Milla Jupp of Milla’s Lunch: “Vulnerability Was An Integral Part of My Growth”
UK-Born Milla Jupp is the founder of Milla's Lunch, a delivery service that sends *non-boring* plant-based lunches to homes and offices all over Barcelona for only 7€. It’s a business founded on staying true to oneself.
”I believe in having a non-business-plan business plan,” says Milla Jupp, relaxing after another afternoon of sending out lunches. "Having a loose, fluid idea of where you're going, where you want to be, and how you feel in those moments, but not going too attached to the outcome."
It's a philosophy that she's stuck to throughout the last few years. After being disillusioned by the PR world, Milla moved to Barcelona with 15 euros in her pockets and chased her dream of starting a business - albeit, not knowing what it would be. "I did kind of know it was going to be food, I just wasn't sure exactly what it was going to look like," she says.
Seeing the lack of healthy food choices "that weren't just quinoa, kale, and lemon juice," she brought her vision to life through Milla's Lunch, a plant-based food delivery service that caters to those who want their fix of wholesome meals that don't skimp on flavor. She opens up about the nitty-gritty details of starting and running your own company — with breathtaking honesty — below.
Tell us about how you went from a PR gig at Louis Vuitton to putting up Milla’s.
When I left university, I thought my 'great path' was going to lead me to Fashion PR. And it did - I worked really hard at that and I ended up doing Communications for Louis Vuitton. Very exciting, very fast-paced. It was an incredible experience working for a corporate company, but I always felt like I was not supposed to be there. I felt like I wasn’t living my true path, and there was something seriously missing. And I knew that that was because I wasn’t producing something myself or sharing a part of me with other people.
“I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have any language skills, I didn’t know anyone in the city. I was making myself the most vulnerable I had ever been in my entire life.”
I knew that if I put myself into a new city with new surroundings, that would just get the ball rolling. When I moved, I was in a place of desperation, really! I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have any language skills, I didn’t know anyone in the city. I was making myself the most vulnerable I had ever been in my entire life.
That vulnerability was such an integral part of my growth and in finding that thing that I actually wanted to do. So I made peace with it - peace with the fact that, I didn’t know what I was going to do, but that I was going to do something. That, I think, would have terrified me before. But I've been able to turn that fear into motivation.
Why move to Spain?
I knew that the food market was not too saturated and that it was going to be the perfect place to experiment, without the rules and things that they have in England.
The market in London is… I don’t even know where I would start. It’s ridiculously privileged and done on a very ‘who-you-know’ basis. You really have to start at the bottom of the kitchen. I thought, why am I going to do that? And it’s not that I’m scared of that hard work — I just think you have to work smart. So I asked myself, how can I give something that people would like without having to take ten years chipping away at the industry? Barcelona was the perfect place to start. People here actually want to help you a lot more. They champion small businesses.
How did you get started in the food scene in Barcelona?
I needed money desperately. I was living in Raval, and underneath my flat was this Sajeria (a Lebanese dome-like hot plate that cooks flatbreads). The food looked delicious. I walked in one day and asked the guy working there, “do you need anyone to help you?”
It was quite the experience. He taught me how to make all the food; his mom would send all these recipes over, I would read them, and he would translate them for me to make. It was so much fun! He paid me, like, 3,00 Euros an hour. It was kind of hilarious, you know? This really dirty fast food restaurant in Raval and I was that English girl who didn’t know any Spanish whatsoever!
“No one is the best anything in the world — it’s all about how much energy you pour into something.”
But then the owner turned on me, and it grew into this whole crazy situation! I knew some girls who wanted salads, and so I basically started selling lunches under the counter — which was really bad of me! — but I needed the money at the time. People started messaging their friends, and they messaged their friends. Then the whole of Raval started messaging me about trying my lunches. As soon as I had gone for it, it went like lightning. Everything started clicking!
And now you’re sending up to 200 lunches a DAY.
Yes! It’s a true testament to, if you are doing what you are meant to be doing, everything will fall onto your lap. No matter what, you see everything as positive because you’re happy doing it every day. Everything is a learning experience for you.
DURING ONE OF HER FIRST LUNCH DELIVERIES, MILLA RECALLS BEING STRANDED UNDER THE AUGUST SHOWERS WITH 30 LUNCHES TO SEND - AND WITHOUT A PHONE SIGNAL FOR DIRECTIONS. “I WOULD FIND ONE OF THOSE BAKERY 365’S JUST TO GET WIFI. THERE WERE SO MANY MOMENTS WHERE I WOULD JUST STAND THERE AND THINK, GOD, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!”
Let´s go back to how it was at the beginning! How many lunches were you sending out, and how did you figure out a system?
