Ben Branson is the founder of Seedlip, the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit that pioneered a movement of non-alcoholic drinks. In under 4 years Seedlip shot to success - being stocked in over 8000 bars and in homes across 35 countries before being sold in a multi-million pound deal. But what did this rapid success mean for Ben? Ben who is open about his autism and adhd diagnosis. Ben who is launching his new venture - Sylva, spirits that explore the untapped flavour potential of trees. I had so much I wanted to unpack with Ben - from going to rehab many times, to coming up against the entire alcohol industry, to his love of ‘lifestyle businesses’ and creating a product that is designed to be sipped slowly. 

In this episode we cover: 

• Boarding school, autism and routine 
• Pushing the limits to a near-death experience in India 
• Starting a new, sober, life at 25  
• Following your hobbies and curiosities 
• Seedlip’s astronomical rise & acquisition by Diageo 
• Why businesses need to slow down

Mentions: 

The Art of Distillation by John French, 1651 

Brutal Simplicity of Thought, M&C Saatchi, 2013 

A Life on Our Planet, David Attenborough, 2020 

Podcast episode with Ben’s wife: https://www.hidden20.org/podcast/episode-17-sam-branson 

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/seedlip_ben/?hl=en