You, Me & CPG by Haines

Boxed wine is nothing new… but what Laura Riches is building with Laylo absolutely is. 

She's stripping the format to its barebones, and rebuilding it in the image of something that challenges our innate perceptions of boxed wine.

In this episode, Jamie Holtum sits down with the former Naked Wines marketing lead-turned-founder to unpack how she’s stripping friction out of the wine category while keeping all the cues of quality, story, and status. 

This episode covers

• Removing Friction in a Legacy Category
• Format as Strategy by Creating Behaviour Change
• Building Around Data-Driven, Real Consumer Habits
• Packaging as Story, Not Just Container
• Category Creation & Brand Ambition

Laura Riches

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-riches-30b1b232/

https://www.instagram.com/laurajaneriches/

Laylo

https://drinklaylo.com/

https://www.instagram.com/drinklaylo/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/drinklaylo/

Jamie Holtum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-holtum-85b79634/

Haines: https://www.haines.partners/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hainespartners/

https://www.instagram.com/youmeandcpg/

Danone. Red Bull. Liquid Death. Karma Drinks… Ben Dando has seen the CPG drinks sector from every unfiltered angle..

En route, he’s picked up a truck-full of accolades, from Marketing Week’s Top 100 to THREE nominations for CEO of the Year. What Ben doesn’t know about drinks isn’t worth knowing.

Where does a CPG superstar go after such a career? Goodrays - a company whose past success proves his knowledge, and whose trajectory towards future success proves far more about his ambition, and the direction of the entire sector…

Within this episode of You, Me & CPG lies the blueprint to success in functional beverages, the key to why the UK is such a tough nut to crack, and the real levers behind sustainable growth in the next generation of drinks.

This episode covers

• How to Win in Functional Drinks (and Where the Category Is Heading)
• UK vs US: Cracking Tough Markets and Scaling Globally
• Careers, Pace and Operating at Multiple Levels
• Brand, Positioning and What Makes a CPG Brand Buyable
• Leadership, People and Building for the Long Term

Ben Dando: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bendando/

Jamie Holtum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-holtum-85b79634/

Haines: https://www.haines.partners/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hainespartners/

https://www.instagram.com/youmeandcpg/

The energy drinks category has grown year-on-year for three decades. Red Bull and Monster have dictated play; their high-octane branding has written the rulebook for how energy drinks show up on shelf and in culture.

But there’s a new wave of brands disrupting the category.

Tenzing - like their Everest-conquering sherpa namesake – are pioneering a new route, leading the way in what is a burgeoning natural energy subcategory. 

With a pointed perspective that ‘life is too good for bad energy’, Tenzing are tackling artificial ‘big energy’ head-on with 100% natural ingredients, low calories, and simply put, no junk. 

And not so coincidentally, their founder is ex-Red Bull.. Jamie Holtum recently sat down with Huib Van Bockel to talk all things good energy. Don’t miss out on the conversation.

Here’s what we discussed:

• Why life is too good for bad energy - unpacking the Tenzing ‘good energy mantra’
• How to truly adopt a challenger mindset in a big company
• Why format tweaks can instantly supersede brand and proposition
• Why the tough bits of founding a brand are often over-romanticised
• Scaling with outside investment, while staying mission‑led

Huib van Bockel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/huib-van-bockel-8454834/

TENZING: https://tenzingnaturalenergy.com/

Jamie Holtum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-holtum-85b79634/

Haines: https://www.haines.partners/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hainespartners/

https://www.instagram.com/youmeandcpg/

Only a few years ago, if you wanted wine on-the-go your options were limited to the semi-palatable 187ml PET plastic bottle or its unhelpful sibling, the pseudo-wine glass with a foil lid. Neither have a great OTG consumption experience and where other categories brimmed with innovation - wine was far behind.

Cue NICE, who launched in 2019 on a mission to solve the ‘OTG wine headache’ with wine in a can. Wrapped in a bright, crowd-pleasing brand and aimed at democratising wine without compromising on its quality, NICE is a brilliant case study in how to break old category codes, while honouring the right traditions.

Fast forward to today, the category has evolved and so has NICE. Hot off an elevated rebrand designed to propel NICE far beyond its can-only origins, the future of wine is looking pretty NICE.

