Podcasts about jamjar investments

Most challenger founders assume international expansion should happen in neat, logical steps. New Zealand → Australia → UK → US. But Lisa's view was different, and that's why it's so interesting: In fact, conventional FMCG wisdom tells us to prove your business in nearby markets first. But founder Lisa King of Free AF Drinks ignored that advice!  After building a 40% share brand in New Zealand, Lisa decided to skip Australia entirely and went straight after the most competitive drinks market in the world...the USA!Why? --> If the ambition was always to build a globally valuable business, she asked herself why spend years proving the model somewhere that wasn't ultimately where the biggest opportunity sat?In this brilliant conversation with Kiwi female founder Lisa, you'll hear how today AF Drinks is stocked in more than 4,500 stores across the US, including Target, Walmart, Whole Foods and Kroger, and just HOW they're doing it. We discuss why she made they made the decision they did, how Pernod Ricard Ventures invested before the US launch, what it really takes to build a beverage brand in America, why alcohol-free RTD cocktails are outperforming expectations, and the lessons founders should understand before attempting to scale internationally.Lisa takes us through a masterclass in the realities of the beverage market in the United States; Why alcohol-free RTD cocktails are growing faster than many expected and finally, how she has approached fundraising, equity and scaling internationally!Key Topics Discussed Alcohol-free drinks category growth  Building challenger brands internationally  International expansion & export to USA   Listings with Target, Walmart, Whole Foods and Kroger  US grocery retail Walmart and Target listings  Fundraising and investor strategy  Pernod Ricard Ventures investment  Beverage category economics  Product innovation, IP & technology  Ready-to-drink cocktails  Scaling consumer brands globally  Founder leadership  Building brands from New Zealand USEFUL LINKSAF Drinks WebsiteAF Drinks InstagramLike this episode?PLEASE share the love by sharing this episode with another founder building a challenger brand, a colleague or a mate who loves brilliant non-alcoholic drinks, or anyone trying to work out how to build a consumer packaged goods business.Don't forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to Brand Growth Heroes on your favourite podcast app, and even LEAVE A REVIEW - both of these actions make a MASSIVE difference to our mission to help more founders just like you.Follow usInstagram (https://www.instagram.com/brandgrowthheroes)LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/brand-growth-heroes/?viewAsMember=true)Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@brandgrowthheroes)Find out more about the programmes and courses Fiona runs here (https://www.brandgrowthheroes.com/mini-mba-2026)Join the NextGen CPG WhatsApp group for founders leaning in to the value that a leadership approach to engaging with AI can unlock for businesses like yours.*** Thanks to Brand Growth Heroes' podcast sponsor - Joelson, the commercial law firm ***If you're a founder, you already know how much energy goes into building the perfect product, creating standout branding and connecting with consumers.But scaling a CPG business also brings legal complexities that can make or break your growth journey - from contracts and regulatory compliance to protecting your intellectual property.That's why I'm proud to partner with Joelson, the leading commercial law firm specialising in helping founders of scaling consumer brands.Joelson works with brands like Little Moons, Trip, Eat Natural, Bear Graze and Pulsin, and advised the innocent founders on their landmark sale to Coca-Cola - and still work with them at JamJar Investments today!Joelson is offering a FREE LEGAL CONSULTATION to all BGH listeners (mailto:hello@joelsonlaw.com) - I honestly recommend you take them up on it, they're brilliant.CREDITSThanks to our Sound Engineer Gyp Buggane at Ballagroove.com 

