“It's about evolution, not revolution - make your distinctive assets better, not different.”

Julie Chen shares the story behind Cheeky Panda - the sustainable brand that turned bamboo into a household staple. From spotting a missed opportunity in China to launching from her spare bedroom, Julie talks about creativity without restriction, learning fast, and leading a major rebrand while staying true to her founding vision.

In this episode:

• The “Eureka” moment that sparked Cheeky Panda 🌱
• Growing a brand from bedroom startup to Tesco shelves
• Creativity without restriction: the early scrappy years
• Lessons from rebranding a purpose-driven business
• Why evolution beats revolution when refreshing a brand

"The idea that got you excited is probably what will excite everyone else. Don’t lose that."

In this episode Ruth chats with Olly Dixon, co-founder of premium soda brand Something & Nothing, about building a brand that’s both creatively uncompromising and commercially smart.

Olly shares how a background in culture, music, and branding led to a category-defying drinks brand, why they ignored the rules of soft drink development, and how an obsession with quality, flavour, and design helped them stand out in one of the world’s most competitive categories.

Expect honest takes on scaling in the US, resisting trend-chasing, and why doing less (but better) can be your best growth strategy.

We cover:

• What sparked the idea for a grown-up soft drink
• The accidental (but intentional) US launch
• Why community beats performance marketing
• Flavor over function - and why it works
• Starting with culture, not category
• How to grow by staying weird

‘Sales is a persistence game’

In this episode i’m joined by Emily Boyce, founder of Sweet Thyme Foods. We dig into the real mechanics of getting on shelf - and staying there. Emily shares a pragmatic, step-by-step route from specialty to scale, how to pitch buyers who get 200+ emails a day, and why persistence beats perfection every time.

In this episode:

• The “stepping stones” route to great distribution
• “Beacon outlets” as brand builders: credibility, discoverability, fast feedback loops
• What buyers actually want (and why long emails kill deals)
• Persistence systems: staying on it when founders are spinning plates
• How to pitch: keeping it short & sweet
• Founder mindset: progress over perfection

Listen if: you’re building a challenger brand and want a calm, concrete roadmap for compounding growth.

“The startup will be a rollercoaster - the founder doesn’t have to be on it.”

On paper everything’s winning; inside you’re burning out. Sound familiar? Thea unpacks the founder rollercoaster - from comparison traps and dopamine highs to the quiet power of staying level. We get practical on using mindset as a growth lever, building “anti-fragile” resilience, and why slower often equals faster.

We cover:

• The startup rollercoaster and staying steady (joy vs dopamine)
• Mindset work that actually moves the needle (neural pathways + self-talk)
• “Slower is faster” - the counterintuitive growth tactic
• Customer obsession as a company-wide pillar (beyond sales/marketing)
• Founder as the most important asset (maintenance > martyrdom)
• Burnout signals: presence, constant thinking, delayed recovery
• Defining success on your terms - and aligning capital/partners

Listen if: you’re a founder, operator, or investor who wants sustainable pace, clearer decisions, and growth without the crash.

“The danger for UK brands launching in the U.S is assuming its the same - it’s not. It just happens to speak English.”

What does it take to build the UK’s #1 canned cocktail brand (in grocery) - and then take it to America?

Rob Wallis, co-founder of MOTH, joins us to talk about how he and Sam Hunt built a high-trust, founder-led business on a foundation of friendship, flavour, and fearless brand bets.

From investing 25% of their first raise into a bold rebrand, to launching into the US with no existing category - Rob shares the moments that defined MOTH’s rise. We dig into:

• How to turn brand copy into a premium ingredient
• When risk-taking is a superpower (and when it’s not)
• Why they built a full creative team in-house
• How to go about your first fundraise
• What most UK brands get wrong when entering the US
• Why “good branding” isn’t just aesthetic - it’s a commercial tool

If you’re a founder weighing rebrands, international growth, or just trying to get your product to beep at the Waitrose till - this one’s for you.

“Time is the only finite resource you have as a founder.”

