Deliciously Ella’s founderElla Millsis best loved for creating a wellness blog that kicked off her hugely successful career in food and cook books.
Ella, 31, grew the brand after her namesake, to over two million followers on Instagram and as she launches another cookbook, the wellness guru has spoken to OK! about how a chronic illness diagnosis became the start of something wonderful.
This year marks ten years since Deliciously Ella began and Ella recalls the illness she faced that led to his point.
“In 2011, after several months in and out of hospital, I was diagnosed with a chronic illness called postural tachycardia syndrome and was prescribed a host of different medications. A year later it was very clear that they weren’t working, and I hit rock bottom with both my mental and physical health.”
Ella faced a myriad of illnesses including not being able to control her heart rate, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, chronic infections and IBS that was so bad she says her “stomach was more swollen at this point then when I was six months pregnant with my daughter”.
"It was an absolute nightmare," she explained.
"I could barely leave the house and my mental health really spiralled. In hitting rock bottom and having no other medical options, I started to look elsewhere and was inspired to look at lifestyle changes."
After not having luck with medical options, Ella decided to turn her sights elsewhere. Though she wasn’t able to cook and wasn’t a fan of healthy food, she taught herself to do both and created the first recipe for the Deliciously Ella website.
Two years ago, Ella announced the exciting news that she and husband Matthew hadwelcomed their second daughterinto the world.
She calls motherhood a “rollercoaster,” and adds: “It’s taught me a huge amount, it’s incredibly enriching and madly busy. Juggling a growing company and two toddlers makes life very interesting, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
“Professionally it’s also sharpened my passion for making health and wellbeing feel more accessible – I have very little time between my two children and our business, so I need easy solutions.”
Just a month after youngest daughter May’s birth, Ella was back at work but says there’s “no pressure” for her two youngsters to follow the family business.
“I really want to teach them to cook, to appreciate their mental and physical health, to know how and why we make certain lifestyle choices to try and improve our wellbeing, but beyond that it’s all up to them.”
In the past decade Deliciously Ella has grown to a team of over 50 employees, being stocked in seven countries and three million homes in the UK alone and for Ella, the sense of “community” she gets from others using her products has been her main motivation.
“Hearing people's stories, knowing that Deliciously Ella has had a tangible positive impact on their lives is absolutely everything.
“I’m always incredibly proud seeing the brand out and about, at a checkout in a supermarket or in someone’s hands in the tube, but those stories just resonate so deeply as changing my lifestyle totally transformed my own life.”
As Ella looks to the next decade of success with her eponymous brand, the wellness guru is very aware that life shouldn’t be taken for granted.
She adds: “I’m increasingly aware of how quickly life can change, both for the better and for the worse, and I’m really learning to genuinely appreciate each day.”
How To Go Plant-Based: A Definitive Guide For You and Your Family by Ella Mills, published by Yellow Kite, out 18 August.
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