The story of Turtle starts with two people and a breakfast table. Laurence and Thilo, a Belgian–German couple. Laurence told me how food has always been their love language – from cutting fruit for their kids’ bowls to sneaking extra chocolate cornflakes into each other’s bowls. For years they couldn’t find organic cereals without added sugar that felt good enough to serve their family every day, especially once pregnancy and babies entered the picture. So, during Laurence’s maternity leave in 2014, they decided to make their own.

From that decision came Turtle: first as simple porridges, and later as granolas, flakes and colourful cereals that all share the same backbone – carefully selected organic ingredients, less sugar, and lots of gluten-free and vegan options. Their name comes from the fable “The Tortoise & the Hare”: a slow turtle beating a fast hare becomes their metaphor for quick vs. slow-release sugars. Instead of the sugar spike-and-crash of many breakfast cereals, they build around wholegrain oats and grains that release energy steadily, so you stay fuelled rather than flaming out.

What I like most is how Turtle refuses to choose between “fun” and “healthy”. Their kid cereals are bright, crunchy and joyful, but made with real ingredients, organic standards and noticeably less sugar than the usual suspects. Their range stretches from chocolate granolas and colourful loops to simple rolled oats and fibre-rich blends – all designed to be genuinely delicious first, and quietly better for you in the background. Breakfast, in their view, should be a moment of pleasure and a way of looking after the people you love. It’s not a lecture about nutrition; it’s a small everyday upgrade.