Dan Eedy founded Kiwis Bowls while studying at Swansea University, experimenting with acaí bowl recipes and sharing them with friends. That early passion grew into a mobile food trailer, a market stall and ultimately two stores in prime Cardiff locations. Specialising in acaí bowls, smoothies and drinks, with vegan and gluten-free options always on the menu, the brand is built around a simple conviction: that healthy food should be something you look forward to, not just something you feel good about afterwards. With support from the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme (AGP), Dan recently opened a flagship store at Central Square in Cardiff city centre, which delivered the business’s best-ever monthly trading figures in its first month. We spoke with Dan Eedy, founder of Kiwis Bowls, to find out how AGP support has helped him build a brand, secure investment and open a flagship Cardiff store with record-breaking results.
Can you tell us about Kiwis Bowls and the gap you spotted?
Kiwis Bowls is a place where people can find ‘bowls for the soul’. Our core product is high-quality acaí bowls, but we’ve recently introduced cloud smoothies and drinks, with new ideas still to come. The concept addresses a gap in the fast-casual food market, where health, quality and convenience rarely coexist. We strongly believe that healthy eating can become something you crave, especially when you find the right foods.
How did you get from concept to first site?
The idea started at university, where I experimented with recipes and shared them with friends. Once we had a brand, we began mobile trading at local events, then moved to a converted food trailer horsebox at larger festivals. Our first physical store in Cardiff city centre followed and we now have two sites in prime locations, with a clear ambition to keep growing.
How has AGP supported you?
I was introduced to AGP through a mentor, and their comprehensive support reassured me and made me confident I could navigate early-stage challenges successfully.
AGP supported us with business planning, strategic modelling and growth strategy, developing bank-loan-ready financial models and providing coaching on margins, pricing and profitability. We also completed the AGP Fair Work and Carbon Reduction programmes as part of our commitment to responsible growth. Their hands-on guidance and tailored resources made a real difference in preparing us for investment and expansion.
How did AGP’s investment readiness support help you secure funding?
What AGP helped me understand is that investment readiness changes at every stage of growth. The support covered building our investment narrative, developing strategies for closing funding rounds and improving investor outreach. That preparation was critical to securing angel investment, which directly enabled the opening of our Central Square site.
What does the Central Square store mean for the brand?
Central Square is exactly where we want to be: a location where people are actively seeking convenient, healthy food, whether they are office workers, students, concert-goers or tourists. The early performance delivered our best-ever monthly sales. It always comes back to the same priority: offering the best possible product and ensuring customers want to return.
Kiwis Bowls won Welsh Food and Drink Start-Up of the Year at the UK StartUp Awards 2025. What did that mean?
Winning Welsh Food and Drink Start-Up of the Year at the UK StartUp Awards 2025 made us feel proud. It validated our efforts, boosting our confidence and credibility with potential partners and customers.
How is the team changing as the business grows?
As we’re growing, we’re also changing several employees’ roles to full-time contracts. We employ several students and are very happy to offer them new roles and responsibilities as they transition from university. AGP is supporting us with workforce planning because giving people real job security matters to us. Beyond our in-store team, we’re building out other roles that will help take Kiwis Bowls to where we want it to be.
What would you say to another early-stage food business thinking about AGP?
Go for it. If you have ambitions to grow considerably in the next three years, the access to experienced people is invaluable, and you will meet mentors you carry with you for years. Being an early-stage founder is tough, but all the answers you need are out there. AGP can help you find them.
Find out more about how the Accelerated Growth Programme can support your business.
Learn more about Kiwis bowls.