In this episode of Brand Growth Heroes, I'm joined by founder Bethan Higson and Alice Gallsworthy of Mother Root. Get this: Mother Root is already the UK's number one non-alcoholic spirit brand in terms of revenue driven per product. Whoah.So what's the deal? This ginger-based non-alcoholic aperitif is different to most playing in food and beverage, as it only has one core SKU, but an incredibly powerful DTC growth engine. Even though it's the UK's No1 non-alc spirit, it still only has around 6–7% distribution -  talk about headroom for growth!As you might imagine, Bethan and Alice are incredibly clear on the choices that created their growth. We talk about why they stopped trying to do everything, how they went all-in on DTC, how customer interviews and jobs-to-be-done thinking shaped their marketing, and why the product itself delivers something so many non-alcoholic drinks miss: flavour, ritual, heat, length and a real adult drinking moment. We also get into team building, finding the right second-in-command, launching into the US, and why operations has to scale at the same rate as marketing if you don't want the business to break.What You'll Learn How Mother Root grew from around £1.5M to £15–16M run rate.  Why focus on one channel helped build a repeatable and scalable growth model.  How jobs-to-be-done customer interviews shaped Mother Root's digital marketing.  Why the non-alcoholic drinks consumer is not necessarily the Gen Z sober-curious stereotype.  How Bethan and Alice think about hiring, operations, US expansion and scaling without breaking the business. Why AI is part of EVERY part of the working day at Mother RootKey Topics Discussed Mother Root's growth from early-stage brand to £15–16M run rate  Building a challenger brand with one core SKU  The evening drink ritual and the role of non-alcoholic drinks  Ginger, apple cider vinegar, slow burn and flavour architecture  Choosing where to play and walking away from distracting channels  Building a DTC growth engine  Paid social, customer interviews and jobs-to-be-done insight  Word of mouth and repeat purchase  Nielsen performance and retail headroom  Hiring a brilliant number two  Scaling operations alongside marketing  Launching Mother Root in the US  Why the non-alcoholic category is not just about Gen Z Useful Linkshttps://motherroot.com/https://www.instagram.com/motherroot/Like this episode? PLEASE share the love by sharing this episode with another founder building a challenger brand, a colleague or a mate who loves brilliant non-alcoholic drinks, or anyone trying to work out how to build a sharper, more focused growth model. Don't forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to Brand Growth Heroes on your favourite podcast app, and even LEAVE A REVIEW - both of these actions make a MASSIVE difference to our mission to help more founders just like you.Join our community on Instagram, LinkedIn and Youtube, and find out more about the programmes and courses Fiona runs, as well as the NextGen CPG WhatsApp group for founders leaning in to the value that a leadership approach to engaging with AI can unlock for businesses like yours.Follow Brand Growth Heroes on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.*****Thanks to Brand Growth Heroes' podcast sponsor  - Joelson, the commercial law firm *****If you're a founder, you already know how much energy goes into building the perfect product, creating standout branding and connecting with consumers.But scaling a CPG business also brings legal complexities that can make or break your growth journey - from contracts and regulatory compliance to protecting your intellectual property.That's why we're proud to partner with Joelson, the leading commercial law firm specialising in helping founders of scaling consumer brands.Joelson works with brands like Little Moons, Trip, Eat Natural, Bear Graze and Pulsin, and advised the innocent founders on their landmark sale to Coca-Cola - and still work with them at JamJar Investments today!To learn more contact hello@joelsonlaw.com - in fact, Joelson is offering Brand Growth Heroes listeners a FREE Legal consultation - we highly recommend you take them up on this! CreditsThanks to our Sound Engineer Gyp Buggane at Ballagroove.com and all the Brand Growth Heroes team.

