“Direct-to-consumer wasn’t the plan. It was a survival move during the pandemic - but it became our best decision.”

Bethan Higson is the founder of Mother Root, a non-alcoholic aperitif brand that’s as bold in its flavour as it is in its mission. In this episode, she shares their 6 year journey to retail.

We talk about:

• Starting slow and building a brand with staying power
• Why DTC is the best way to educate a new market
• Navigating a rebrand while staying close to your community
• Building for women in their 40s and 50s - and why the industry often overlooks them
• Using real customer insight to fuel marketing and innovation

Embracing patience, focus, and small-scale testing to grow with intention

“We’ve turned ‘challenger brand’ into an aesthetic. If you’re marketing only to Sophie from Clapham, you’re not really challenging anything.”

In this wide-ranging episode, Ruth is joined by Lottie Unwin- founder of Brand Hackers and Up World

They cover:

• The difference between competition and category-building
• Why marketing strategy is misunderstood (and underfunded)
• What actually makes a brand “challenger”
• Content, Reddit, and the underrated power of local Facebook groups
• How it feels to build something when you’re completely out of your depth

It’s a love letter to ambitious marketers, and a reality check for founders everywhere.

“Exit-readiness isn’t a checklist - it’s a constant state of being.”

Rhys Harvey has helped steer multiple challenger brands through acquisition (Popchips, Plenish) and is now CEO of OceanSaver. In this episode, we unpack what really matters when you’re building toward scale or a potential exit.

We talk:

• What acquirers really care about (hint: not what founders think)
• Why repeat rate is the metric no one talks about enough
• How operations and finance teams can drive brand value
• The truth about NPD - and why most of it gets mothballed post-acquisition
• What it takes to build a business that still stands after you're gone

Whether you're in scale-up mode or quietly building toward an exit, this episode is a masterclass in doing both with integrity.

“Social media has made everything feel a bit less fun. We need more weird, joyful moments - not just QR codes on billboards.”

In this episode, Ruth sits down with Tom, a multi-time founder and creative mind behind Glug - a new UK-based olive oil brand. From selling 500 onesies a day at the height of festival culture to building a brand rooted in joy and quality, Tom shares how his early wins, mistakes, and experiments are shaping this next venture.

They talk about why joy is missing in brand-building, how to do weird, subversive marketing in a post-algorithm world, and how AI is reshaping what small teams can do.

“There’s no shortage of ideas. What’s rare is the mindset to survive the hard parts.”

In this episode Ruth talks to Charlie Gent, founder of Mission Kitchen, a London-based workspace and incubator for food founders.

They explore what it really takes to scale a food business today - from product development and manufacturing to community, mentorship, and the emotional highs and lows of founder life. You’ll hear about the power of physical space, how DTC has changed early brand building, and why taste still reigns above all.

Plus: which categories are heating up, why pickles and pulses are having a moment, and what makes a "safe place to fail."

“A brand of tomorrow doesn’t wait until they have sales to build a community.”

Thinking about launching the U.S? This one is for you. Ruth Fittock chats to Amrit Richmond, founder of Supermercato & community Indie CPG about the first things to think about if you want to try and crack this high risk, high reward market.

Plus we chat trends both sides of the pond, what makes a brand succeed, and our favourite condiments (of the moment)

“Sometimes the magic is just staying focused on something really good for long enough.”

What does it really take to build a brand that matters — one that lasts, scales, or sells on your terms?

This week I’m joined by Jonathan Trimble co-founder of AndRising, a creative ventures company that blends brand strategy, design, and investment into early-stage consumer brands.

We talk about the tension between building for a billion-dollar exit… and building something that feeds your soul. About designing for scale without losing sight of self. About why some founders burn out and others become magnets for the right kind of momentum.

And we talk about Cabilla, the off-grid retreat in an ancient Cornish forest that’s quietly becoming a greenhouse for founder clarity.

“If it’s weird, it’s probably insight.”

How do we build brands that actually get people? (And not just the people in our marketing team?)

This week, Ruth sits down with Isabel Lydall, founder of research and insight collective Curious to Clear, to talk about what it really means to build a brand around real insight- not assumptions, trends, or the opinions of your mate’s wife.

Whether you’re planning a rebrand, a product launch, or just trying to figure out why your customers suddenly care about gardening… this one’s for you.