In this episode of the Curious Business podcast, we meet Ella McKay, founder of Fatso. The provocatively named chocolate brand is bringing unapologetic indulgence to dark chocolate and putting ethical sourcing at its core. Ella shares the story of her journey from corporate marketeer to entrepreneurial risk-taker, and provides invaluable insights into effective business strategy and how to use consumer research.

If you’re building a brand in a crowded market, you’ll learn how being provocative and staying true to your values helps you cut through the noise. Sometimes you need to break the rules to make an impact. Hear how Ella established partnerships with cacao farmers in Colombia and why she believes gut instinct, learning by doing, and calculated risk-taking trumps analytics, especially for small businesses trying to innovate and challenge.

Tune in to hear all about:

The story behind the provocative brand name
Building ethical supply chains with Colombian cacao farmers
Navigating retailer relationships and learning when not to take ‘no’ as an answer
The production disaster that nearly derailed everything
Plans for new formats and products, and making the dark chocolate category sexy
The skills and training that best prepared her for the challenges

This episode is perfect for founders, brand builders, food entrepreneurs, and anyone who believes business should be built on passion, ethics, and a healthy disregard for doing things the conventional way.

Buy online from Delli Market:
https://delli.market/collections/fatso

Buy online from Holly & Co:
https://holly.co/storefront/fatso

Buy online and read more about Fatso ‘from farm to face’:
https://sofatso.com/shop/

Find your nearest retailer :
https://sofatso.com/stockists/

To buy the book ‘Thanks For The Feedback’ (recommended in the podcast):
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/15792/9780670922635 (affiliate link)

And visit the Curious Business bookshop:
https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/curiousbusiness (affiliate link)

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Thanks for listening to Curious Business, the business podcast that brings you fresh insights, experiences and ideas to help you think differently about your business and marketing.

My name is Stephen Morris. I help start-ups and scale-ups gain clarity, take action and ignite real momentum in their marketing and pipeline generation. If you'd like to know more, book a discovery call or sign-up for my monthly newsletter - The Prompt.

A Matter of Life and Death, Day 2