In this episode, I'm joined by digital strategist Sara Wilson, who coined the term “digital campfires” in Harvard Business Review, to explore why community is becoming one of the most important growth channels for CPG challenger brands. Sara works with brands including Nike, Netflix, YouTube, Airstream, Yahoo, PopSockets and Prince Street Pizza, helping them understand how to show up inside the communities where influence, identity and belonging are really being shaped.This conversation completely EVOLVED how I think about social media and its role in driving brand growth - genuinely.We talk about why the most important conversations may no longer be happening publicly on Instagram or TikTok, but in DMs, WhatsApp groups, niche communities, gaming spaces, Substack, Reddit and beyond.Sara shares why brands need to stop thinking only about reach and followers, and start thinking much more deeply about identity, transformation and the communities their consumers already belong to.Watch the episode on Youtube here.What You'll Learn Why Sara believes the future of influence is happening inside “digital campfires”.  The three types of digital campfires: private messaging, micro-communities and shared experiences.  Why relevance matters more than reach if you want people to share your brand.  How brands like Poppi and McDonald's have embedded themselves into communities.  Why founders need to understand the transformation their brand offers. Key Topics Discussed Community as a growth channel.  Why DMs and private spaces matter.  The “OMG, that's so me” effect.  Identity, belonging and relevance.  Why brands should embed into existing communities.  Poppi's winning 'sorority' strategy.  McDonald's Grimace and Mets community moment.  How to create high-value community engagement.  Why sampling and discounts are not enough.  How founders can rethink brand strategy through a community-first lens. Useful LinksConnect with Sara Wilson on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/saraewilson/Sara Wilson's newsletterhttps://communitycatalysts.substack.com/Sara Wilson's websitehttps://swprojects.co/We love inspiring you and helping your business to grow! PLEASE share the love by sharing this episode with another founder building a challenger brand, a colleague or a mate who loves thinking about community, culture and the future of brand growth. Don't forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to Brand Growth Heroes on your favourite podcast app, and even LEAVE A REVIEW - both of these actions make a MASSIVE difference to our mission to help more founders just like you.Join our community on Instagram, LinkedIn, and find out more about the programmes and courses Fiona runs, as well as the NextGen CPG WhatsApp group for founders leaning in to the value that a leadership approach to engaging with AI can unlock for businesses like yours.**** Thanks to Brand Growth Heroes' podcast sponsor - Joelson, the commercial law firm.****If you're a founder, you already know how much energy goes into building the perfect product, creating standout branding and connecting with consumers.But scaling a CPG business also brings legal complexities that can make or break your growth journey - from contracts and regulatory compliance to protecting your intellectual property.That's why we're proud to partner with Joelson, the leading commercial law firm specialising in helping founders of scaling consumer brands.Joelson works with brands like Little Moons, Trip, Eat Natural, Bear Graze and Pulsin, and advised the innocent founders on their landmark sale to Coca-Cola - and still work with them at JamJar Investments today!***The fabulous team at Joelson is offering a free legal consultation to any CPG founder listening -  Book your session today!**CreditsThanks to our Sound Engineer Gyp Buggane at Ballagroove.com.

Luke Boase launched Lucky Saint in 2018, but he says the brand's potential for an iconic future has always been top of mind. As the leading dedicated non-alcoholic beer brand in the U.K., Lucky Saint is sold in over 10,000 points of distribution in the country, including more than 1,000 pubs and restaurants. That number includes its own bar in London, aptly named The Lucky Saint, which operates at the base of a building that also houses the company's office. Last year, the company raised a £10m Series A round that included funding from VC firm JamJar Investments. Led by a mission to become “the world's defining alcohol-free brand,” Lucky Saint is resonating with both sober consumers and moderate drinkers, according to Luke. Inclusivity is a key theme of the company's marketing and communication strategy, leading with a message of quality and appeal as a beverage for anyone who isn't drinking. In the following interview, Luke talks about how his interest in entrepreneurship sparked the idea for Lucky Saint and why he has a long-term vision for the brand. He also explains how the company incorporates consumer insights and data into its retail and buyers pitches, his views on Lucky Saint's role in the non-alcoholic beer category and how he thinks about competing with strategically-owned and -aligned beer companies. Show notes: 0:35: Luke Boase, Founder, Lucky Saint – Luke speaks with Taste Radio editor Ray Latif about The Lucky Saint pub and why he felt it was important to offer a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, how he saw an opportunity to create a premium non-alcoholic beer brand and the two-year process behind its creation. He also talks about identifying the right retailers for Lucky Saint and why the company works with dozens of Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as the consistency of demand for non-alcoholic beer and how he factors ambition into the company's strategy. Brands in this episode: Lucky Saint, Heineken, Guinness

The BAE HQ welcomes Radha Vyas, Co-Founder and CEO of Flash Pack.Today on the podcast, we have Radha Vyas, who's the CEO and co-founder of Flash Pack. They started as a travel company, all about connecting people in their 30s and 40s for unique experiences, and it's since grown on to much more than that which you're going to learn about during the episode. Radha's got a really interesting story because for a few years she was trying really hard to come up with a new concept and build a business, but it wasn't working for her. Then she meet a co-founder with an interesting story which you're going to hear, and that then flourished. They were able to grow massively with Flash Pack, but then in COVID, everything came crumbling down. So off the back of COVID, she was then able to rebuild the company. It's now got investment from JamJar Investments to really go on further.If you're listening to this and want to see the video, go to YouTube:https://youtu.be/L3nvf-yqPrMVisit our website: http://thebaehq.com

