HUNGRY.

 You’re being too smart.

And, it’s killing your brand.

Following logic.

Leaning on experience as a crutch.

When, ostensibly, it’s a shackle.

Petrified of looking dumb.

We pre-rationalise decision making.

So many brands, including myself, after a honey-moon of magical momentum become sterile, pallid, bland.

This moment is VERY dangerous for challenger brands.

The Dip.

Trough of Sorrow.

Really bloody hard bit.

Rory says here, we must ditch experience and logic.

Instead, act with child-like wonderment and playful curiosity.

We may, just, stumble upon a whole new bounty of opportunity, none of your competition ever saw.

Delighted to welcome back Rory Sutherland on to the poddy.

ON THE MENU:

1. The problem with “purpose-led brands” = too boring and serious, Sausage Rolls can’t solve world problems

2. Would Sushi actually taste good if it was from Somalia or Salford - provenance reframe

3. The easiest way for restaurants/brands to stand out - create gratuitous perversity - Bacon Sandwich

4. The first draft of everything is shit - pre rationalisation pisses over the bonfire of post rationalisation magic,

5. Why a Kitchen porter or corner shop worker is the best MBA - see business as whole system vs. individual components

6. Why You can't cut a sudoku: the optimisation of the parts doesn't create the optimisation of the whole,

7. The peak end rule: How am experience ends is super important - coffee and beer sommeliers 

Every top food and drink founder reads our weekly Newsletter,  Friday Feast - why wouldn't you?

https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/
Watch the full shabang on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@HungryFMCG/videos

👌

Listen to the full episode here 

Espresso's are powered by our brand new sponsor, Unleashed! 

1. What on earth is Unleashed, I hear you asking?   

Unleashed is Inventory management software that talks to your financial and eComm software. We use it daily at Islands. It's BANGING!! 

2.  Why Unleashed will change your life as a foodie founder?  

Cut admin time in half. Save money. Lots of money. Get lucid clarity on margins. Be all over cash flow, after all cash is king. Manage stock and cash flow.  

3. The biggest brands in FMCG love love Unleashed 

Your fave brands like Candy Kittens, Tiny Rebel, TRIP use religiously. Tarquins Gin, Three Spirit, Minor Figures, The Turmeric Co., Volcano Coffee 

4. Do yourself a favour 

Feel free to reach out to the utter legends Josh and Bryony at Unleashed, book in a 20 min chat with this magical link. Even if nothing comes of it, it's worth having a chat. Click this magical link 

🤝 Let's Connect!

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Most strategy is UTTER BULL SHIT.

Shat out by spurious and superfluous #strategists

Peddling putridly perplexing, flabbergasting “frameworks” — make the brain go berserk.

Matrix’s that make you feel like you’ve chomped the orange-what-you-on-about-mate?-pill

“Grab yourself a Costa and a biccy …let’s all sit around synergise and prioritise and sodomise your brain with complexity”

Complexity is EASY.

Simplicity is HARD.

So much strategy complexity.

Alex M H Smith does the HARD job of making strategy EASY.

His new book, “No Bullshit Strategy” is INSANELY DELICIOUS.

A short-snappy, marble-smooth, no bull-shit book on strategy - my brain lit up like a glittering Christmas tree as I briskly sauntered.

The Better news?

Alex is back on the pod.

ON THE MENU:

1. Why challenger food and drink founders spend too much time Zoomed in and *MUST* ZOOM out to see clearly

2. How challenger food and drink founders can set goals that lead to fun adventure vs. constant comparison and beating yourself up.

3. Why you’ll never achieve huge success through hard work

4. How to go viral on LinkedIn, write “I feel seen posts” + Why if it’s not click bait, it's not doing the audience a favour

5. How to find the Strategy secrets + The insight is NEVER a new piece of information - “It's not about what you KNOW. It's what you NOTICE ”


Every top food and drink founder reads our Newsletter - why wouldn't you?

https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/

Watch the full shabang on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@HungryFMCG/videos

Let’s link up on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/

Stalk me on Insta- https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/

🤝 Let's Connect!

►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)

►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

The most mind-blowing conversation I’ve EVER had on challenger leadership.

Julian Metcalfe is contrarian, formidable. A lucid single-mindedness married with a howling grit.

The unique ability to find simplicity in complexity - “complexity is easy, simplicity is hard”

Pret a Manger and ITSU combined are worth over £3 billion.

• Pret a Manger one of the biggest food and drink brands of all time, opened sites in New York, Hong Kong and successfully sold in 2018.
• ITSU are at 74 sites solving the obesity pandemic providing healthy, affordable, delicious food.
• ITSU grocery are disrupting categories with ground breaking affordable, delicious meals

Total honour to interview Julian.

ON THE MENU:

1. Why challenger food and drink founders must BE BRAVE and swim upstream, when everyone’s swimming downstream
2. The principles of empathetic leadership: listening + imagination = look at problems differently
3. Why complexity is much easier than simplicity - Do less, but do it beautifully = grow faster
4. Why you must never ever, ever doubt what you can do as a human being - you’re capable of so much more than you think
5. The process of building great cultures: realise this hard-truth, people work for people, not for your company.
6. The relentless pursuit of better: accept 99 is not 100, so constantly pursue better
7. Why brands must grow EXACTLY in proportion in their ability to stay GOOD

Fully eppy goes live Monday. If you enjoy the podcast.

