Interview: JP Campbell, entrepreneur and philanthropist

By RUTH WALKER
Published on Sunday 29 January 2012 13:00

WHAT are you having for lunch today? If it's a bit chilly (when is it not in Scotland?), chances are you'll be considering soup. It's the ultimate comfort food: warming, hearty, with a reassuring taste of home.

Who doesn't remember a giant pot of broth bubbling away on granny's stove?

Those were the memories JP Campbell (the JP stands for James Peter, but since both his father and grandfather share the same name, he’s initialised) tapped into when he left a life at the cutting edge of the financial crisis – trying to recover cash from struggling businesses as an insolvency lawyer – and start his own company.

Originally from Inverness, the 27-year-old came to Edinburgh to study, and worked with a large legal firm in the city. In the heart of the recession's storm, his job was both “interesting" and “challenging", he says tactfully. “I was very busy, and you see a lot of mistakes that have been made and where people have gone wrong."

You could say it was the perfect training ground for someone planning to start their own business. But, after four years, that wasn't the main reason he was ready to move on. Campbell’s father runs Highland-based charity Blythswood Care, which, among other campaigns, sends shoeboxes full of gifts to children in need at Christmas. “From the age of 15, I did a lot of charity work," says Campbell. “I went out to Romania, Bulgaria and the images of the desperately poor have never left me. That and the corporate world I worked in are polar opposites, and I wanted to marry the two."

He considered several business ideas until he thought, ‘What do I really like? The answer was simple. Food.

And so the Elephant Juice Soup Company was born. “People love soup," he enthuses. “It is a product the customer can really connect with – most people can remember the soup their mum or granny gave them."

Importantly, however, it also taps into the charitable aspect of Campbell’s business plan. Because every time someone buys a soup from his vintage Type H Citroën van, he has pledged to feed one hungry person, at home or overseas. His charity plans are still in their embryonic stages, but Campbell has lots of connections he hopes to use in order to achieve his goal. “Choosing a healthy product to deliver the promise of ‘one feeds two' was important as I wanted the customer to improve their own diet while also helping others suffering from malnutrition," he says.

Hunger has been cited by the World Bank as the most serious threat to the human race and kills more people than Aids, TB or malaria. “The problem is also a threat in the UK,” says Campbell. “Recent figures show over three million people are at risk.”

He plans to work with partner non-profit organisations already helping those in need, auditing how Elephant Juice donations are spent. “We're going out in July to visit one partner to be sure how the money is spent.”

So far, so noble. But doesn’t he have to make money too? “That's what the van is about,” he says. “It's a pilot to see how the model works, so it's a risk, but worth it. We're starting small because we need to test this.”

Campbell has a licence to be based in George Square, Edinburgh, but plans to keep mobile, alerting customers to his location via Facebook and Twitter.

He will also update the soup menu on social networking sites. Alongside traditional ham and lentil, you might also find haggis and sweet potato, or beetroot and lemon. “Soup’s really versatile I’ve had fun experimenting.”

So far, Elephant Juice is just Campbell – driving, chopping the veg, avoiding traffic wardens – but if things take off and “we become the number one fast food company in the world”, he hopes to launch a franchise or an incentivised management scheme.

Which is all very well. But what happens when the sun comes out? Gazpacho, anyone? “Well, in Scotland it's cold pretty much all year round,” says Campbell, “but we're looking at other products: salads, stuff like that.”

And what about that kooky name? “The phrase elephant juice, when mouthed with no sound, shares the same lip movement as I love you,” he says. “Given the business helps customers feed hungry people in need, I thought it made sense.”

• Elephant Juice Soup, @ejsoupco

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puff

Monday, January 30, 2012 at 08:47 PM

I LOVED this article and really enjoyed reading about someone who is so positive. Making a difference is something Elephant Juice is enabling people in Edinburgh to do everyday...by just buying lunch! I also really like the fact that despite the difficult economic climate Elephant Juice is starting up and also giving away to others! Smith - you make a set of really weak and very negative points. Experienced chefs are out of work (so are a lot of people) but does that prevent others from changing the sector they work in and finding a different job? I don't think so. People should follow their dreams and if Elephant Juice wants to feed hungry people here and abroad by learning how to make soup then I say fantastic and good on him! Smith - lighten up, buy some soup and feed someone in need - I think that'll be a great starting point for you!

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ismith80

Monday, January 30, 2012 at 01:23 PM

Interesting view. Before you get yourself too worked up, Snap99, during your busy celebrity-filled day, I will highlight what I was suggesting. There are cooks and chefs out of work at the moment as small businesses are struggling to bring in money, not due to poor food but because of low consumer spending (even Gordon Ramsey has closed down some of his restaurants). So, it is a rather bold move for a lawyer to enter a sector of which he has little or no experience whilst others with better culinary skills are struggling to make money. I don't doubt that Mr Campbell is a charismatic, philanthropic man and may well succeed with his business but perhaps he should have been better prepared (highlighted by launching an Edinburgh based company in Inverness *see E.J. Facebook). Also, it may have been more sensible to call the company a name that relates to the product he aims to sell rather than accidentally misleading people to think that they sell juice. As they say, 'Failing to prepare is preparing to fail'.

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snap99

Monday, January 30, 2012 at 10:28 AM

I am mystified by ismith80’s comment. Just because an individual is not a trained chef does not mean that people will not buy food from them. Going by that philosophy, I maybe should have got Gordon Ramsay to come round this morning to pour milk over my cornflakes, had a fireman in place to work the toaster and then got Michael Schumacher to drive me to work! One of the most recognisable brands of ice cream in the world (Ben and Jerry’s) was created by two people who were not chefs. Add to that the likes of Henry J Heinz and George Baxter (of soup fame) and you may realise that it’s worth encouraging people rather than just making wisecracks at their expense behind the veil of an internet account. Great to see a young adult brave enough to try out a new concept and I wish him all the best with his venture. On a side note, I love the name because it is memorable. Certainly more so than Smith anyway!

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ismith80

Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 10:53 PM

Good on him for trying but why does a lawyer think that people want to buy soup from him? He's not a trained cook or chef. Using low grade meat in high-risk food like haggis and putting it in soup is a risky game too. Also, why does he keep saying "we" when the article says it is only him working for the company? (I realise it may just be the way the article was written or it could be that Mr Campbell is getting ahead of himself). The company name is a marketing disaster and the van is an expensive toy. I hope he was rich as a lawyer and that he can make it through the financial difficulties that a new business faces. I also hope if he's got another half that she sticks by him. Good luck, Dumbo (the elephant).

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