Building the Brands of Tomorrow

by Ruth Fittock

Season 5

"Stop Being the Bottleneck" Oddbox Founder Deepak Ravindran on scaling yourself as a leader

"At each stage of the business, your identity has to evolve. From individual contributor, to manager, to leader. Most founders miss the moment when that shift needs to happen." Deepak Ravindran co-founded Oddbox, the UK's leading ugly produce subscription service, and scaled it from a church hall side project to a nine-figure valuation in under a decade. But the real story isn't the growth. It's what happened to him inside it. In this episode, Deepak talks honestly about what hypergrowth actually feels like from the inside: going from 25 to 100 people in a year, becoming the bottleneck in your own business, and the moment he realised his leadership style hadn't kept pace with the company he'd built. He also gets into the stuff that rarely gets talked about- the identity crisis that comes when your business becomes you, the Sunday dread that crept in at Series B, and how a 360 review and a coach helped him surface the blind spots that were quietly holding the business back. Now working as a founder coach, Deepak helps consumer brand founders scale themselves - not just their businesses. In this conversation he shares what he sees again and again in the founders who most need help but are least likely to ask for it. In this episode: What breaks (operationally and personally) when you scale fast The shift from startup operator to organisational leader - and why it's so hard to spot in real time Why exit interviews and investor feedback were the making of him as a leader The difference between coaching and mentoring - and why it matters What "contentment through values alignment" actually looks like in practice

S5 · E3

Sep 16, 2026

42:46

Grit, Angels, and the Truth About What it takes to Build a Brand- Joanna Jensen

"The journey was about 10 times longer than I ever thought it would be, 10 times harder." Joanna Jensen built Child's Farm at her kitchen table after struggling to find products for her daughter's eczema-prone skin - and grew it into the UK's market-leading baby and family skincare brand before selling four and a half years ago. She's since become an angel investor, chair of the EIS Association, and author of Making Business Child's Play. In this episode, Joanna talks bootstrapping versus raising money, why most founder financial forecasts are "abysmal," and the real mechanics of EIS/SEIS tax relief for angel investors. She's blunt about founder mindset, sharper still about LinkedIn oversharing, and unflinching on what building a business actually costs a family. Topics covered: Starting Child's Farm from a kitchen-table problem to market leadership Writing Making Business Child's Play Why she has zero patience for founders who complain about hard work Bootstrapping first: why self-funding before raising protects your equity and your credibility Forecasting properly - three-year plans, 26-week cashflow, and why you should double whatever number you think you need Red and green flags she looks for before investing The difference between an investor and an advisor - and why founders confuse the two EIS and SEIS explained: how the schemes work and why they matter for UK angel investment AI in FMCG: where it genuinely helps founders, and where it can't replace proprietary data or judgement

S5 · E2

Sep 9, 2026

43:07

From Startup to Scaleup: What Nobody Tells You About Hypergrowth, with Little Moons founder Vivien Wong

"Working hard means different things to different people... you just have to discuss expectations before you go into business with someone." Vivien Wong is co-founder of Little Moons, the mochi ice cream brand that became one of the most talked-about FMCG success stories of the last decade. From a small family factory in west London to supermarket shelves across Europe - and one of the most remarkable viral moments in UK food and drink history. In this episode, Ruth and Vivien skip the origin story and get straight into the scaling journey: the decisions, the people, the processes (that didn't exist) and what it really felt like inside a brand growing at warp speed. They cover: When Little Moons stopped feeling like a startup - and what triggered that shift How to hire heads of department: timing, level and the cost of getting it wrong The TikTok moment - what actually happened when demand went vertical overnight Why going viral isn't the hard part, turning it into a sustainable business is 16 years of co-founding with her brother Howard: what's worked, what's nearly broken, and the personality test that changed how they communicate Bringing in private equity and a CEO and what Vivienne chose to hold onto The honest truth about burnout, leadership under pressure and why she still loves the product Subscribe, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with someone building a brand of their own.

S5 · E1

Sep 2, 2026

46:04

Season 4

Ocado Roots: Genevieve Fitch on why Ocado's backing challenger brands

"In my opinion, what makes a brand of tomorrow? Founders, all the way." In this week’s episode we go inside Ocado's accelerator for early-stage food & drink- Ocado Roots with Genevieve Fitch. This is a practical, honest conversation about what it actually takes to grow on one of the UK's most data-rich platforms. What we cover: What Ocado Roots is, who it's for, and why Ocado built it Why their most loyal, highest-spending customers are the ones putting challenger brands in their baskets What buyers are actually looking for - and the pitch mistake that kills most conversations before they start The Ocado growth toolkit: what new brands should be doing in their first six months on shelf The Buy Women Built and Gen M partnerships - and what Ocado is doing to drive visibility for underrepresented founders What long-term brand potential actually looks like from a retailer's perspective If you're building a food or drink brand and thinking about UK retail, or you work with brands who are, this one's for you.