Following the success of our last Three Things podcast episode with former MADE.com CEO, Nicola Thompson, we were delighted to welcome the brilliant Adam Balon to the hotseat this month.In his very first podcast appearance, the innocent co-founder takes us beyond the legendary innocent story and into his current venture as the co-founder of JamJar Investments. In a time of dwindling business valuations and tight purse strings, this is a must-listen for any founder or CEO looking to secure funding.With less capital available and due diligence making a return to prominence, rapid deals are no longer on the table for founders. Instead, Adam emphasises that they must be frugal, honest, and able to show they can execute their vision.Join us as one of the most successful founders of his generation guides us through the new norms of entrepreneurship and investment, which – as always – is rounded off with his Three Things advice. 

Katie Marrache is a Partner at JamJar Ventures, a VC firm founded by the people behind the hugely popular Innocent drinks. Katie is the definition of a go-getter. Whilst at University she secured an internship with Dragons' Den investor, James Caan, which saw her manage the entrepreneurs portfolio of consumer investments. After a short stint working in television Katie joined Innocent drinks as a category manager, which once again saw her manage an investment portfolio. In 2017 she made Partner and with it became Europe's youngest ever female venture capital partner.Speaking to Riding Unicorns Katie reflects on her career to date, how she as a VC quantifies the size of a market and the benefits of focusing on product. In what turned out to be a discussion full of fascinating insights and opinions James, Hector and Katie also go on to discuss the trends that most excite them in the consumer space and the marketing strategies they feel are most effective when going to market. Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.

Produced in partnership with the British Business Bank to support their #GreenToGrow campaign, which aims to demystify and alert small businesses to the commercial benefits of investing in decarbonization, this podcast episode is part of a wider series of guides and information about sustainability issues and how smaller businesses can start their journey towards net zero provided by the bank on its finance hub. Russell Goldsmith was joined online by two small business owners: Aoife Doherty, Founder of Floris, a UK based sustainable stationery company, and Wing Chan, Co-founder and CEO of Sourceful, a sustainability platform that helps businesses source more sustainable products. Completing the online panel was Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent Drinks and of JamJar Investments, plus we also hear from Shanika Amarasekara MBE, the British Business Bank's Chief Impact Officer. For more information visit https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/finance-hub/

The story of Innocent is a phenomenal one - simply built on 3 friends deciding at university they wanted to start a business together allowing them to hang out every day. In this episode, Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent and now co-founder of Jam Jar reveals that they settled on smoothies as 'the product' on a hangover(!) and the entrepreneurial roller coaster ensued.  With numerous highs along the journey, as well as epic lows during the financial crisis, Richard shares his journey and lessons along the way. Today, Innocent is regarded as the front runner in creative marketing and breaking the mould by doing things just a bit differently. In 2013, Innocent was sold for a reported £320 million to Coca-Cola! So what does an entrepreneur do the day after ‘making it'? Well in Richard's case, he started a new business! Emotional, honest and soulful, this conversation is a rare insight into Richard's philosophy on business, his view on doing good in the world and the importance of thinking outside the box.

This week, Holly meets Richard Reed CBE, co founder of Innocent and now co founder of JamJar Investments. The story of Innocent is a phenomenal one - simply built on 3 friends deciding at university they wanted to start a business together that allowed them to hang out everyday. They settled on smoothies as 'the product' (decided on a hangover!) and the entrepreneurial rollercoaster ensued. With numerous highs along the journey, as well as epic lows during the financial crisis, Richard shares his journey and lessons learned along the way. Today, Innocent is regarded as the front runner in creative marketing and breaking the mould by doing things just a bit differently. In 2013, Innocent was sold for a reported £320 million to Coca Cola! So what does an entrepreneur do the day after ‘making it’? Well, in Richard’s case, he started a new business! Emotional, honest and soulful, this conversation is a rare insight into Richards philosophy on business, his view on doing good in the world and the importance of thinking outside the box. Conversations of Inspiration is brought to you with support from NatWest: visit natwestbusinesshub.com for information, tips and insights to help business owners meet their goals.   Follow Holly on Instagram: instagram.com/hollytucker/?hl=en

