HUNGRY.

Giles Brook, an industry legend in the food and drink sector, shares invaluable insights on securing lucrative brand exits. He emphasizes the urgent need for challenger brands to pivot from revenue multiples to EBITDA metrics. The conversation dives into the importance of true gross margins and the impact of strong branding on exit strategies. Giles also highlights innovative marketing tactics and the necessity of building a coherent value chain early. Plus, he unpacks the shifting dynamics in the coconut water market against big players, offering strategies to thrive amidst competition.

 Espresso is proudly powered by our sponsor, Unleashed!📦 1. Wait…what is Unleashed?Unleashed is inventory management software – but not the boring kind. It doesn’t just track stock...it connects seamlessly with your finance tools, eCom platforms, and CRM. That means one smooth system from sales to stock to cash. We use it daily at Islands, and honestly? Total game changer.🍴 2. Why foodie founders love itUnleashed helps you slash admin time and stay laser-focused on your margins. Know exactly where your costs are, what’s selling, and how your cash flow's looking (because yes, cash is still king).🚀 3. Trusted by the best in FMCGFrom Candy Kittens and Tiny Rebel to TRIP, Tarquin’s Gin, Three Spirit, Minor Figures, The Turmeric Co., and Volcano Coffee - some of your favourite challenger brands are scaling with Unleashed. If they’re using it, you know it’s the real deal. 📅 4. Fancy a chat?Book a quick call with the Unleashed team here 👉 https://calendly.com/unleashed-sales-team/discovery-call-with-unleashed-hungry🎁 5. Try it for lessGet 50% off your first 3 months if you choose to subscribe. You’ll wonder how you ever managed without it 👉 https://www.unleashedsoftware.com/ ♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here 🍲 🤝 Let's Connect!►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

Dive into invaluable lessons from years of podcasting that every food and drink founder should know. Discover the importance of brand identity and adaptability through insights from industry leaders. Learn why scaling can kill creativity and how simple strategies can lead to success. Uncover the essentials of consumer focus and navigate the balance of risk in business. Embrace creative thinking and the power of clear vision to stand out in a competitive market while engaging effectively with buyers.

 Espresso is proudly powered by our sponsor, Unleashed!📦 1. Wait…what is Unleashed?Unleashed is inventory management software – but not the boring kind. It doesn’t just track stock...it connects seamlessly with your finance tools, eCom platforms, and CRM. That means one smooth system from sales to stock to cash. We use it daily at Islands, and honestly? Total game changer.🍴 2. Why foodie founders love itUnleashed helps you slash admin time and stay laser-focused on your margins. Know exactly where your costs are, what’s selling, and how your cash flow's looking (because yes, cash is still king).🚀 3. Trusted by the best in FMCGFrom Candy Kittens and Tiny Rebel to TRIP, Tarquin’s Gin, Three Spirit, Minor Figures, The Turmeric Co., and Volcano Coffee - some of your favourite challenger brands are scaling with Unleashed. If they’re using it, you know it’s the real deal. 📅 4. Fancy a chat?Book a quick call with the Unleashed team here 👉 https://calendly.com/unleashed-sales-team/discovery-call-with-unleashed-hungry🎁 5. Try it for lessGet 50% off your first 3 months if you choose to subscribe. You’ll wonder how you ever managed without it 👉 https://www.unleashedsoftware.com/ ♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here 🍲 🤝 Let's Connect!►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