S4 · E17

May 6, 2026

27:07

All Things Dairy: Toby Hoppy on building a challenger brand in the most unforgiving category

"You don't know you've got resilience until you go through it." Toby Hoppy co-founded All Things Dairy with chef and content creator Tom Straker, building a brand that started with a viral butter video and has since grown into one of the most talked-about challenger brands in UK grocery. This is a conversation about what growth actually looks like when it's faster than you planned for... We cover: Why Toby knew nothing about dairy when he started - and why that turned out to be a superpower How a chef with 500 followers and a lockdown experiment became the foundation for a multi-SKU grocery brand The cottage cheese launch and what happens when you're 4x your own forecast Building a creator-led marketing engine with zero paid social Why 60% of their customers in Sainsbury's are under 45, and what that means for category growth The equity creator model: how they turned creators into genuine brand partners The US plan: butter first, New York restaurant next, and why cottage cheese isn't crossing the Atlantic yet Where All Things Dairy goes next and why naivety is still a superpower If you're building in food and drink, obsessing over growth strategy, or just want to understand what a genuinely modern FMCG brand looks like from the inside - this one's for you.

S4 · E16

Apr 29, 2026

32:15

Citizens of Soil: Sarah Fulton Vachon on turning a commodity into a community

"When we were bootstrapping and I was comparing myself to founders who'd raised a million before they'd put a product on shelf - there's no comparison. It's not like for like. Make your own path and enjoy it." Sarah Vachon, founder of Citizens of Soil, joins us for a conversation that covers a lot of ground - from commodity supply chains and regenerative agriculture to physical brand activations, D2C challenges, and building a business without compromising on values. What we cover: How a Greek family, a love of Spain, and a background in sustainability led Sarah to found Citizens of Soil Why most olive oil on supermarket shelves is a shadow of what it should be - and what the commodity system has to do with it The Olive Oil Club: how a simple subscription evolved into a discovery-led community model The Olive Oil Clubhouse pop-up - what worked, what didn't, and why she'd do it again Why harvest date matters more than best before date The realities of D2C in 2026 How climate events are directly hitting her producers, and the importance of resilience Taking impact investment seriously If you've ever picked up a bottle of olive oil in a supermarket without thinking twice, this episode will change that.

S4 · E15

Apr 22, 2026

48:25

Future Chateau: Tom Benn on Emotional Centres, Earned Attention and Building Momentum

“A good idea is worth more than a big budget.” What happens when you stop trying to drink less… and instead build something you can drink more of? In this episode, Ruth speaks to Tom Benn, founder of Future Chateau - a 5% wine designed for midweek rituals, not just Friday nights. After six years as “Deputy Squirrel” at Pip & Nut and early experience at Vita Coco, Tom spent five years developing a lower-alcohol wine that isn’t a compromise, it’s grown to be less alcoholic from the start. They explore: Why early-stage brands need emotional clarity, not big budgets The myth that low/no should cost less How poor innovation damages entire categories The emotional stakes of founding your own brand Why Slack might be killing productivity The overlooked audience driving the mid-strength wine category Rebranding in response to real customer insight Modern luxury as “freedom without consequence” Why earned attention is the only sustainable growth strategy About Future Chateau Future Chateau is a 5% wine brand built around permission — giving people the ability to say yes to wine on nights they’d usually say no. Designed for midweek dinners, work drinks, and reopening cultural rituals without the nuclear hangover.

S4 · E14

Apr 15, 2026

32:16

1 of 6

Building the Brands of Tomorrow

"Stop Being the Bottleneck" Oddbox Founder Deepak Ravindran on scaling yourself as a leader

Grit, Angels, and the Truth About What it takes to Build a Brand- Joanna Jensen

From Startup to Scaleup: What Nobody Tells You About Hypergrowth, with Little Moons founder Vivien Wong

Ocado Roots: Genevieve Fitch on why Ocado's backing challenger brands

All Things Dairy: Toby Hoppy on building a challenger brand in the most unforgiving category

Citizens of Soil: Sarah Fulton Vachon on turning a commodity into a community

Future Chateau: Tom Benn on Emotional Centres, Earned Attention and Building Momentum

Islands Chocolate on Family Business, Long-Term Thinking and Timing

Brand Success Stories: Holly Rix on building Method

Brand Growth Heroes- Lessons on building brands that last with Fiona Fitz