We caught up with co-founder Lucy Busk in the You, Me & CPG Studio to talk rebrand, cultural relevance and how to crush old codes for growth.

Here’s a snapshot of what we discussed:

1. How To Decide Which Category Traditions Break (And Which To Keep)
2. Why Wine Should Behave More Like A Beer In The On-Trade
3. How To Crack Cultural Relevance And Real Life Brand Building
4. Why Agency Relationships Are Critical to Creative Success
5. Why Low ABV is Part of Wines Future

Lucy Busk: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-busk-wright-52966086/

Nice Drinks: https://nice-drinks.co.uk/

Jamie Holtum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-holtum-85b79634/

Haines: https://www.haines.partners/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hainespartners/

https://www.instagram.com/youmeandcpg/

Tonic water is the classic challenger brand case study, and now it’s going through a second wave of disruption.

Two decades ago, the category was unloved - lacking vibrancy, cultural resonance and innovation.

Then Fever Tree came along and turned everything on its head by offering ingredient-driven premium mixers designed to elevate - not downgrade - their spirit counterparts.

Fast forward to 2026, Double Dutch is disrupting the category again with a voracious hospitality-first focus.

Extroverted and vibrant, their flavour-driven proposition might just be the perfect tonic for the struggling on-trade.

We sat down with co-founder and ‘tonic twin’ Raissa De Haas to chat challenger mindset, cultural relevance, and why focus is critical when the climate gets tough.

We hope you enjoy it, and a big thanks to Raissa for jumping into the studio.

This episode covers

• The Power of Doing One Thing Well
• The Challenger Brand Hack for Cracking Consumer Relevance
• Why Gen Z Want Feeling Before Function
• Why Hospitality-only Experiences Will Save the On-trade
• Why Big Companies often Overcomplicate NPD

Raissa de Haas

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/raissa-de-haas-02740a61

Double Dutch Drinks

https://doubledutchdrinks.com/

https://www.instagram.com/doubledutchdrinks/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/double-dutch-drinks/

Jamie Holtum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-holtum-85b79634/

Haines: https://www.haines.partners/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hainespartners/

https://www.instagram.com/youmeandcpg/

Is 2026 The Year Alcohol Roars Back?

The headlines spell the end for booze: Executive departures, decline, doom.

The true story? It’s much more nuanced. 

In pockets, alc is flying. Gen Z participation is up. Spend is up. Dry Jan was the 'wettest' since 2014 according to The Times.

What’s clear - growth is up for grabs - if brands get it right.

Our latest pod challenges the doomsayers with a dose of confidence.

Last episode, we looked at the future of drinking through the no & low lens (thanks to Botivo’s Imme Ermgassen and Club Soda’s Laura Willoughby!)

This time, Booze fights back with an elite corner: MOTH Drink’s Rob Wallis, Paul Thomas, formerly of Diageo, Asahi and Suntory, and Tristram Coates of GHF.

This episode covers why:

• Alcohol brands need to get their fun back
• Premiumisation has become too prevalent
• ‘Share of entertainment’ is the new ‘share of throat’
• Brands are missing a trick by not supporting the on-trade enough

We hope you enjoy listening. 

Paul Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-thomas-8b903025/

Tristram Coates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristram-coates-9014151a5/

Rob Wallis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/%F0%9F%8D%B8-rob-wallis-162801113/

Jamie Holtum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-holtum-85b79634/

Haines: https://www.haines.partners/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hainespartners/

https://www.instagram.com/youmeandcpg/

What does it mean to ‘go for a drink’ in 2025, and what’s at stake for those vying for a place in everyone’s glass?

Gone are the days of the binary option. ‘Alcohol vs 0% beer’ has been replaced by functional beverages, ashwagandha, CBD and beyond.

Today’s episode of You, Me & CPG isn’t just about the future of drinking, but by proxy it’s the future of socialising, and we couldn’t be joined by three more important guests.

