NBCC were pleased to introduce to you our new member, Hannah Lim, Head UK at Grandma’s Soup.

1. Introduction and Background:

Could you please introduce yourself and share what led you to become involved with Grandma’s Soup? 
My connection with Grandma’s Soup (under the name Oma’s Soep in the Netherlands) actually goes back to its very early days. Back in 2017, when I was still a student in the Netherlands, I helped Max, the founder, find and set up the very first student board in Amsterdam. That board was responsible for organising the first cooking days and managing the local operations, so I’ve seen the concept grow from the ground up. 

After completing my Master’s degree, I moved to the UK and worked in AI and consultancy. While I learned a lot professionally, I increasingly missed working directly with my community and doing work that was centred around people rather than purely profit-driven goals. Around that same time, I discovered that Grandma’s Soup was exploring expansion to the UK. It felt like a great moment to come full circle and help build something I genuinely believe in — this time in a new country. 

2. About Oma’s Soep

For those who may not yet be familiar with Grandma’s Soup, could you describe the organisation’s mission and the story behind the brand? 
Grandma’s Soup is a social enterprise with a clear mission: to fight loneliness among older people by connecting generations. The idea started with something very simple but powerful — people from different generations cooking soup together using traditional grandma’s recipes, sharing a meal, and sharing stories. 

The organisation consists of two arms: a commercial arm that produces and sells fresh soups to retailers — including now in Morrisons in the UK — and a foundation that organises cooking days and community events where mostly students and older people, but really everyone that wants, come together. At least 50% of the profits generated by the commercial side of the organisation go directly into the foundation, allowing the social impact to scale alongside the business. 

What distinguishes Grandma’s Soup’s approach to food products from other brands in the market? 
What truly sets us apart is that our products exist to serve an important social mission. Our soups are made using authentic recipes from grandmas in our community, and every bowl sold directly contributes to fighting loneliness in that same community and beyond. 

By committing at least 50% of our profits to the foundation, consumers aren’t just buying soup — they’re actively supporting community-building initiatives. The product, the mission, and the impact are inseparable, which is something you don’t often see in the food sector. 

3. Product Quality & Craftsmanship

Grandma’s Soup is known for its traditional recipes and natural ingredients. How do you ensure consistent quality and authenticity across your product range? 
Quality and authenticity start with the people behind the recipes. Our soups are developed together with grandmas, whose cooking knowledge and experience form the foundation of every product. From there, recipes are carefully translated into scalable production without losing their original character. 

We work closely with our production partners, carry out regular tastings, and involve the wider Grandma’s Soup team in continuous feedback loops. This ensures that every batch stays true to the original recipe while meeting the quality standards expected by retailers and consumers. 

How does Grandma’s Soup balance traditional cooking values with modern expectations around health, convenience, and scalability? 
We don’t see traditional and modern values as opposites. Many of our grandmas care deeply about health, balance, and taste, so those expectations are already embedded in the recipes themselves. 

Together with our team and partners, we adapt recipes where needed to meet modern standards around nutrition, convenience, and food safety — without compromising on flavour or authenticity. Recipes are continuously reviewed, tested, and improved, ensuring they remain relevant while staying rooted in tradition. 

4. Social Impact & Community

Community and social connection appear to be central to Grandma’s Soup. How are these values reflected in your business model and daily operations? 
Social connection is embedded in every layer of our organisation. Our business model ensures that commercial success directly fuels social impact, with profits funding community cooking days and events. 

On a day-to-day level, this means we actively work with students, older adults, volunteers, and local partners to create spaces where people of all ages meet, cook together, and connect. Whether it’s a soup sold in a supermarket or a cooking day organised by the foundation, the goal is always the same: bringing generations together and reducing loneliness. 

5. Sustainability & Growth 

Sustainability is increasingly important to consumers. How does Grandma’s Soupapproach sustainability in sourcing, production, or packaging? 
Sustainability is something we continuously work on and take very seriously. We aim to use natural, high-quality ingredients and collaborate with production partners who share our values around responsible sourcing and waste reduction. 

We are also a certified B Corp, which means our social and environmental impact, governance, and transparency are independently assessed and held to high international standards. This certification helps guide our decisions and ensures we stay accountable as we grow in the UK. 

As the organisation continues to grow, how do you ensure that the brand’s authenticity and social mission remain central? 
In the Netherlands, we are deeply rooted in our communities — with our grandmas and grandpas, our volunteers, and our wider network — and have truly become a community of our own. Our grandmas and grandpas regularly visit the office for lunch, the entire Grandma’s Soup team stays in close contact with many of them, and team members join cooking days whenever they can. This keeps the heart of Grandma’s Soup at the centre of everything we do — and it also makes the work a lot more fun. 

In the UK, our vision is to build similar communities, and we are working hard to make that happen. Of course, it is a different culture, which makes it especially exciting to explore what resonates locally and how the concept can take shape here. So far, we have seen strong enthusiasm from both volunteers and older participants, with our volunteering community growing rapidly. We have also received very positive engagement from community centres, care homes, universities and partner organisations we are working closely with, including the Campaign to End Loneliness, Age UK Sheffield, and Age UK Islington. 

6. NBCC Membership

What motivated Grandma’s Soup to join the NBCC, and how do you see the organisation benefiting from being part of this UK–Netherlands business network? 
As a Dutch organisation setting up in the UK, the NBCC felt like a very natural fit. We are navigating both cultural and business landscapes, and being part of a network that understands both contexts is incredibly valuable. 

We see the NBCC as a platform for learning, collaboration, and meaningful connections — not only from a commercial perspective, but also in terms of sharing values around responsible and purpose-driven entrepreneurship. We’re excited to both learn from the network and contribute our own experiences as a social enterprise bridging the UK and the Netherlands. We’ve already had some very helpful introductions via the NBCC!  

As part of this, Grandma's Soup is hosting an intergenerational cooking day on Monday 19 January at Sheffield Hallam University, turning Blue Monday - the most depressing day of the year - into a warm day where generations come together to cook, connect, and share a delicious bowl of soup. In addition, since the beginning of this year, Grandma's Soup has launched nationwide in Morrisons, offering a range of soups made from recipes by grandmas from our community, with 50% of the profits reinvested into organising activities for lonely older adults.

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