🔥 From a shed in Birmingham to a £611M exit — Al Barratt’s story is a masterclass in brand-building, balance, and staying sane in the chaos.

The Grenade founder reveals how he built a world-class product, a world-class team, and a brand people actually love — while ignoring industry noise, financial vanity metrics, and the temptation to chase every shiny trend.

This is an episode about focus, systems, and having fun while you build something remarkable — even when revenue is flat, growth stalls, or the journey feels uphill.

===============
💥 ON THE MENU
===============

🍫 How Grenade reinvented the protein bar category — “We didn’t invent them, we invented good ones”
🚀 From shed to £611M exit at 27x EBITDA
🧠 Don’t solve problems that don’t exist — why simplicity wins
🏋️‍♂️ “Be good and new” — how to win in stale categories
💼 The hidden path to profitability (and why you should never use your own money)
🔥 “Better revenue ≠ better business” — how flat sales can still mean a better company
👊 Building a world-class team and killing cultural cancers fast
📊 Understanding systems: category, context, and shelf strategy
💸 The 6 rules Al uses when investing in other founders
🥇 Compete where you’re strong and they’re weak — love competition
😌 Finding contentment on the journey — and why happiness fuels success, not the other way around

==============================================

♨️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 - https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/🍲

==============================================
🌟 HUNGRY's Absolutely Bloody Marvellous Sponsors🌟
==============================================

A massive shoutout to our incredible sponsors who make HUNGRY possible:
​
►Mimo: For more on MIMO payments, financing & cash flow:
visit (mimoHQ.com)

►North Star: (www.northstarbc.co.uk)
Get a FREE 30min Consultancy Session with North Star 👉 https://calendly.com/andy-northstar/f...

🤝 Let's Connect!
►Let’s link-up here ​ ( / daniel-pope  )
►Stalk me here ​ ( / _hungry.pod  )

This episode was edited by:
G.Thomas Craig (