An EXTRAORDINARY conversation on leadershipLaden with Sparkling Easter Eggs of WisdomYou’ll never find these in a-gimpy-bore-you-to-death-business-book.Osh is an wonderful storytellerWe recorded the poddy in the infamous Green Room.The Green Room hides behind the bar, where punters clamour, chinwag and pine-for-pintsIt’s sacred. sacrosanctSplashed with art.Sensory overload.At night, it morphs into every texture, shade and flavour of raucous fun.If you're curious about some of the artwork discussed in the back half of this conversation...Deffo recommend watching this in Youtube in 4K.ON THE MENU:Your Job as a Leader is to “take away the silent interferences”: 1% alone doesn’t make the difference, when 1% difference add upThe Devonshire 3 Week Waiting List Secret to create Happy customers: Happiness is Reality - ExpectationsWhy More Publicans Should Think and Act Like Stormzy after GlastonburyWhy Service is Black and White, and Hospitality is ColourWhy “Hospitality” is an AWFUL name and Needs a Rebrand “…we’re in the business of looking after people”Danny Meyer’s “Salt Shaker Principle” vs. Osh’s “Point North” Leadership PrincipleThe Devonshire Value For Time vs. Value For Money RuleWhy The Devonshire THINK like Retail Business “your product is a memorable experience that can be traded as a story”.The Devonshire No Shots Rule + Bottom Up Leadership.. “Great Ideas Come From a Single Place, Not a Committee”Daniel Khaneman Behavioural Economics: The Peak End Rule + Always Bring The Card Machine With BillWhy The Devonshire have a Secret Medicine Cabinet to Keep Customers SweetThe Legend of Sujan: ALWAYS Explain as leaders WHY we are doing somethingWhy 1% Improvement Doesn’t Take Away from Enjoyment “Solving Problems is Cathartic” ==============================================🌟 HUNGRY's Absolutely Bloody Marvelous Sponsors🌟=============================================►North Star: (www.northstarbc.co.uk)  Get your FREE 30min Consultancy Session with North Star 👉 https://calendly.com/andy-northstar/free-30mins-with-north-star-team---------------------------------🤝 Let's Connect!►Let's link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/) 

 Espresso is proudly powered by our sponsor, Unleashed!📦 1. Wait…what is Unleashed?Unleashed is inventory management software – but not the boring kind. It doesn’t just track stock...it connects seamlessly with your finance tools, eCom platforms, and CRM. That means one smooth system from sales to stock to cash. We use it daily at Islands, and honestly? Total game changer.🍴 2. Why foodie founders love itUnleashed helps you slash admin time and stay laser-focused on your margins. Know exactly where your costs are, what’s selling, and how your cash flow's looking (because yes, cash is still king).🚀 3. Trusted by the best in FMCGFrom Candy Kittens and Tiny Rebel to TRIP, Tarquin’s Gin, Three Spirit, Minor Figures, The Turmeric Co., and Volcano Coffee - some of your favourite challenger brands are scaling with Unleashed. If they’re using it, you know it’s the real deal. 📅 4. Fancy a chat?Book a quick call with the Unleashed team here 👉 https://calendly.com/unleashed-sales-team/discovery-call-with-unleashed-hungry🎁 5. Try it for lessGet 50% off your first 3 months if you choose to subscribe. You’ll wonder how you ever managed without it 👉 https://www.unleashedsoftware.com/ ♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here 🍲 🤝 Let's Connect!►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

In this discussion, James Smith, a fitness influencer and marketing expert known for his candid style, dives into confidence-building and the evolution of marketing. He highlights the importance of celebrating both big and small wins while navigating the digital attention landscape. James also emphasizes the transformative power of discomfort for creativity and shares insights on launching his nootropic drink, Neutonic. He warns against traditional marketing pitfalls and advocates for authenticity, urging marketers to embrace risk and learn from mistakes.

