Holleigh and I connected over her involvement on Zach Taylor's new incredible hard kombucha brand Stiff Tea as I was obsessed with the bran as soon as I saw it.

We talked about the experience of bringing someone else's brand to life - and how she fell into the consultancy world (and accepting this title!)

We dug into all her various experience in managing bars, working at music festivals, the beer industry - and the amazing work she does as a trustee for Home Start Manchester.

This was such a fun conversation - super varied, but so much value of course!

As always, thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from Uppbeat

What if boxed and canned wine could be premium?

Well that's exactly what LAYLO do - and boy do they do it well!

Today's guest is the wonderful Daisy Larkan, BDM at Laylo and the co-owner of First Draft Bar & Kitchen with her husband.

We dive into the stigma around boxed and canned wine, and why it's whats on the inside that counts!

From sustainability & freshness of boxed wine, to being a book editor to making the decision to open a venue with her husband - we dug into SO many fascinating topics that I loved!

As always, thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from Uppbeat

Ready for a bonus episode?

Here is the live recording of a panel that took place at the first ever YF Ops Fest event held at Candy Kittens HQ last month.

I had the pleasure of chairing a stellar line to dive into the biggest supply chain problems and how to overcome them with:

Georgia Riches - Liquid Death

Daniel Hayward - Candy Kittens

Ann Holt - GRUBBY

This was SUCH a brilliant conversation - huge thanks to Phil Peters for asking me to get involved and to the AV team who expertly captured the audio for this.

As always, if you liked this episode let me ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from? Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Today I have the honour of speaking with two incredible women at Virgin Atlantic - Beverage Development Manager, Shiada Drysdale and Inflight Food & Beverage Development Manager Hari Ghotra.

Shiada has over 25 years working in Aviation (17 of those at Virgin) and now looks after 'anything that pours on board.' She is a huge champion for challenger brands, having helped onboard Trip, Perfect Ted, NICE Wine, Tom Savano and more.

Hari is an accomplished chef, has released multiple cookbooks and is the founder of the UK's biggest Indian digital food platform HariGhotra.co.uk. We discuss where her passion for cooking came from, her time as a Microbiologist at Birds Eye, working in 1 star Michelin Indian restaurant Tamarind collection and more.

This conversation covers:

• The importance of operational practicalities & relationships with suppliers
• Allergens on board
• Keeping the food & drink exciting & on-trend
• What it's like to work for Virgin
• When things didn't go well... (Covid and finding wine)
• Witnessing Richard Branson trying food that Hari got on board
• And SO much more

It was an absolute honour and a privilege for me to speak to Shiada and Hari.

Thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from? Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

(New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from Uppbeat)

Today I am joined by the brilliant Jack Simmonds, former Director at Hisbe (How It Should Be) and now Head of Operations & Finance at Gamely.

From working in the finance world at Bank of England and Deutsche Bank, Jack joined the team at Innocent which clearly left a lasting impression.

His next move was to Nestle, however missing that challenger buzz and energy, when the chance to join a social enterprise with two amazing founders at HISBE came his way, he took the leap (and pay cut).

This led to an amazing 10 year stint in a truly amazing ethical, award winning independent retailer. Sadly however earlier this year it went into administration.

We dug into all sorts of areas in this conversation, from doing work for good, the culture and mindset instilled at Innocent, to why games are so important to help us connect in away from the digital world.

Jack is so lovely, and this conversation was pure joy.

Thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from Uppbeat

Today I am joined by not one, but two wonderful guests! Marking Director Adam Joe Parker and Sales Director Emma King aka 'Refounders' at Ocean Saver.

We discuss what the term Refounder actually means, why it was important to distinguish and how it's helped bring a new life and personality into the Ocean Saver brand. (As well as those fishy puns!)

And why the oceans need saving - and how Ocean Saver are doing this, challenging the major brands in the space (and calling out the greenwashing too!)

With Adam we discuss the differences between working at big P&G brands like Oral B, to small exciting challenger brand Parla.

Plus Emma's journey from Kiddylicious to the team at Ocean Saver and SO much more.

Adam & Emma are a dynamic duo! Thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from Uppbeat

How does a product or recipe go from idea - to a supermarket shelf or cafe menu?

Who actually helps craft those delicious drinks & foods we all know and love?

Well Olivia (Lilly) Abrahmsohn is one of those people working behind the scenes in the product development world.

She's been knocking up amazing products for the likes of Innocent, Rebel Kitchen and most recently Joe & The Juice for years and now runs her own consultancy firm Tastebud Tickler to help brands with their NPD.

This conversation was fascinating! From discovering her skills and passion for taste - to the story of how she landed a role at innocent with a hot apple crumble.

Thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

In this episode, I sit down with Nadine Maggi , whose career journey is anything but typical.

After 5 years in the armed forces, she kicked off her HR career at Hallmark, starting as a filing administrator and working her way up to International HR Director.

From there, she jumped into the food and drink world, taking on roles as HR Director and transitioning to Managing Director at Hain Celestial.

After a family-focused year off, Nadine found herself drawn to the ethics and mission of Sweet Freedom and made the move.

We chat about her bold transition from HR to MD, what it’s like going from managing thousands of employees to under 10, and everything in between.

Nadine is refreshingly open, honest, and vulnerable

This is one you won’t want to miss.

Thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Andy Allen is an absolute powerhouse in the FMCG industry and a brilliant ambassador for challenger brands too.

From launching & selling his own brand of premium pork scratchings with Snaffling Pig. To leading and advising in brands such as Biffs, Oggs, Willicroft, Olly's and so many more.

Andy has been instrumental in the creation of Bidfood Open Doors Program and now sits as an Entrepreneur in Residence in the company a few days a week.

We dive into that whole process, why it's important, what it means, how it even came about plus so much more.

There is A LOT of value in this episode - I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Craig Jackson is Head of Foodservice at Wildfarmed and an absolute legend!

Since we met on a panel this year at the Bread & Jam Food Service Summit, we've struck up a great friendship and I'm constantly learning from him.

In this episode we dive into Craigs time at Wildfarmed, reflecting on lessons and learnings from previous experience at Lyreco, SG World, Tchibo, Coffee World and Minor Figures.

He's been smashing it in the foodservice world winning listing in Bidfood, Brakes and major National brands up and down the country.

There is SO much value in this episode! Thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.