In this fireside chat recorded live at our Marketing Summit, Richard Reeds speaks to Natasha Lytton about the amazing growth story of innocent drinks, the company he co-founded in 1999 with two friends at a market stall and grew into the most loved juice brand in Europe. From extreme hustling in the early-days of innocent to the acquisition by Coca-Cola in 2013, Richard shares how they overcame many of the problems faced in the early days and the importance of brand and storytelling in everything they did. Following the acquisition by Coca-Cola, Richard and his innocent co-founders went on to launch JamJar Investments, a consumer-focused VC firm that has backed the likes of Deliveroo, Graze.com and Babylon Health and places him in a unique position where he understands the power of consumer products from the perspective of both an entrepreneur and an investor. Richard's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-reed-65351517/ Richard's Twitter: https://twitter.com/richardreedinno Innocent: https://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk JamJar: http://www.jamjarinvestments.com Natasha's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-lytton-02bba627/ Natasha's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Natashalytton Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com

Katie Marrache began her career working for entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den investor, James Caan. After landing an internship with him straight out of university, she was soon charged with managing Cann’s portfolio of consumer investments at his investment firm Hamilton Bradshaw. A brief detour into television journalism at the BBC followed, after which she joined London-based Innocent drinks as a category manager, and began looking after the investment portfolio of the Innocent founders. She joined JamJar Investments, their official VC fund investing in online and offline consumer brands, when it was launched -- making partner in 2017. Speaking to Seedcamp partner Carlos Espinal, Katie recalls her journey into venture and the biggest lessons learnt early on working with James. She dives further into JamJar's thesis and the five most important things to bear in mind when consumer facing brands: (1) be authentic, (2) be creative (3) recruit effectively, as your early team are your biggest brand advocates, (4) track performance metrics, and (5) spend time on product. 'The product is the brand,' she says. 'You can spend a long time crafting how it looks and sounds rather than what it is'. Show notes: Carlos Medium: sdca.mp/2entVR3 Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com JamJar: www.jamjarinvestments.com Related bio links: Carlos: linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal / twitter.com/cee Katie: linkedin.com/in/katie-marrache-98207a15 / twitter.com/katiemarrache

" We had no exit plan. In fact we didn't even know the phrase exit strategy. We were three guys who wanted to set up a smoothie business and we had a hope that it would be successful but an assumption that it wouldn't, but we got started anyway...and it just grew and grew and grew. I think to be honest no-one was more surprised than we were really. " In this week's show I speak to Richard Reed who co-founded Innocent Drinks in 1999 and 15 years later sold to Coca Cola for north of $500 million. JamJar Investments was then founded 48 hours later with his innocent co-founders to offer funding options for the next generation of entrepreneurs. In part two I speak to Macrebur's founder Toby McCartney winner of Virgin's 2016 Voom competition who are turning waste plastics into new roads. They recently tried to raise £500,000 in 60 days through crowdfunding with Seedrs and received over £1.5 million in just 9 days, including investment from a certain Sir Andy Murray as one of those investors.

Katie is the investment Manager for the 3 innocent drinks founders Rich, Adam and Jon at their Venture Capital/Angel Investment firm JamJar Investments. Katie’s role involves sourcing, managing deal process and working with the portfolio post deal to add strategic insight. JamJar focuses on consumer facing high growth businesses looking for seed/round A funding in both digital and non tech. Katie has previously held roles at Innocent Drinks, the BBC and Hamilton Bradshaw Venture Partners. In the show today we discuss the importance of consumer brand, how to differentiate in a proliferated consumer product market, the benefits of investor specialisation and more. As always, you can learn more about SyndicateRoom here: www.syndicateroom.com