Laura Willoughby MBE (Club Soda Co-Founder), Imme Ergassen (Botivo Co-Founder) and Luis Osório (IWSR’s Head of Consumer Insights) see the glass half-full, but heed their warnings - there’s plenty for brands to reshape if they’re to fit the mould of the future…

This episode covers

• The new social perspective on drinking experiences 
• Functional beverages and blurred boundaries
• The real story behind rising moderation - less about abstinence, more about options
• Authenticity, storytelling, and brand craft as tools for market positioning
• Navigating the industry shift, and what the beverage sector must do to stay relevant 

Imme Ergassen

https://www.linkedin.com/in/immeermgassen/?originalSubdomain=uk

Luis Osório

https://www.linkedin.com/in/luismosorio/?originalSubdomain=uk

Laura Willoughby MBE

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurawilloughby/?originalSubdomain=uk

Jamie Holtum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-holtum-85b79634/

Haines: https://www.haines.partners/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hainespartners/

https://www.instagram.com/youmeandcpg/

GLP-1s. Miracle weight-loss drugs. They’re the single most disruptive force that CPG has faced in decades. They shrink appetites, and if you’re not paying attention, could shrink your category too…

It's forecast to be a $150 billion industry by 2030, and by 2027 there’ll be GLP-1s available in pill format - food and drinks categories beware.

This week’s ‘You, Me & CPG’ features 4 of the brightest minds and most sound voices that you NEED to hear right now; Rob Hobson, Jonny Forsyth, Jennifer Dyne, and Dr Caroline Withers.

Their collective experience is impossible to ignore, so listen close as we explore how the recipe for success needs reformulating for a world where a personal miracle could become your business’ worst nightmare.

This episode covers

• How new innovations in medication are reshaping consumer behaviour
• The changing role of food in people’s lives, from emotional experiences to functional eating
• Brands’ urgent need to adapt and stay relevant through new product development
• Staying true to brand purpose and engaging consumers with genuine, emotionally resonant messaging
• The challenges and opportunities in educating consumers about nutrition, and how that feeds into buying habits

Rob Hobson

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-hobson-4493ab28/?originalSubdomain=uk

Jonny Forsyth

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonny-forsyth-91914b23/?originalSubdomain=uk

Jennifer Dyne

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-dyne-49568325/?originalSubdomain=uk

Dr Caroline Withers

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-withers-phd-07961958/?originalSubdomain=uk

Jamie Holtum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-holtum-85b79634/

Haines: https://www.haines.partners/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hainespartners/

https://www.instagram.com/youmeandcpg/

Pip & Nut’s ascendence from fledgling brand to exemplary B Corp has proven a stale industry wrong; joy, quality and ethics can live in the same jar.

Pippa Murray is one of the UK’s brightest brand builders, and the impressive feat of Pip & Nut’s ascendence does not come at the expense of the environment.

Ethics can be expensive, which is what makes Pippa’s vision, resilience and razor sharp intuition magnitudes more valuable to a brand set to take over the industry’s top step.

Join us on You, Me & CPG this week to break down the ingredients that comprise Pip & Nut’s winning strategy…

This episode covers

• Pip & Nut’s natural brand evolution
• The ethics of innovation in a B Corp
• Balancing profit with purpose
• How a product range can influence your consumers’ habits
• The secret to disrupting a dusty market

Pippa Murray

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pippamurray/

Pip & Nut

https://www.pipandnut.com/

https://www.instagram.com/pipandnut/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/pipandnut/

Jamie Holtum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-holtum-85b79634/

Haines: https://www.haines.partners/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hainespartners/

https://www.instagram.com/youmeandcpg/

Calm amid the chaos is a feeling which, if it could be bottled, is a no-brainer; Olivia Ferdi has achieved exactly that with TRIP…

The CBD drinks brand has previously featured in our ‘That Will Never Work’ segment of the podcast, so we just had to go beyond the label with its Founder & Co-CEO to find out why it doesn’t just work, but defies all strategic convention.

Olivia joins us to lift the lid on a brand which outsells 0% beers in Dry January, is stocked in over 25,000 stores, and shows absolutely no signs of slowing.

This episode covers

• The flexibility and family-driven entrepreneurship behind TRIP’s story
• Harnessing the power of emotional branding
• How TRIP overcame the typical trade-offs in wellness and functional beverages
• Changing consumer behaviours in socialising and wellness
• The power of passion, intuition, and willingness to take risks

Olivia Ferdi

https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-ferdi/

TRIP

https://drink-trip.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/tripdrinks/

Jamie Holtum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-holtum-85b79634/

Haines: https://www.haines.partners/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hainespartners/

https://www.instagram.com/youmeandcpg/