Joe Hill, co-founder of One Planet Pizza, has an ever-growing influence in the plant-based community and even appeared as a vegan judge in an episode of The Apprentice.

In 2022, we interviewed the other co-founder, Mike Hill. Mike suggested we speak to his son, Joe, to hear his side, so this chat feels long overdue. Without further ado, let’s get doughing! 

V-Land UK (V-L): What inspired you to transition from vegetarian to vegan in 2014?

Joe Hill (JH): I went veggie from a young age, having always been obsessed with wildlife shows on TV and always loving animals. Ace Ventura was my fictional childhood hero!

I didn’t realise how horrific and cruel the dairy and egg industries were and how I was still causing harm to innocent animals until I watched Cowspiracy at University. I realised being veggie wasn’t aligned with my moral compass. That’s when I decided to go fully vegan and never turn back. 

I’ve been a vegan for almost a decade and have been lucky enough to make a career out of promoting plant-based food to the masses!

V-L: One Planet Pizza is on track to surpass 1 million pizzas sold by the end of 2024. You must’ve shown real grit and determination to get to this stage.

JH: We feel hugely proud to have survived so many challenges over the years, from the pandemic to the energy crisis, and emerge stronger than ever!

It has always been our mission to get as many people eating vegan pizza as possible, and this milestone keeps pushing us forward.

I’d love to know how many animals we’ve saved - here’s to saving many more and showing people that you don’t need to compromise to eat plant-based!

V-L: Do you concur with your Dad that you work well together and are an effective team? Would you recommend others go into business with family members? 

JH: I would definitely recommend taking a personality test with whoever you plan on going into business with. We did this years ago and found that our personality types were very well-suited and complementary. It’s a really useful practice to help you figure out if you have a good chance of getting on! 

Another thing that helps is that we are, and always have been, 100% mission-aligned. By that I mean we both have the exact same end goal in mind: sell as many vegan pizzas as possible and build Europe’s most popular vegan pizza brand.

V-L: How do you appeal to the wider audience (not just vegans)? And do you feel doing so is essential for plant-based brands?

JH: Most of our pizzas are now bought by non-vegans (flexitarians and open omnivores). If you want to build a genuinely scalable vegan brand, this is key. 

We appeal to non-vegans by making sure we always understand: 1. Who they are; 2. Why they buy into this category; 3. How we can best meet their needs. 

For example, most flexitarians are now coming into plant-based for the perceived health benefits. We try to win over these shoppers by having a clear and concise callout on the pack: “30% less fat than a meat and dairy pizza.” Whilst, of course, making sure we deliver on taste first and price a close second.

It’s really important now for vegan brands to understand which camp they fall into: meat and dairy mimics or wholefoods / less processed alternatives. Both serve different needs and have slightly different customer bases. It’s tempting to try to appeal to everyone with too many USPs. For us, we now keep to the same hierarchy of USPs: 1. Taste / quality (sourdough); 2. Health benefits (lower fat / plant-based); 3. Environmental benefits.    

My advice is to be very clear on your top 2-3 USPs and pack callouts, and make sure they appeal to your customer base / target audience.   

V-L: How did you move from finding public speaking terrifying to offering your services as a guest speaker? Does everyone have the potential to become a good public speaker? 

JH: I think 99.9% of people find it terrifying and avoid it like the plague. 

I always knew that building a brand on a budget would involve putting myself out there and getting in front of the camera. Doing this from day one was scary, but has now really paid off. After years of embarrassing practice and making tons of mistakes, I’m now comfortable with public speaking. 

It’s all about consistent practice over time, getting comfortable talking from your heart and not notes, and establishing an emotional connection with your audience. And an easy way to make a connection is to share something personal from your journey and how you overcame it / learnt from it. Or finding a way of sharing an experience that most people have gone through at some point.

V-L: You’ve amassed quite a following on LinkedIn. What words of wisdom would you give to people hoping to grow their network and influence on LinkedIn? 

JH: First, ask yourself and be clear on what it is you want to achieve. I have always wanted to grow my own personal brand to complement One Planet Pizza and establish myself as a leading voice in my sector.

My top three pieces of advice are: 1. Follow and engage with people you admire and who are doing really well on LinkedIn. Follow them for inspiration and ideas for your content. 2. Get posting at least three days a week. Don’t overthink this and stick to what interests you the most / your sector. 3. Create your strategy and be disciplined - a big part of my weekly hours on LinkedIn are dedicated to engaging and supporting content from other people in my network. I do this for a minimum of 2-3 hours per week to help support others and strengthen these connections.

V-L: Congratulations on your appearance on The Apprentice. How did you find the experience?

JH: Great fun! The filming is as manic and rushed as it looks on the TV. I think they do this to keep pressure on the contestants. We had a great time as vegan judges, getting to be the faces of the industry and promote great-tasting plant-based cheeses. The contestant went for some pretty wild flavours, but ours still tasted great and we had fun being pitched to by the contestants and seeing behind the scenes!

V-L: If you were to distil your learnings over the past eight years into some top tips for up-and-coming plant-based brands to stand out and differentiate themselves, what would you say? 

JH: 1. Work hard and laugh harder!

Over the past eight years, Mike and I have learnt that there is a positive correlation between having fun and success. Building a business is tough. The chance of success is small and can take many years of hard work. The quicker you can learn to make fun of yourself and create a culture built on having a laugh, the easier it’ll be to hit your goal. Plus, this energy is infectious and will lift up everyone around you. People want to spend time and be near those having the most fun!

2. Become irreplaceable! 

Start building your own network and community right away. Become a key person of influence by focusing on your own industry or sector and adding value wherever you possibly can. Share both facts and opinions and speak up for what you believe in and who you admire and look up to. Harness your voice and stay true to your values, goals, and overall purpose.

3. Be kind and give back! 

Create a positive support loop within your own sector, so you all win together! The more you can help and support others the more you will find others helping you in return. Not only will this make you feel great and give you purpose, it’ll also help you become a key person of influence within your industry. 

4. Become a universal adaptor!     

With your mission and purpose acting as your rudder, become an expert at changing course and reacting to whatever comes your way. Building a business is largely unpredictable and to survive you need to have unlimited grit. Get out there and try, fail, learn, test, repeat, and just keep moving forward every day. Constantly go back to your ‘why,’ your ‘purpose,’ and use this to guide and strengthen your attitude toward work.

V-L: Where do you hope One Planet Pizza (and yourself) will be in five years time?

JH: Mike hopes to be enjoying early retirement, renting our e-bikes and making his own olive oil in Greece! I plan to run One Planet Pizza, become the Ben & Jerry’s of the pizza world, and launch into new countries. 

Our mission is to be sold in all four major UK supermarket chains, expanding across Europe and into America, launching new and exciting flavours that the world has never seen before. Frozen cheeseburger pizzas or Four Cheeze calzones, anyone?

Sounds good to us! Interested in hearing more about Mike? Check out our 2022 chat: Mike Hill, co-founder of One Planet Pizza: Pizza with purpose.