Oh my God. I basically didn’t. [laughs] To paint a picture for you, I would make three or four lunches, and it grew organically to about five more everyday. I was cooking on the 6th floor of an apartment in Raval without an elevator, so I would bring all the vegetables up in two loads. And, it was in the middle of the summer in Barcelona, so I was going crazy. I would cook the vegetables at 1 A.M. and leave them in trays to cook outside to cool on the balcony. It was an absolute mess!
And how did you get the hang of things?
It's just persistence. You can be good at absolutely anything if you are persistent. I mean, I’m not the best cook in the world. I’m not the best businesswoman. No one is the best anything in the world — it’s just how much energy they pour into something. Even if I had just one lunch, I would get up and do it.
As humans, we tend to think about all the problems, and we start to create all these mental blocks for ourselves as self-protection. We’re all scared of failing! But if I had thought, “I’m not going to do it because it’s going to be so hot in the summer, and I’m going to have to carry all the vegetables up the stairs everyday”, I wouldn’t have done it! So I just did not allow myself to go into that place in my mind full of ‘but’s’. It was just ‘do.’
SINCE RIDING SOLO IN 2018, MILLA’S LUNCH HAS GROWN INTO A 13-STRONG TEAM THAT SENDS UP TO 200 LUNCHES A DAY.
Something amazing is that at such a young age, not only have you started your own company — you’ve created jobs for people too.
It's so crazy! I go through ebbs and flows, but sometimes I've had to get myself to a place where I feel comfortable with the responsibility of giving people money every week and supporting their lives. I've had to get myself to a place where that isn't so much of an emotional burden. There were a couple of months when that pressure was weighing heavy on me, especially during the virus. I didn't know what [the riders, especially] were going to do! I do try and help everyone out as much as I can because I know what it's like having no money. I mean, I came here with absolutely nothing in my pockets.
Did you ever think that you'd be supporting people's livelihoods at this age?
No. Never. There was a time when I couldn't even get up and out of bed in the morning. There was a time when I thought, how am I ever going to motivate myself to do anything in life? I was so questioning of my integrity and my abilities, especially when I had just arrived in Barcelona.
I applied to so many jobs the city. Like, shitty ones! Just to support myself. I had built this amazing CV in London where I had worked for a leading corporation, but I still couldn't get one single reply from anybody. I must have messaged every single company. And it's very easy for that to drag you down to a point where you want to give up. But you also have to find it in you to turn that energy into motivation. I think that's what I'm good at: I'm good at seeing the glass half-full than empty. It is definitely a skill - which I thought everybody had, but some actually don't!
“Positivity is a non-negotiable.”
Since you’re allowed to create your own culture within a company, what, to you, are some non-negotiables when running a business?
Positivity is a non-negotiable. There shouldn't be any rules, except that managers/owners need to take full responsibility for their emotions. I think I passed through a moment where the company grew very quickly, but my emotional intelligence didn't. It was basically the blind leading the blind in the last year and a half. I really, really had to work hard at undoing some habits. The reality is that I have to lead by example. I set the tone of the kitchen. When others step into the kitchen and you are there, you have the power to lift that energy into whatever you want it to be, otherwise it will be reflected onto everyone else. And there were moments where I wasn't lifting at all because I was bringing my personal life to my work.
One thing about your identity on social media is that you're fond of sharing your reflections. Is that something that's really important to you?
Definitely, I think people are scared of being judged, of people's reactions, or what they'll think. I'm an oversharer by nature, and I think that is one of the most beautiful parts of the business for me. It's an outlet for me to explore that part of myself, and I underestimate the power of that. People message me, "you have no idea how much I needed this!" or "this gave me the courage to set up my own business." I'm of the belief that the more vulnerable you make yourself, the less people can judge you because you put all your cards on the table.
Lastly, it’s crazy how Milla's Lunch has evolved. Recently, you've been able to collaborate with Mango! How was that?
Ahhhhh! I freaked out. There was a moment a year ago where I had written down 'collaborating with Mango' in my notebook. I wrote it, and just let go of the idea — and it happened. That type of thing really makes you realize in trusting in yourself and your path, and knowing that whatever is meant for you will come to you. That collaboration was a nice reminder that, I am on the right path and that I can trust my choices, because they'll all lead me to the right outcome.
That’s amazing!!!
It was nuts, really, to look back at that notebook and see what I had written. And I hadn't even written that completely conscious of wanting to manifest it! It was just me writing my hopes and dreams. There's so much power in having that loose idea in your head, not becoming too attached to it, and just living your life and having it come to you. 🔹
Follow Milla on the Milla’s Lunch Instagram, where she posts rainbows of delicious vegan meals, fun recipes, and all the relatable insights that come with chasing your passions. If you’re in Barcelona, watch out for her workshops - and of course, be sure to give her food a try (it’s a must)!