Owen Foster’s way of making money is pretty jammy.
Since the age of 14, Owen Foster, now 18, has been making and selling jars of conserves, all based on his grandma’s recipes.
He’s the creator of Owen’s Angus Jams, a company that now receives jam orders from all around the world.
Owen started the business from his mum’s kitchen when he was just 14, and now produces thousands of jars a year for shops, cafes, restaurants, and even a luxury castle.
He was inspired by his gran, Joyce Morrison, 69, and asked her if she would teach him to make homemade jam, using natural ingredients and traditional methods.
The first batch all sold out within a week, at £3 per jar.
Owen, from Forfar, Angus, had initially sold free-range eggs around his hometown but realised jam-making could be more profitable.
He initially sold the product door-to-door and at a market stall, but it has now become his full-time job after he left school at the age of 17.
‘When I was 12 I was selling eggs, but the supply dried up,’ Owen said.
‘Then I went to my gran and asked her to teach me how to make jam. Every summer grandma would make jam – she learned it from her mum. She loved just giving it away.
‘We made a pot of 50 jars and sold all within a week at £3 a jar.
‘I thought “I could buy a lot of sweets with that”, and it just grew from there.’
Since then, Owen has expanded his range to nine different flavours, including raspberry and blackberry, strawberry and pink champagne, and raspberry and straberry.
Word soon spread about his tasty preserves and he has now expanded his selection to nine different flavours – including raspberry and blackberry, strawberry and pink Champagne and traditional favourites, raspberry and strawberry.
His strawberry, rhubarb, apple and cinnamon jams and Seville orange marmalade have won ‘Great Taste’ awards.
Owen was thrilled when local stately home Glamis Castle awarded him a contract for making jam – with American tourists putting in orders as a result. Last year he made 1,000 pots of jam for the castle.
Owen said: ‘We can’t do supermarkets because of the way it’s made.
‘The jam in the shop is factory-made and contains additives and preservatives, like gelatin.
‘A lot of people wonder how we get our strawberry jam to set – there’s a few tricks to it.
‘We do catering jam that a lot of cafes and shops take.
‘We sell stuff through Facebook and have posted it over to America.’
Having upscaled from his house to an industrial unit, Owen is in the process of relocating again to a building which he is looking to turn into a production space and a farm shop.
He now produces thousands of jars of jam each year, and plans to expand business to other products soon, such as fruit-infused gins.
His mum, Judith, was a huge help when it came to setting up and expanding the business, teaching him all the ins and outs of managing his accounts.
Grandma Joyce is overjoyed at Owen’s success.
The grandmother of 16, from Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross, said: ‘It’s exciting and we’re extremely proud of him.
‘He can see his way forward and we’ll support him.
‘He certainly has that entrepreneurial spirit.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/11/teen-makes-thousands-selling-jars-homemade-jam-12221603/
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