I pitched my idea to a major high street chain and they agreed to work with me  – but then they stole my concept and cut me out

The owner of a healthy snack company has hit out at Holland & Barrett for ‘copying’ his idea – and he’s staged a taste test to prove it.

Giuseppe Baidoo, 34, the founder of Gusto Snacks, claims the UK wellness giants launched an identical version of his dried apple crisps, shortly after trying them at a food festival in 2022.

However a spokesperson for Holland & Barrett has rebutted the claims, saying they ‘believe the allegations are without foundation’. 

Gusto Snacks was founded in 2020 and sells air dried apple crisps made from wonky – also known as non-aesthetically pleasing – fruit. In the last few years the brand has been the recipient of various awards and grants from Santander, Shell LiveWire and Virgin.

The aspiring entrepreneur, who was born to Ghanaian parents before moving to Italy, insists the similarities between the two products are glaring, such as being ‘dried not fried’ and using ‘wonky fruit’ to save the planet from food waste. 

Holland & Barrett currently stock ‘Apple Chips’ made with ‘100 percent fruit – air dried, not fried’, which the brand says was officially launched in September 2023.

Planning for their Apple Chips, as well as other fruit and vegetable-based snacks began in ‘early 2022’, with the ‘development of our own brand Apple Chips beginning in Autumn 2022, well before discussions with Gusto began’,  spokesperson told FEMAIL.

But Giuseppe claims a Holland & Barrett representative ‘ghosted’ him after promising to pass Gusto Snacks to a company buyer following a meeting between the brands at Bread & Jam festival in Islington, north London in October 2022. 

According to documents seen by FEMAIL, another Holland & Barrett rep later stated that their buyer never received them, and in 2023 said they were ‘launching something similar’ and could not stock ‘branded alternatives’.

Giuseppe insists all efforts to make good on the alleged verbal deal have since been futile.

The husband and father-of-one recently camped outside a Holland & Barrett store to challenge passers-by to a taste test between the competing fruit bites – and he claims Gusto Snacks came out on top.

In a video posted to Instagram, Giuseppe said he sported a ‘thief’ costume – a black and white stripy top, black beanie hat and matching face covering – during the mission.

‘A supermarket copied my products so I dressed like a thief… but let me give you the backstory’ he said.

‘A few months ago I met with Holland & Barrett at a trade show, they liked our products so we left them some samples. 

‘We followed up with a meeting to discuss marketing and how we would launch in their stores.

‘During the meeting we asked if they had any feedback on the samples we sent them, but the person on the call said they never received them… hmmm very suspicious’. 

The businessman – who launched Gusto Snacks from his home kitchen in London in 2020 – said he decided to drive to Holland & Barrett’s head office, situated in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, to deliver a second batch of samples.

‘We contacted them again’ he continued. ‘They ghosted us this time. Yes, we didn’t hear anything back.

‘Fast forward they emailed us saying they were creating their own version of our own product and refused to collaborate’.

Though Giuseppe admits Gusto Snack’s multicoloured packaging is markedly different from Holland & Barrett’s green and white wrapper, he insists their similarities on the other hand are striking.

‘They [Holland & Barrett] are air dried, not fried – and at the back they claim to be using wonky fruit. Again, that’s what we do.

‘Really Holland & Barrett? Really? You save fruits from going to waste like us? Really?’

Alleged email correspondence between Gusto Snacks and Holland & Barrett seen by FEMAIL reveals a row dating back to 2022.

Giuseppe told FEMAIL that Gusto Snacks applied to take part at emerging food and drink brands festival, Bread and Jam the same year. 

It was a dream come true for Giuseppe when his startup was selected to pitch to Holland & Barrett at the fare on October 14.

But he said a decision by Holland & Barrett to send a buyer rather than a product developer to their meeting left him ‘confused’.

He continued: ‘We were unsure why the buyer was not present, but the product developer assured us that she would pass our product on to the buyer upon returning to the office’.

He added that their employee enquired if Gusto Snacks would be interested in ‘white labelling’.

White labelling is when the producer of a product sells their merchandise on to another company or marketer who then rebrands it as their own.

‘We respectfully declined’ said Giuseppe. ‘We are a small brand and need our products and logo to be displayed on shelves to grow our audience. 

‘She [the Holland & Barrett rep] acknowledged this and assured us that she would get back to us’.

But according to the Gusto Snacks CEO, things suddenly went ‘quiet’ and it would be almost a month before he heard from Holland & Barrett again.

After repeated email attempts to confirm the verbal agreement made at the meeting, a manager finally replied, claimed Giuseppe. And what he heard next was heartbreaking.

In November 2022, he was informed that Holland & Barrett didn’t ‘recall’ seeing the samples – but they accepted the offer of a second batch if Gusto Snacks was happy to oblige.

