Pure Epicness – Daniel Knightley | Epic Oats

Delicious & Nutritious…..It Has To Be EPIC OATS!

Epic Oats is a brand-new product which innovatively combines oats, with crunchy and flavoured granola all in one pot. It’s one of the healthiest oat pots on the market right now. It’s 100% HFSS approved, with all green traffic lights and an overall rating of -1. It’s vegan, gluten-free, high in protein (14g) and exceptionally low in sugar (4g). Epic Oats comes in three flavours; Original, Apple Crumble, and Cherry Bakewell.

Now at Mogul Magazine, we love businesses that encourage a healthy lifestyle, so we jumped at the opportunity to interview pilot, actor and nutrition enthusiast Daniel Knightley to hear all about his deliciously scrumptious new business, Epic Oats.

What inspired you to create this product?

I saw a gap in the market for a nutritiously dense, high-protein oat pot that combined delicious granola all in one pot. Working as an airline pilot, I was used to being on the go and during that time, I realised how little choice there was for healthy and nutritious products within the convenience food market. I wanted to create a product that health-conscious people would love and find helpful as something you can eat quickly and conveniently whilst on the go. It wasn’t until the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 that I began seriously planning how to develop and launch the product. 

How are you finding it navigating the U.K. food industry as a new entrepreneur?

It’s been great so far. As someone entirely new to the food industry, I always learn so much. I’m inspired by other entrepreneurs in the industry too. 

How can the U.K.’s healthy food market be improved?

There has been much improvement over the last few years with more innovation in the health food market, which is excellent. However, for me, it’s more of a transparency issue. Food products must display and communicate their health credentials in a way that is easy for consumers to understand. There are products out there that, on the surface, look healthy, but in actuality, they aren’t. So for me, I think it’s about tackling that transparency in the industry. 

Where do you hope Epic Oats to be in the next five years?

The dream is to become a global brand. I live between London and L.A., and I could envision the brand in L.A., where there is such a big culture around health and nutrition in food and lifestyle and the rest of the U.S. too. Epic Oats also has so much potential for the travel market as a convenience food, so I would love to see Epic Oats stocked with the major airlines, especially on their long-haul flights and other transportation sectors.

How do you balance managing your work life with your time?

It’s a struggle! Most entrepreneurs and business owners will agree that finding a work-life balance is hard. You never know when you might need to fix something that has suddenly gone wrong or get to work because you’ve just had a lightbulb moment that needs attention. I make time to get fresh air in the morning and work out. It’s important for me to do things for myself outside of the business.

Can you describe yourself in three words?

Tenacious, disciplined, and consistent. 

Can you tell us a bit about your time as a pilot?

Ever since I was a child and my Mum took me to Heathrow airport, I knew I wanted to be a pilot, and that’s precisely what I did. It was a considerable amount of work, training and studying but that whole period of my life made me disciplined, which has been so helpful in other parts of my life. When I first qualified, I worked as an airline pilot in Indonesia, which was great, and I really immersed myself in Southeast Asian culture; I learnt the language and met some fantastic and interesting people out there. I eventually came to work on long-haul flights between the U.K. and the U.S. I’m not currently working as a pilot, but I’m sure I will continue to in the future when I’m not as busy with Epic Oats. It never gets old knowing that you can and have flown a plane before, and I love the feeling every time I do.

You have had an acting career. Will we see you back on the T.V. screens anytime soon?

No plans at the moment, but I’m not one to say no to things, so who knows?

What is the best thing about being an entrepreneur?

I love working for myself, and I have created a product which I genuinely believe in, so being able to focus on that every day is amazing. 

Can you share three moguls or entrepreneurs who have inspired you on your entrepreneurial journey?

Richard Branson, Ben Francis and Elon Musk – are all individuals who have inspired me greatly on my entrepreneurial journey. 

Looking back, what is the most important lesson you learned about life?

Life is all about choices and trade-offs.

Where can we find you online?

Follow @epicoats on Instagram and check out our website; https://epicoats.com/