David Kellerman is one of the Co-founders at Frank about tea, a small company with big ideas that is disrupting the tea business.

Together with his Co-founder Valerie, they started the business out of a passion for change, sourcing the best teas directly from tea producers in East Africa and now Sri Lanka.

In the episode, we talk about:

✅ How they are disrupting the tea supply chain and their commitment to farmers and sustainability

✅ Their 3 month trip to Africa on a motorcycle to research and experience first hand the issues in tea manufacturing

✅ The importance of a strong WHY behind your decision to start a brand

Website: https://frankabouttea.com/pages/about-us

IG: @frankabouttea

Tom Watkins is the Co-Founder at Mighty a range of plant based milk alternatives that are high in protein and free from any nasties.

Mighty fills the gap for delicious and nutritionally smart dairy alternatives with a range of plant-based milk alternatives that are high in protein and free from any nasties.

Tom and his brother Nick started the company after discovering pea milk in the US.

Some of the things we talk about in the episode:

✅ Nutritional aspect in milk alternatives

✅ Sustainability and tracking everything “Farm to Glass”

✅ Getting stocked at retailers and the Tesco Incubator Program

✅ Next plans, innovation and expansion beyond pea milk

✅ Building a team, resilience and “the obstacle is the way”

Website: https://mightypea.co.uk/

IG: @mightypeauk

Melissa Snover is the CEO & Founder at Nourished, the first authentically manufactured personalised nutrition project in the world.

With several patented 3D printing technologies developed in-house, they are able to offer personalised gummies made of 7 layers of vitamins and nutrients tailored to each customer’s nutritional needs and goals.

Some of the great insights Melissa shares in the episode:

• How she got into food 3D printing and what opportunities she sees for this technology and for personalisation
• The rounds of investment she's raised so far and future developments of the business
• Nourished's approach to innovation: never making a me too product and “Idea Day”
• The importance of empathy in entrepreneurship: find a problem that is completely unacceptable to you, feel the pain of the customer, and find a solution

Website: https://get-nourished.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/get_nourished/

Karolina Ba is the founder at THEENK Tea.

Under the guidance of an expert herbalist, Karolina designed this 21-day herbal program as a natural support for mental wellbeing.

In the episode we talk about:

• How Karolina went from working in events to starting the business
• Herbal nootropics and adaptogens as preventative mental wellbeing care
• Finding a mentor and your tribe

IG: https://www.instagram.com/theenktea/

Website: https://www.theenk-tea.com/

Von Sy is the Founder of Nimble babies, the plant-based cleaning products that deliver excellent and safe cleaning, specifically designed with children’s mess in mind.

Chemist and former R&D manager at Unilever, Von decided to take the leap of faith and start Nimble when his sister shared her dissatisfaction with existing products to clean babies' milk bottles.

Some of the points we touched in the episode:

1. Early validation of consumers’ needs
2. Focus on the value-adding activities in your business
3. Raising investments and Dragon’s Den - the audition process and after the episode
4. “Expertise outsource” model and NPD + new product coming out!
5. The importance of respect and coming from a point of understanding when dealing with clients

Website: https://nimblebabies.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/nimblebabies/

Pepe Biaggio and Luke Saldanha are the co-founders of Pink Albatross, where they make delicious plant-based ice creams, without artificial ingredients, milk, eggs or soy.

They are based in Madrid, and after successful sales and marketing careers in finance and consumer goods, they started a company that solved a problem very close to their hearts: offering vegan, clean label, allergen free desserts that are full of flavour. In this podcast, they share with us their journey so far.

In the episode we talk about:

1. How the challenge of delivering great flavour and texture using only natural, clean label plant-based ingredients was the fuel to define the brand’s identity and create a product that’s unique in the marketplace
2. The importance of being able to recognise which battles you can fight and which ones you need support with: surround yourself with people that know more than you - and give back to them
3. Thoughtful disagreement and a culture of humility, collaboration and entrepreneurship at Pink Albatross

Pink Albatross website: https://pinkalbatross.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/thepinkalbatross/

Other useful links: ProVeg Incubator: inhttps://proveg.com/what-we-do/incubator/

Anna Szymanowska is the founder of Fighter Shots, the UK made, all natural, daily energy shots that help boost immunity, reduce fatigue and improve overall wellbeing.

Anna always wanted to start her own business and, after an international career in industrial engineering, she moved to London to study business and worked in different companies before founding Fighter Shots with the help of an MBA classmate.

Among others, in the episode we talk about:

1. How the network and the connections Anna created and the people she met were fundamental for the growth of her business
2. How the crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube helped them raise funds and awareness
3. Different challenges at different stages of the company and the importance of making sure that the product and production make economic sense to be able to scale

Fighter Shots website: https://fightershots.co.uk/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/fightershots/

Alexander Petersen is the co-founder and CEO at LAIBA Beverages, award-winning ready-to-drink bottled Cocktails Crafted by a World-Class Mixologist. Alex, who recently made the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2021 list, started LAIBA Beverages in 2017 with two good friends in Shanghai and grew it to an international, 45 people business.

Some of the things Alex shares with us in the episode include:

1. How being very close to consumers early on and getting consumer feedback helped to tweak and perfect the product and create a fan base of loyal customers
2. The importance of having the best people, with the right skill sets, in the right positions
3. The advantage of having access to cost-effective, rapid iteration and product development
4. The culture at LAIBA Beverages (+ speakeasy bars in their offices!)
5. The importance of believing fully in your business and compartmentalise

LAIBA Beverages website: laibabeverages.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/laibabeverages/