This month we caught up with Jack Lewis – Founder of Sowvital, a horticultural products and plant sciences brand whose mission is to reconnect people and their plants through scientifically and mindfully informed nourishment and care rituals.
This is part of Ignition Law’s ‘Igniting The Spark‘ series, where we spend five minutes with inspiring entrepreneurs, talking about the key moments that defined their careers.
Tell us a little bit about your business and what you do..
Hi, my name’s Jack and I’m the founder of Sowvital. We create premium horticultural products which focus on plant care and health.
The moment that ignited the spark in me to start a business was…
I’ve always loved growing plants, and as a kid used to fill windowsills with trays of seedlings and endless glass bottles containing propagations. Fast forward to 2020, and I was focussed much more on house plants (living in London).
I’d buy specialist formulations from agricultural labs to feed my plants (think a bit like rather than going to Boots for your skin cream, going to a dermatologist instead). However, the large industrial bottles they came in weren’t ideal for city living (and no outdoor shed in which to store), so I’d decant the formulas into empty Aēsop and Diptyque bottles and arrange them on a windowsill.
One day I was feeding my plants (adding various drops into a watering can) whilst a friend was round. They exclaimed “Aēsop is making fertiliser now?!”. “No” I said, “I’ve decanted it into bottles so they sit better on the shelf and I remember to/enjoy using them”.
It was leading on from there that I went down a rabbit hole connecting with agricultural specialists to learn more about plant nourishment and began to develop the whole concept of Sowvital.
The toughest challenge I’ve faced in business is…
Picking the right moment.
The biggest success has been…
The opening night of our Paris pop up in September 2022. We had over 200 people spilling out into the streets in Le Marais. It was a really cool moment bringing together our community and celebrating the growth of Sowvital into France.
I’m very good at…
Not switching off.
The type of person I look to recruit is…
Highly curious about the world.
The part of my day I most look forward to is…
No day is routinely the same. What I do look forward to is opening designs / visuals which regularly come in from Leslie David’s Studio. It’s always so inspiring/ exciting.
If I could give fellow entrepreneurs one piece of advice it would be…
Pick a lane and stick to it.
Outside of work I can be found…
Gardening.
My philosophy on life is…
Be patient. Things have a way of working themselves out.
You can learn more about this innovative horticultural products and plant sciences company at www.sowvital.com
Explore more inspiring entrepreneur stories in the Igniting The Spark section of our website here at Ignition Law.
