The experts say the right way to start the day is with breakfast.

So it seems appropriate that a ‘breakfast on the go’ product is the right thing for a start-up business to offer.

With Cuckoo, Bermudian Anna Mackenzie, who is based in London, and her friend Lucy Wright are doing exactly that.

The breakfast cereal is “ ... a take on traditional Bircher muesli with exciting and innovative varieties designed to appeal to Britain’s adventurous palate”, according to their website.

The product was inspired by the Swiss recipe for Bircher muesli and the Alpine lifestyle, according to the website. “Cuckoo combines tradition with pioneering flavour combinations and contrasting, complementary textures. Every mouthwatering, healthy and satisfying spoonful of Cuckoo Bircher muesli is varied and interesting with juicy berries, crunchy dark linseeds and flavourful swirls of fruity compote.

“From a range of five, including Elderflower & Cranberry, Dark Chocolate & Sour Cherry, Apple & Cinnamon Spice, Apricot & Madagascan Vanilla and Mango & Coconut, the on-the-go pots are designed to be enjoyed at any time: not just for breakfast.” They retail at £2.49.

Ms Mackenzie, is the co-founder and director of the new company, said their Cuckoo Bircher muesli is produced in Wales. “Initially we were making them in my kitchen! But we needed to work with a manufacturer in order to scale up the production and package the products properly to get the necessary shelf-life,” she said.

The original idea for ‘breakfast on the go’ came from Ms Mackenzie’s mother Lorna Mackenzie. “All of our current products are based on her original idea and recipe creations and she is frequently sending us new recipes and ideas for future products; she is our go-to for product development, and we are trying to persuade her to come and spend a longer period of time in the UK to help us develop future products as she is incredibly creative and talented in the kitchen.”

Cuckoo was launched late last year at a food-to-go trade show called Lunch! where retailers and any buyers in the food industry came around and sampled products with the view of listing them.

Their launch was also announced in the UK’s largest trade magazine, The Grocer. They have also been featured in a Daily Telegraph newspaper story in a piece about the importance of start-up businesses to the UK economy - which reports that last year there were more than half a million formed - and also in London’s Metro newspaper.

“Straight after this, we sent samples to Selfridges which was the first place we wanted to be stocked because it is a great launch pad for small food companies, especially ours being a premium product, and we wanted to catch the early food adopters which you are able to do in a place like the Selfridges Food Hall. Buyers are known to be challenging to get a hold of and get the products in front of, and then to get decisions from, but we were fortunate that our buyer at Selfridges, Leah Anderson O’Loughlin, was so responsive and enthusiastic about the product.

“We also realised in our first meeting that there was a Bermuda connection as she was introduced to her partner by a Bermudian and has some close Bermudian friends who she was recently visiting for a wedding. Her comments were: ‘Cuckoo Bircher muesli pots are a healthy, delicious and great value snack option for those on the move. Each of the five flavours is refreshingly unique and the portions are perfectly satisfying.’ “

She said Selfridges asked them for an exclusive launch for four weeks at the beginning of December.

“The launch into Selfridges has gone really well. We have been sampling in the store a couple times a week — where we position ourselves across from the shelf where we are stocked and hand out tasters of the products — to introduce people to Cuckoo, and the feedback has been really positive. We are currently running a promotion in Selfridges targeted at those on a new year heath-kick.

“In January we launched into Daylesford cafes in Pimlico and Notting Hill in London and in their Gloucestershire flagship store,” she said.

“We have also gained some other listings in some high-end health stores and cafes here as well as the London Clinic, which is the biggest private hospital in London.

“We are targeting the likes of the travel industry such as train companies and airlines as well as the food service sector, particularly offices.

“The other dream, of course, is to export the products to Bermuda one day!

“I would love to get the products to Bermuda as soon as possible and we have had interest from other distributors outside of the UK, but we are focusing on the local market in the UK and growing our distribution here first. We are constantly approaching buyers here as our focus this year is on sales, and we have some exciting things in the pipeline.”

Useful website: www.cuckoofoods.co.uk