Ariana’s career arc runs from Juice Press to angel investing, with a deep love for food, wellness and the founders behind them. In this episode, she shares what she looks for in early-stage investments, how to spot a great founder, and why trusting your gut is sometimes better than over-analysing a spreadsheet.

We talk about:

• What separates a “nice-to-have” from a “need-to-have” product
• How great founders manage ego, feedback and growth
• Angel investing realities - why most projections are meaningless
• Protecting your time (and your health) as a founder
• The “better-for-you” shift from optimisation to enjoyment
• Why sometimes the best advice is simple: eat the cake.

Listen if: You’re a founder, investor, or operator trying to balance ambition, wellness and com

“There was a real lack of craft in the category. And I thought - where’s the origin story? The process? The people behind it?”

What happens when a bartender and a brand strategist collide at 2am on a wedding dance floor - and end up building one of the UK’s most original non-alc brands?

In this episode, I speak to Imme and Sam, co-founders of Botivo, the bold botanical drink that’s quietly redefining what non-alcoholic really means.

We talk about:

• How a pleasure-first approach reframes non-A
• The importance of founder chemistry (and weekly emotional check-ins)
• Why launching with one SKU, and making it iconic, was a deliberate choice
• Letting go of the things you built by hand (literally)
• Craft, chaos, and chickens at a regenerative farm in Hertfordshire

Plus: how their yellow piano became a moving bar, and why marketing is mostly saying the same thing, over and over.

This is a joyful, honest deep-dive into co-founder dynamics, brand building from scratch, and creating moments that matter.

“If you’ve got a really progressive, innovative brand, you're not going to hit average rate of sale out the gate - and yet that’s exactly what the system demands. We’re burning through founders and cash chasing short-term wins that kill long-term potential.”

What if the biggest problem facing food startups isn’t the buyer - it’s the system they work in?

This week, we talk to Andrew Allen, an ex-founder turned entrepreneur in residence, about the structural blockers that keep great ideas from scaling.

We dig into why the innovation funnel is broken, how corporates and startups talk past each other, and why accelerators aren’t always the answer. Andrew also shares what buyers really want in a pitch (and what to stop doing), why founders should be more willing to walk away, and what a better system might look like - from venture studios to shared-risk retailer models.

Key themes:

• The mismatch between startup pace and corporate systems
• Why zombie businesses persist - and what to do about them
• The risk of founder burnout in a broken validation loop
• How accelerators can help (and where they fall short)
• Why we need a new venture-builder model for food & drink

If you liked this episode make sure you check out our chat with Rhys Harvey on Scaling, Exits and Staying true to the core.

“People don’t read - they recognize. If I have to say I’m cool, I’m not cool. But if you look at me and know it, that’s the ultimate power of branding.”

What do challenger brands get wrong about design? Why do some refreshes fail while others build billion-dollar brands? And how do you know when to pivot - or just stay boring?

In this episode, we talk to Fred Hart - the Colarado based brand strategist and CPG trade show enthusiast - about what makes great brands stand out, scale smart, and avoid getting lost in alphabet soup.

We dig into 2025 trends, AI and subjectivity, the influencer brand bubble, and Fred’s five brand principles (including “People don’t read. They recognize.”)

We get into:

• Design as strategy, not decoration
• Building distinctiveness vs. chasing trends
• How to test without killing creativity
• The rise (and risks) of influencer brands
• What makes a great refresh actually work

“When you’re bored of saying it, that’s when people are just starting to hear it.”

In this episode, Luke Hemsley shares the honest story behind building Wednesday’s Domaine - an alcohol-free wine brand on a mission to preserve ritual without compromise.

We get into:

• Why non-alcoholic wine has lagged behind beer & spirits
• The messy early days (and the accidental rosé that turned into a bestseller)
• What bigger players are getting wrong - and why that’s changing
• International growth, category resistance, and why patience is a brand-building superpower

If you’ve ever wondered why wine is so culturally loaded - and how you might build something credible in a space full of sceptics - this one’s for you.