Brand Growth Heroes

Strong Roots has strong plans to hit £100 million in sales over the next few years.In this third episode together, the founder Sam Dennigan and I discuss HOW they're going to do this.So if you want to hear what big-ticket innovation really means, how Sam and his team are approaching international expansion in both the USA and Europe, how their foray into Dark Kitchens in New York City is going AND why they've brought their creative agency in-house - and how that works - then don't miss this! https://www.strongroots.com/usa/https://www.instagram.com/strongrootsusa/https://www.facebook.com/strongrootsirl

You may not know their names yet, but you certainly know the first of their €50M brands. Niall McGrath and Tom Gannon are legends in the Irish Consumer Goods industry, but in all fairness, they should actually be named and recognised as Consumer Goods brand-legends globally. The Founders of Fulfil Nutrition protein bars, they built this business to €60M in the 2 years after launch, and ranking in the Top 5 brands in Ireland. How did they do this? They are proud to have taken a systematic, strategic approach to brand building, an almost geeky dedication to The 4Ps and Byron Sharp's rules for Brand Growth.  Listen and weep at just how systematic serious success might need to be! Cali Cali FoodsInstagram Cali CaliFulfil Nutrition

Natasha Bowes, the founder of innovative Kefir company Biotiful Dairy, shares the spellbinding business story behind the brand's success.  It's a story that highlights the dedication, hard work, and obsessional focus on product quality that's necessary to become a brand leader in today's competitive marketplace. With a portfolio of 7 ranges and market retail sales value of around £30M, this is a brand we're going to see a lot more of in the future.

Minor Figures is the secret success story and insurgent brand that I really wasn't all that aware of before now. At its origin, Minor Figures is a coffee business that was started in 2013 by barista friends Jonathan Chiu, Stuart Forsyth and Will Rixon. But although its original home was in the food service channel, in recent years a tremendous amount of growth has come from the Oatmilk category in Grocery Retail.The business now has retail sales of around £30M, employs 71 people across 3 offices, and is selling in over 25 countries across the globe..  Fiona speaks to Commercial Director Ben Vear, who along with his team has been behind much of this transformational growth. instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minorfigures/facebook: https://www.facebook.com/minorfigures

Fiona talks to Alex Smith, the founder of innovative Strategy Consultancy Basic Arts. A TedEx veteran, Alex has got some really interesting and different ideas around how a brand can create uncontested market space, how we should all avoid the current trend of 'Blanding', and how Brand Purpose has been hijacked.I came across Alex's Ted talk when I was deepening my understanding of Blue Ocean strategy or how to compete in uncontested market spaces, and you can find it here.Alex has a a great weekly newsletter and an email-based short-course that will stretch your strategic brain, which you can sign up for here

At the start of this episode we advertise The Growth Strategy Programme. Here’s the link to sign up for a discovery call and Recruiting NOW for June/July Cohort:https://www.fionafitzconsulting.com/courses/brand-growth-strategyHow do you grow a branded beverage business that is described by the The Grocer magazine as the brand that the traditional category brand leaders now have to challenge?Dash Water is a delicious range of canned infused sparkling water without any sugar or sweetener, made with wonky fruit and veg and thereby saving hundreds of tons of food waste every year!Founded in 2017 by Alex Wright and Jack Scott, both originally from farming backgrounds, Dash's retail sales are tracking at around £10M, and the brand boasts the leading market share in its category (37%).Dash is now available in 5,000 stores across the EU. In the UK you can find Dash at Sainsbury's, British Airways, Boots, Ocado and Amazon. In this episode we talk about the importance of sustainability at the core of their business,  about how Alex and Jack invested a lot of time and shoe-leather driving brand awareness and trial from the ground up, as well exploring their very recent launch into the Soda Water market.Dash instagram https://www.instagram.com/dashdrinks/Brand Growth Heroes instagram https://www.instagram.com/brandgrowthheroespodcast/Podcast website: Brand Growth Heroes

In this episode, we we talk about how Rich Goldsmith and his team have built an entire category and a strong omni-channel business, the importance of creating the ideal end-to end consumer experience and of course, and as always, the different phases of growth of the business and the all important question of funding and investment. This is one of my favourite interviews so far, so I hope you enjoy it and learn as much as I did doing it!

In 2016, Tenzing was the first Natural Energy drink to be launched on to the UK market, and for the past few years, it has been the LEADING Energy drink in terms of growth, and is (at time of recording) turning over between £5-6M in UK retail sales.It's founder, Huib van Buckel has an illustrious career in Energy Drinks, including 8 years at Red Bull, where he was Head of Marketing for Holland, UK and Europe. So there is TONS we can learn from him.In this video and audio episode you'll learn:How Huib explored the market opportunity for his idea of a plant-based, naturally-sourced energy drink, with 60% less sugar.How he came up with the name and the concept for Tenzing (circa 4.40 youtube)What "Chipping away at Growth" means to Huib and why it works (circa 11.39)Huib's philosphy on teams & managing people, and what it's like to work at Tenzing, where you can choose your own boss (circa 30mins)Why Huib doesn't buy many of the marketing myths that are peddled by some of the big name Marketing gurus like Mark Ritson or Simon Sinek (39mins)Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkZzsoJx3-OtZ_zRViEG3CABrand Growth Heroes Website: https://www.brandgrowthheroes.com/

Not happy with the alcohol free beers on the market, Luke Boase spent 741 days in research, travelled over 7,500 miles and brewed nearly 60,000 litres of beer before he came up with what he calls the definitive alcohol free lager, which he called Lucky Saint. The  multi award winning 0.5% pilsner launched in the On-trade in October 2013... And after only a year, Lucky Saint. was listed in over 1500 venues, including over 30 Michelin star restaurants and casual dining institutions like Dish Room, the Ivy Collection and Honest Burgers. It was also the first alcohol free lager to launch on draught in January 2020 and 50 pubs and bars across London. Learn how Luke and his Managing Director Emma Heal (ex innocent, Graze) pivoted their out-of-home business model right at the start of the pandemic, to drive #transformationalgrowth.

If you’re thinking about building the kind of food business that creates its very own category, where it continues to win for years to come, then you need to listen to this episode where we interview Cullen Allen, co-founder of Ireland’s original insurgent food brand, Cully & Sully.In this interview, you’re going to learn what an obsession with product really means; the common mistakes that Cullen has seen prove fatal for many scaling food brands over the past 20 years; and what it’s like to love going to bed with your investor every day.Launched in 2004, Cully and Sully soups, broths and pies are still market leaders in Ireland, but also racing up the ladder as the challenger brand in UK Chilled Soup, where their delicious range of soups is available in over 5000 stores nationwide. (Tesco, Co-op, Asda).https://cullyandsully.com/our-mealsThe pea soup Cully mentions during the interview:tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/268045486