Ben Branson founded Seedlip Drinks. Seedlip pioneered the Low to No movement. The Low to No Movement helped more people go sober.More sober people, led to more happier people. More happier people, more productive people.We REALLY don’t understand the power of Sober (just yet) It’s unfathomably enormous. In 50 years, we'll teach kids in school. Going sober is discovering coffee. Going sober is discovering electricity. Going sober is discovering penicillin. Going sober is discovering Nandos Garlic Bread & Chicken Thigh combo (dun kno, my G) Honour to sit with LEGEND and great friend, Ben BransonRecorded at our Live Podcast + Supper Club back in May at Coal Rooms, Peckham We’ve got 7 more Live Podcasts + Supper Clubs coming up this year.16 peeps MAX. Exclusive for our Newsletter readers only. Wanna hang out with the donny food & drink founders? Subscribe in comments below. ON THE MENU 1. Why Building a Brand is like jumping off a cliff and building the plane on the way down2. Unveiling The Seedlip Success Blue Print: Local vs. Global vs. Micro vs. Macro 3. “You want people to think you’re idea is f*cking stupid” - you want strength either side 4. Where are your 1000 true fans GLOBALLY? It’s easier to sell to a bar Barcelona vs. a pub in Lincoln 5. Why Seedlip Chased Credibility “… I never once said Seedlip was great, I let other people do that?” 6. The world’s changed, so has the way you build brands: “social media is blurring the borders” + “everything is happening at the same time” 7. How Seedlip cracked the EXPORT ENIGMA: get them to pitch to YOU8. Julian Metcalfe, Pret a Manger Founder “Simplicity is Hard, Complexity is Easy” 9. Ben Brand “Make it SIMPLE, Don’t SIMPLIFY it” 10. How Founders can think "Fast & Slow" + Rick Rubin “distraction is not procrastination”11. If you’ve got an idea…. If it’s REALLY a good idea DON'T LET IT DOWN 12. Don’t second guess yourself as you get bigger… “Never hire a great CV and a middle aged man”👌 ==============================================🌟 HUNGRY's Absolutely Bloody Marvelous Sponsors🌟=============================================►North Star: (www.northstarbc.co.uk)  Get your FREE 30min Consultancy Session with North Star 👉 https://calendly.com/andy-northstar/free-30mins-with-north-star-team---------------------------------🤝 Let's Connect!►Let's link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/) 

 "We only sold 20 burgers in our first market run." Espresso is proudly powered by our sponsor, Unleashed!📦 1. Wait…what is Unleashed?Unleashed is inventory management software – but not the boring kind. It doesn’t just track stock...it connects seamlessly with your finance tools, eCom platforms, and CRM. That means one smooth system from sales to stock to cash. We use it daily at Islands, and honestly? Total game changer.🍴 2. Why foodie founders love itUnleashed helps you slash admin time and stay laser-focused on your margins. Know exactly where your costs are, what’s selling, and how your cash flow's looking (because yes, cash is still king).🚀 3. Trusted by the best in FMCGFrom Candy Kittens and Tiny Rebel to TRIP, Tarquin’s Gin, Three Spirit, Minor Figures, The Turmeric Co., and Volcano Coffee - some of your favourite challenger brands are scaling with Unleashed. If they’re using it, you know it’s the real deal. 📅 4. Fancy a chat?Book a quick call with the Unleashed team here 👉 https://calendly.com/unleashed-sales-team/discovery-call-with-unleashed-hungry🎁 5. Try it for lessGet 50% off your first 3 months if you choose to subscribe. You’ll wonder how you ever managed without it 👉 https://www.unleashedsoftware.com/ ♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here 🍲 🤝 Let's Connect!►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

It’s Christmas. I’ve stuffed my face all week. Drunk. Don’t know what day of the week it is.And am having some rest as 2025 is going to be HUGEReposting one of the most downloaded episodes of all time which was recorded 2 years ago with Waitrose.Alas. Back to the left overs Normal service resumes next week 🤝 Let's Connect! ►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/) ►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/) ==============================================🌟 HUNGRY's Absolutely Bloody Marvelous Sponsors🌟=============================================►North Star: (www.northstarbc.co.uk)  Get your FREE 30min Consultancy Session with North Star 👉 https://calendly.com/andy-northstar/free-30mins-with-north-star-team---------------------------------🤝 Let's Connect!►Let's link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)