Brand Growth Heroes

In the 'No & Low' alcohol category, Seedlip is arguably the original poster child of insurgent brands. Started on a garden table in 2016, it quickly became the world's No 1 distilled non-alcoholic brand. It now sells across 49 countries and has an undisclosed market sales value in the £10s of millions of pounds.In this episode, founder Ben Branson talks to Fiona about how he developed one of the ultimate disruptive brands; why he got into bed with Big Co (Diageo) so early on; and he talks us through the disruptive way he approaches building culture, people, roles and teams. They also chat about robot chefs, about how there are 47,000 plant-based ingredients available out there...and Ben tells us about some big, exciting plans for Seedlip coming down the line.Find out more about Seedlip - and try some! https://www.seedlipdrinks.com/en-us/Follow Seedlip on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/seedlipdrinks/Discover more about Fiona Fitz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionafitz/Discover more about the show: https://www.brandgrowthheroes.com/Want to work with Fiona? Discover her programmes for the founders of consumer/grocery brands below:The Growth Strategy Programme: The only online Business Accelerator for scaling consumer packaged goods brands. Read the testimonials here: https://www.fionafitzconsulting.com/courses/brand-growth-strategy-programmeBrand Growth Bootcamp Masterclass Membership - Fiona's group for founders of early-stage startup consumer brands https://fionafitzconsulting.mykajabi.com/offers/eRBTBioC/checkoutThanks to Strong Roots for supporting series 5 of Brand Growth Heroes.

Sam Dennigan gives Fiona the latest news from Strong Roots HQ, explaining the backstory to their new TV ad; why they've sold a minority stake in the business to McCain Foods; and together Fiona & Sam announce a big piece of shared news: not only is Strong Roots sponsoring Brand Growth Heroes Series 5, but Sam also announces that he is offering a bursary for 2 founders to join The Growth Strategy Programme, Brand Growth Heroes' online business accelerator for the founders of scaling CPG brands. Brand Growth Heroes catches up with Sam and Strong Roots every 6 months or so. So if you want to follow the growth journey of an insurgent CPG brand in real-time, then check out Strong Root's other interviews on back episodes of Brand Growth Heroes: There's one in Sept 2021, May 2020 and June 2019.If you're the founder of a scaling consumer goods brand and you'd like to work with Fiona to drive growth for your business, check out The Growth Strategy Programme at https://www.fionafitzconsulting.com/courses/brand-growth-strategy-programmeIf it's too early for The Growth Strategy Programme, why not consider joining Brand Growth Bootcamp - Masterclass Membership group. See you there!

Hunter and Gather is a cross-category food AND supplement brand that's already achieving a gross sales value of nearly £6 million pounds.In this episode, clever and passionate founders Amy Moring and Jeff Webster offer us a world-class case study on consumer targeting: if you can pinpoint a group of people who have a specific, higher-order need rooted in health, and you offer them a solution that satisfies this need in a far superior way to alternatives, the rules that the food industry has slavishly followed for 40-50 years can be broken.We talk half-truths from big food, charging £14 for a jar of mayonnaise, lost ancestral wisdom, and why Hunter & Gather is NOT a vegan brand.

TRIP is the UK's best-selling CBD drinks company. Since its launch in 2019, UK consumers have spent literally millions of pounds on TRIP's delicious CBD infused canned drinks, as well as on their dinky little dropper bottles of CBD oils. Fiona speaks to co-founder Olivia Ferdi about leaving her law career to step into the unknown, about how she and her husband have created a mainstream category out of something that had tremendous barriers to purchase up until now, and we learn how the TRIP team have had to drive demand in the old fashioned way through experience and word of mouth rather than through paid advertising. 

Nice describes itself as a 'Future Wine Company'. This modern, accessible brand offers wine in cans AND in boxes, so that you can have a great glass of wine wherever you are... without having to buy or open a whole bottle. Founders Lucy Wright and Jeremy May talk to Fiona about their massive multi-channel growth since launch, about the consumer and trade customer frictions that they're solving, about how they approached their recent round of funding and finally about the importance they place on people and culture.

Over the past 20 months, Little Moons has become a national obsession. Although the company was founded in 2010, the brand has only recently brought transformational growth to the nation's favourite frozen category, and now sells tens of millions of pounds of their delicious mochi ice cream across all major supermarkets and foodservice channels... and employs over 300 people.We talk to sister and brother founders Vivian and Howard Wong about their manufacturing journey; how food service was the right channel for them to build their business initially, and about the business impact of 320 million views on TikTok.

Tribe is the UK's leading plant-based performance brand, offering a range of bars, active oats and shakes that are super tasty and appeal to more than just serious fitness fanatics.But more importantly, Tribe is an *Impact* organisation that began in 2013 with a community long-distance 'Run for Love' to set up the first home for trafficked children in the UK. The product range was launched only after the community had already found a life of it's own, and sales gained serious traction at the beginning of lockdown. With the brand doubling in size, it's now about to hit £6 million in retail sales value at the end of this year. Tribe really is more than your average challenger brand. It's an ecosystem that includes their food business + their charitable organisation 'The Tribe Freedom Foundation' + the active community the founders have built since their very first run for love in 2013.I think Tribe has all the makings of a future mega-brand. Why?- It appeals to a potentially very large market of active people who want to enjoy their food, while making modern choices around nutrition, and ensuring their choices also help people & planet. - It shows up with a clear and consistent point of view. It started with a social mission, ergo the mission at the centre of the brand is authentic.  - It's visually appealing and has lots of stand-out on-shelf in the categories it's in. - It's a cross-category brand with a consistent value proposition.- It's plant-based....but delicious. This is one to watch.

Bio&Me offers consumers a range of granolas, porridges mueslis and yoghurts, all of which are allowed to carry the claim 'Good for your Gut'. In this episode:Dr. Megan and Jon tell us why Megan started Bio&Me instead of working with some well-known Big Food brandsThe science behind why Bio&Me was the first to be allowed to say that their products are 'Good for your Gut'How business is going now, and where it's going to next!

Dr. Will Breakey is the Co-founder of Dr Will's natural condiments brand. In this episode you'll hear:How Dr Will's is taking on Big Food in the Ketchup & Mayo aisleWhat it's like being a real doctor and the founder of a food companyAbout the brand's recent successes on social platforms like TikTok and LinkedInWhy did they choose to have a virtual teamAnd their recent crowdfunding, that resulted in nearly 800 new investors.

In this episode, Fiona speaks to Aneisha Soobroyen, founder of the gorgeous pet food brand Scrumbles, food for cats and dogs that's good for their gut AND good for the planet. Hear how 'pretty poos' are driving category growth, how Scrumbles competes in the highly competitive pet food category against global players, what it's like to work with your husband... and why they decided to raise funds early on in their growth journey.