them.
It’s a great example of something we’ve talked about many times here at EWC: you don’t necessarily have to go from idea to fully-fledged business in one giant leap.
Sometimes the best route is to take the next small step.
Then the next one.
The reality of starting a food business
Of course, the romantic idea of creating a coffee business doesn’t quite capture everything that goes on behind the scenes.
There’s food hygiene.
Safety procedures.
Regulations.
Labelling.
Accounts.
Insurance.
Equipment.
Gas.
Water.
Power.
And, in the case of a mobile coffee business, an awful lot of things that can apparently decide to stop working at exactly the wrong moment!
Clare and Stu have already experienced their fair share of technical challenges, including problems with the horsebox’s inverter and water pump.
On one occasion, they arrived at a market early in the morning only to discover that the water pump wasn’t working.
But this is where another important part of their story comes in: local connections.
The power of local businesses
Microbiome Cafe has deliberately tried to work with independent and local businesses wherever possible.
Their coffee comes from Coffee World in Milton, who also supplied their coffee machine.
They’ve worked with local specialists on the horsebox, towing equipment, gas and electrical systems, as well as branding and signage.
And those relationships have already proved incredibly valuable.
When the water pump failed at a market, a series of messages to people they knew locally eventually resulted in help arriving at the horsebox.
It was a perfect example of why local business relationships matter.
You aren’t just another order number.
You’re a person.
You’re a local business.
And people want to help each other succeed.
It’s something we completely recognise here at Ely Work Collective.
When we fitted out EWC, we deliberately worked with independent local businesses wherever possible. The flexibility, personal service and willingness to go the extra mile made a huge difference – particularly when we were working against tight deadlines.
That sense of community is one of the things that makes running a small business in and around Ely so special.
Two people, two skill sets, one business
Another big theme of Clare and Stu’s story is partnership.
They’re not just business partners – they’re life partners too.
And while that might sound like a recipe for never switching off, they feel that their different personalities and skill sets actually complement each other.
Stu brings his business and strategic experience, while Clare brings creativity, food development and her own varied professional background.
They’ve both got interests outside of the business too, which helps them maintain some separation.
Ultimately, they both agreed that Microbiome Cafe probably wouldn’t have happened if they’d tried to do it individually.
Having someone beside you to share the ideas, the risks, the decisions – and occasionally the disasters – makes a huge difference.
It’s something we’ve experienced ourselves at EWC.
Building a business is hard enough. Having someone who understands the journey alongside you can make it feel considerably less lonely.
So, what’s next for Microbiome Cafe?
For now, Clare and Stu are continuing to develop the business, testing different markets and events and learning more about exactly where their audience is.
The mobile model gives them something a traditional café wouldn’t: flexibility.
They can take the horsebox to different communities, events, workplaces and gatherings and see where Microbiome Cafe fits best.
They’re also available for private events and bespoke snack orders.
And, as Stu moves towards spending fewer days in his existing role, Microbiome Cafe will have more of their time and attention behind it.
The long-term vision is still evolving.
But that’s part of the excitement.
They aren’t trying to have everything figured out today.
They’re building it, testing it, learning from it and taking the next step.
Made In Ely
What we loved about talking to Clare and Stu was that, beneath the coffee, brownies and rather impressive horsebox, Microbiome Cafe is really a story about people.
It’s about taking an idea you’ve talked about for years and eventually deciding to do something about it.
It’s about finding a business partner whose strengths complement your own.
It’s about taking calculated risks.
It’s about learning an enormous amount of things you never expected to have to learn.
And it’s about the people around you – the local businesses, suppliers, customers and communities who help turn an idea into something real.
Microbiome Cafe might still be in its early stages, but Clare and Stu have already demonstrated something that we see time and time again through Made In Ely:
Every local business has a story behind it.
And often, that story is every bit as interesting as the product itself.
You can follow Microbiome Cafe on Instagram at @microbiome.cafe and keep an eye out for where their distinctive purple horsebox is heading next.
Made In Ely is the Ely Work Collective podcast celebrating the people, businesses and ideas that make our local community what it is.
If you’re a local business owner, freelancer, creator or entrepreneur with a story to tell, we’d love to hear from you.
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