Giuseppe said this time around the goods were delivered to Holland & Barrett’s head office ‘in person’ to ‘ensure they didn’t get lost again!’ 

It was music to the businessman’s ears when the company sent an email acknowledging receipt of the second batch.

Happy with this, Giuseppe said he followed up with an email to arrange a further meeting about the collaboration launch, marketing, a budget, and other details.

According to documentation, a Zoom meeting was arranged for January 16 2023. 

But after the meeting, things appeared to reach stalemate again. 

‘They went quiet again…. in 2023, they came back and confirmed that they had done something similar’ said Giuseppe. 

An email from Holland & Barrett in August 2023 confirmed the worst for Giuseppe – the brand revealed they were launching ‘something similar’ from their ‘private label’. 

‘Therefore currently we are not looking for any branded alternatives to supplement our range’ a manager continued.

‘It’s a great product however, and I will reach out if our position changes’.

Giuseppe said he later visited a Holland & Barrett store where he noticed a packaged snack containing ‘several similarities’ to Gusto Snacks’ apple crisps.

Holland & Barrett currently sell a 20 gram bag of ‘Apple Chips’, which on the packaging reads: ‘made with 100 per cent fruit’, ‘air dried, not fried’.

And on the back, a green box contains the information: ‘The apple chips are made using wonky fruit, it uses the core, pips, skin, the lot’.

Giuseppe said he revealed Gusto Snacks’ cooking process to Holland & Barrett before their version was launched, which included the ‘air dried, not fried’ method.

He also stated he had ‘clear proof’ that Holland & Barrett ‘lied’ and tried to ‘cover up’ their actions, and that when another publication reached out to them for a comment, they failed to mention to their discussions with Gusto Snacks in 2022. 

‘It’s unfortunate because, as a start-up, we work hard, and it costs us money to be dragged around like this, only for our products to be copied’ said Giuseppe. 

But a Holland & Barrett spokesperson says they believe his ‘allegations are without foundation’. 

‘Holland & Barrett takes all allegations seriously and is committed to transparency and fairness, but we believe these allegations are without foundation’ said the brand in a statement.

‘The planning for our new food range, including fruit and vegetable-based crisps began in early 2022 with the development of our own brand Apple Chips beginning in Autumn 2022, well before discussions with Gusto began.

‘Our product, made with 100 per cent apple, is one of many types of apple crisps available in the market, and was developed independently as part of a broader food range we launched in September 2023’.

The brand went on to say they regret that Gusto Snacks are ‘disappointed we chose not to list their product and did not have a positive experience’, as well as over any frustrations caused.

‘Our relationships with our suppliers are very important to us, and we continue to remain committed to working collaboratively with our partners now and in the future’ they concluded.

Giuseppe says he’s now taking matters into his own hands. 

‘I don’t like giving up easy’ he said in an Instagram post.

‘In the last couple of months little did they know I’ve been dressing like a thief’ he continued.

‘What I did was take their products and my products and went in front of their shops’.

Determined to flag a message to the corporation, Giuseppe donned what he called a ‘thief’ costume – a black and white stripy top, black beanie hat and matching face covering – to protest outside one of their stores.

In a video he can be seen dressed in the get up while standing outside a Holland & Barrett store in London, where he held a placard saying ‘snacks so yummy they copied in a hurry’.

Attached to the bottom of the sign were three Gusto Snack flavours including Chilli Twist and Mango and Passion Fruit Twist.

‘I asked their own customers to vote for which one was the best’ he explained. ‘I think that is fair right?’

‘I think so far 200 people have voted for Gusto Snacks and only two people have voted for Holland & Barrett copied products.

‘I’m sure those two [people] probably work for them’ he joked.

He ended the video by launching a challenge, where he beseeched the wellness giants to stock Gusto Snacks if votes for their apple crisps reached 2000.

And despite his dispute with the brand, he remained hopeful the two companies could still collaborate and directed UK viewers to a link on his Instagram page to get involved.

‘I just need help in order to make this thing happen’ he persisted. 

Giuseppe launched Gusto Snacks from his kitchen in 2020 after noticing large amounts of food waste while working with the Italian national service years prior.

He told FEMAIL: ‘I worked with various charities to rescue surplus food from supermarkets and fresh produce from farmers, redistributing it to those in need.

‘This experience gave me first-hand insight into the scale of food waste and inspired me to take action. So, when I moved to the UK, I wanted to do something meaningful for our planet’. 

The name Gusto means ‘taste’ in Italian, which Giuseppe chose to ‘encourage people to try the wonky fruit we save’. 

He eventually raised enough funding to expand the business and moved production  to Poland where he could upscale the manufacturing.

Today, his products can be found stocked on the high street and purchased online from Amazon. 

Gusto Snacks is Giuseppe’s second company after launching a now-defunct drinks business in 2018.