The woman behind fitness coach Joe Wicks’ favourite coconut oil set up her business after being inspired by her own intolerance to gluten.

Lucy Buckingham, 28, from Hertfordshire created her business Lucy Bee six years ago, which sells fairtrade, cheap and ethical coconut oil.

Her inspiration for the business originated from the healthy lifestyle which she had to adapt due to a coeliac disease diagnosis when she was only 18 months old.

Her family began to cook from scratch and check labels and ingredients, switching to gluten-free options which were very limited at the time. Since then she has been more conscious of her health.

A family friend from Hong Kong introduced her to coconut oil - and she hasn’t looked back, ensuring her coconut oil is better for both her customers and the environment.

Lucy said: “My family were using coconut oil all the time and it was really expensive on the market and back then wasn’t much of a big thing.

“I decided to bring one out which was organic, ethical and cheap all together in a glass jar.”

Lucy Bee was launched in 2012 with her family and it slowly began to receive recognition on social media from influential people including celebrities such as fitness coach Joe Wicks.

“It was a lot of work starting out, but we put in all our efforts as we knew we had a great product on our hands we wanted one to be fair trade and organic.

“We started on social media not expecting people to follow back, but we got the attention of well-known body builders who know about the healthy fats of the oil, which raised awareness.

“We’ve been so lucky that we have such an influential following such as Joe Wicks and Ruth Langford from This Morning, Gary Barlow tweeted our cook-book and we caught Peter Andre’s attention as well.”

Coconut oil can be used for cooking, especially frying and roasting, as it is a good source of saturated fats and is often used as an alternative for those allergic to lactose or who don’t want dairy.

Lucy Bee’s coconut oil is sourced from the Philippines and she works with farmers and producers who are on wages and contracts to make sure they are paid for their hard work.

They also ensure that their products are cruelty-free and this goes for a range of their other products including cinnamon, Himalayan salts and omega oil.

Lucy added: “Fairtrade was always a massive factor for me. Why wouldn’t you want to be fairtrade? The farmers should be rewarded and there isn’t a lot of fairtrade out there.

“It’s something I’m very conscious of. With Lucy Bee we’re trying to make sure that ordinary people can buy fairtrade products as in my every day shopping I see that fairtrade is hard to find.”

Lucy’s company has faced challenges along the way which she says have been learning curves and growth points for her.

She said: “It’s always a challenge along the way.

“As long as you’re passionate you will grow from the challenges. We have got a good loyal support for our product and we always aim to be honest and transparent.”

In the future Lucy is hoping to possibly expand the product range for her businesses, venturing into lines for men and children.

See www.lucybee.com