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Building the Brands of Tomorrow

Building the Brands of Tomorrow

by Ruth Fittock

Entrepreneurship Marketing

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

“You’ve got to be comfortable being uncomfortable.” What does it take to build chocolate differently? In this episode, Ruth speaks to Wilf Marriott, Founder & CEO of Islands Chocolate - a vertically integrated cocoa and chocolate brand working directly at source in St. Vincent and beyond. From aspiring professional cricketer to cocoa farmer and founder, Will shares the mindset shift that took him from chasing leather balls to challenging the global chocolate supply chain. They explore: Why discipline from sport translates into business resilience Why owning your supply chain changes everything The tension between ethics and price on the retail shelf Trade vs retail as growth levers Why margin equals risk in FMCG The power, and complexity, of building a family business Slow, sustainable growth vs chasing rapid scale Whether ethical supply chains can ever become the default Islands Chocolate’s mission is simple but ambitious: bold taste, bold character - rooted in sustainable agriculture. This is a conversation about doing things properly, even when it’s harder.

Brand Success Stories: Holly Rix on building Method

"PR at the heart. Think earned first. That's still how I think about campaigns." How Method Disrupted the Most Boring Aisle in the Supermarket Holly Rix is a fractional CMO who spent six years at Method/People Against Dirty, helping build one of FMCG's most iconic challenger brands from a standing start in Europe. In this episode we get into what made Method genuinely different - and what founders can steal from it today. We cover: Why naivety and cultural fit beat experience on paper when building a challenger brand How Method made cleaning products something people actually wanted on their worktop The Method ‘Drag Cleans’ campaign - and why PR-first thinking still wins Wild Rhubarb: how one fragrance became a best seller and why it still is What founders get wrong about category creation Why great design alone is no longer enough

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

"The most successful founders i’ve worked with automatically get that they have to transform all day every day rather than just be, rather than just read, rather than just think’ Fiona Fitz is the powerhouse behind Brand Growth Heroes - a platform and program that’s quietly transforming how founders build CPG brands that scale. In this episode, Fiona shares her journey from Nestlé’s corporate corridors to launching Gu in France, and the pivotal experiences that shaped her obsession with brand strategy, executional precision, and founder development. We talk about: What made her leap from corporate to startup life Why brand strategy without execution is a dead end How her mini-MBA program helps founders avoid repeating the same mistakes The three traits that set top founders apart The underestimated power of great questions It’s a rich, honest conversation about founder mindset, brand-building, and what it really takes to scale without losing your soul - or your sanity.

The Salad Project: Discipline, Design & Salads with Soul- Florian De Chezelles

“We always said we’re building more than a salad bar. It’s food, yes, but also design, lifestyle, and technology. All four pillars matter." In this episode Ruth sits down with Florian, co-founder of Salad Project, the fast-growing, design-led, lifestyle-driven salad bar chain that's redefining healthy fast food. From launching post-COVID in London to opening 11 stores (and counting), including an upcoming expansion into Paris, Florian shares how discipline, culture, creativity, and consistency are driving growth. Plus: brand partnerships, hiring the right people, product obsession, and why personalization might just be the future of food. What we cover: How launching post-COVID gave them a competitive edge The early mistakes that became vital lessons Why consistency (not genius ideas) drives food retail success Turning a salad bar into a lifestyle brand Internal processes for creative collabs Scaling pains Leading 350+ people while protecting culture Their approach to funding and disciplined profitability What's next: Paris expansion, product innovation, and more

Jam, Grit & Growth: Building Single Variety Co with Nicola Elliott

“People always ask when we’re going into supermarkets. But that’s not our measure of success.” Today I’m speaking with Nicola founder of Single Variety Co, a multi-award-winning jam brand that’s rewriting the rules of category-building. From a passionfruit jam on holiday to running her own jam factory, Nicola has built Single Variety Co with no outside investment, no listings in the Big Four, and no salespeople for nearly a decade. In this episode, she shares how she grew her brand one market, one jar, and one loyal customer at a time. We cover: Why she turned down the supermarkets (even when they came knocking) Bringing manufacturing back in-house — and what people misunderstand about it DTC growth without agencies or hype How becoming a mum made her better at business And what winning “Best Marmalade in the World” did for the brand This one’s for anyone building a thoughtful, resilient brand - and wondering if slow and steady really does win.

Fom market stall to category leader: The Pip & Nut story

“You overestimate what you can do in one year, and massively underestimate what you can do in ten.” From marathon running to market stalls to becoming the UK’s number one peanut butter brand - Pip & Nut’s journey is anything but linear. In this episode of the Tomorrow Brands podcast, Pip & Nut founder Pippa Murray reflects on the last 11 years of building a brand that now leads its category - without chasing hype, over-raising capital, or losing sight of purpose. Pip shares the realities of landing a major supermarket listing early - and the cashflow panic, data gaps, and fast learning that followed. We dig into the tougher middle years, and the patience required to build a low-frequency category. And why, a decade in, Pip & Nut is now growing faster than ever. We also explore what changes, and what doesn’t when you go from challenger to category leader, how decision-making (not headcount) becomes the biggest blocker to speed, and why capital efficiency and control have shaped Pip & Nut’s definition of success. Plus: Why culture is often forged in the hard years, not the good ones Lessons from failed innovation (and why snacking worked) Building impact into the business model, not bolting it on later What makes a true “brand of tomorrow” A grounded, honest conversation about patience, purpose, and playing the long game.

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