Please share it with one friend, you’d really make my weekend. Thanks xx


Subscribe to our newsletter

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Stalk me on Insta- https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/

🤝 Let's Connect!

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🤝 Let's Connect!

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Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Friday Feast

https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/

Watch the full shabang on Youtube - 

https://www.youtube.com/@HungryFMCG/videos

Let’s link up on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/

Stalk me on Insta- https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/

There was someone else before Brewdog and Camden Town Bewery.

Ferociously banging the craft beer drum when no one listened.

Charlie McVeigh.

Charlie pioneered of the craft beer movement. 

In 2006, founded The Draft House, built a wildly succesfulscuccessfully sold to Brewdog in 2018.

Charlie’s featured on the programme Million Pound Menu. The Dragons Den for food and drink brands.

And investor in the wildly popular Butchies Fried Chicken, Foodstuff, The Breakfast Club.

Our conversation dives deep into the dark side of being a founder.

ON THE MENU

1. Why a business is “essentially a fiction” and how new ideas spread - every brand touch point is an opportunity for storytelling.

2. The founder “Messiah” vs. “Imposter” complex - and how to spot your weaknesses.

3. Why founders must find and embrace their psychotic part. Turn empathy off.

4. How to add systems as you scale - a brand can only scale once the right systems are in place = Brand principles + systems + link to brand + consistency = HUGE brand scale

5. How to ACTUALLY fire employees: Sad reality not everyone is going to be perfect

6. Why founders MUST know what type of business they’re building: Do you want to be Rich or Do you want to be King?

Please make me oh so happs and please tickle the subscribe button in the comments below.

🤝 Let's Connect!

►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)

►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

Every top food and drink founder reads our Newsletter - why wouldn't you?

https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/23Q2M51LBXwGsxszG6iU6v

APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hungry/id1537239469

this a repost with the wonderful Myles Hopper. I am in Lisbon for my 30th - back to it next week xx 


One of those INTENSE days.

Emails eviscerating Zen, to-do lists trampling Calm.

Instant Gratification masquerading as Instagram: scrolling your way to shameful oblivion.

Mindful Chef is more than a recipe box.

A panacea against the pummelling of putrid notifications.

Banging recipes and Build-Your-Own-Meditation-Retreat at home.

Slip into sliders and sarong (yeh, climbed MK 2013 - Milton Keynes Snow bowl)

Whack on a bit of MJ. Just Beat Ittttttt - the eggs and the work stress

Slice n’ dice your way into a Smooooth Criminal-Spring Well of Happiness.

Myles Hopper, founder of Mindful Chef is the latest guest on HUNGRY.

ON THE MENU:

1. WHY FOUNDERS MUST USE THE WORD “NO” AS PART OF A GROWTH MINDSET TO CONSTANTLY IMPROVEWHY FOOD AND DRINK FOUNDER’S MUST BALANCE

2. BIG AMBITION WITH DAILY BALANCE TO AVOID BURNOUT - “THINGS CAN ALWAYS WAIT 

3. WHY FOOD AND DRINK BRANDS MUST ENCOURAGE COMMUNICATION AROUND FAILURE: MINDFUL’S FEAST OF FAILURE 

4.TAKE THE PATH OF MOST RESISTANCE TO CREATE DIE HARE FANS: “GET UNDER THE SKIN OF YOUR CUSTOMERS”

5. HOW TO MAINTAIN CULTURE AND BRAND AS YOU SCALE TO 130 EMPLOYEES: VALUES + CELEBRATING SMALLS WINS + GREAT LEADERSHIP = KNOWING WHEN TO BE ON AND OFF THE DANCE FLOOR

🤝 Let's Connect!

►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)

►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

🤝 Let's Connect!

►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)

►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

Every top food and drink founder reads our Newsletter - why wouldn't you?

https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/

- Dodgy hires are cancerous, they gorge and eviscerate iron-clad cultures.
- Dodgy hires are anchors slowing your challenger speed boat down.
- Dodgy hires are a total headache and smouldering pain in the jaxxie.

Every single guest on the podcast has ONE salient, recurring piece of wisdom.
Hiring is EVERYTHING.

Attracting, onboarding, keeping, nurturing, great talent is EVERYTHING.

But, the world’s changed alas finding great talent has changed, too.

Word Job Descriptions are risibly archaic and on-boarding processes must be silky-smooth.

DE-lighted to welcome my great friends and podcast sponsors Paul Jones and Billy Maddock from Mackenzie Jones on the poddy.

You may thinking

“oohhh recruiters on a podcast”. How uncouth. Like tepidly farting in a lift. Or eating a WASABI Katsu Cuzza on the tube.

Chill ya beans, brahs n’ mahs

Billy and Paul are the bee’s knees.

Our partnership has found INSANE talent for INSANE brands, we’ve recruited for EMBER, ManiLife, The Juice Smith, Goodrays.

ON THE MENU:

1. Why we need a job description 2.0 - it shouldn’t even be called a job description

2. For the strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack

3. You wouldn’t send a word document to a Sainsbury’s buyer or Investor - so why do it to expect to attract great talent with word document

4. How Corporate people can cross the chasm to challenger - roll sleeves, look at the sky and dig dirt

5. How to find great talent and avoid “The Netflix Effect”: Explore vs. Exploit - the 33% rule

6. How to treat candidates right, even if you don’t give them the job - remember it’s a super small industry.

🤝 Let's Connect!

►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)

►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

🤝 Let's Connect!

►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)

►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)