Cassandra Stavrou

Cassandra Stavrou MBE founded PROPER Snacks in 2011 and grew it into the UK's first B Corp snacks company, pioneering palm oil free and Fairtrade standards whilst building a cult following across 20 countries. Awarded an MBE for services to the food industry and serving on the UK government's food and drink sector council, she now sits on the board of Eat Real and actively invests in impact businesses. 

Building a successful business is challenging enough, but building one that refuses to compromise on purpose alongside profit is rarer still. Cassandra Stavrou is the founder of PROPER Snacks, maker of PROPERCORN and PROPERCHIPS, and a pioneering voice in sustainable, healthier snacking. Launched in 2011, she built the business into Europe's largest independent healthier snacking company, now available in over 20 countries and listed in every major retailer. Awarded an MBE in 2020 for services to the food industry, Cassandra currently sits on the UK government's food and drink sector council, where she champions both innovation and responsibility across the sector.

Cassandra didn't simply spot a gap in the market for healthier snacks that didn't compromise on taste. She built a brand that pioneered a new standard for what food businesses could stand for. PROPER became the first ever B Corp certified snacks company, the first popcorn brand to go palm oil free and Fairtrade, and one of the earliest food brands to recognise the power of community and culture, cultivating a fiercely loyal audience in the process. Under her leadership, PROPER partnered with FareShare and The Felix Project to redistribute surplus stock, reducing waste whilst feeding communities in need, and worked with Beam to crowdfund homeless people into employment. Cassandra recently completed the sale of PROPER Snacks to form WARP Snacks, one of Europe's largest healthy snacking companies with over £100 million in sales, a deal she navigated during Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and whilst pregnant. She remains both operational and on the board. Beyond PROPER, Cassandra is an active angel investor and board member, backing impact-driven businesses including investments in Allplants, Mindstep, and Zyper, and serving on the board of Eat Real since 2023.

Cassandra's value to audiences extends far beyond her entrepreneurial success story. She equips leaders and teams with practical insights on building brands that stand for something, creating workplace cultures that attract and retain talent, and embedding sustainability into business strategy without sacrificing commercial performance. Her expertise in customer connection, resilience through uncertainty, and scaling purpose-led businesses offers tangible takeaways for organisations navigating today's complex consumer and environmental landscape. Audiences leave with renewed conviction that doing good and doing well are not mutually exclusive, alongside actionable strategies to deliver both standout performance and meaningful impact in their own ventures.