People Doing Things

In this episode we are swapping the scroll for a moment of pause with Georgie Bell, co-founder of The Heart Cut - an independent bottler that is democratising the whisky industry for a new world. Historically, independent bottling was reserved for the 0.1% niche of traditional whisky drinkers. It was a bit dusty, heavily reliant on third-party cask brokers, and the true story of the distillery was often lost along the way. Georgie and her husband, Fabrizio, saw an opportunity to zag against tradition and do things a little differently. Georgie is a whisky prodigy. Starting her career as a bartender in Edinburgh, she went on to become the Global Whisky Ambassador at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society by age 24. She holds a degree in distilling with the highest mark in the world that year, is a Keeper of the Quaich (pronounced quake), and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Distillers. After 13 years climbing the ranks at corporate giants like Diageo and Bacardi, she traded corporate travel for the barrel. Launched in September 2023 - the exact same week she gave birth to twin girls - The Heart Cut goes directly to the world's most exciting distilleries. Buying 100% of their casks from partners like White Peak in England, Stauning in Denmark, and Starward in Australia, they preserve the full story of the makers. With their brand new 'Slow Whisky Club' subscription, they are delivering 30ml 'pocket pours' straight to your door, moving whisky away from an exclusive club towards a form of personal discovery and pleasure.  In this episode, we talk about the reality of launching a business while welcoming twins, leaving corporate infrastructure behind, and why the 'slow movement' is exactly what the modern drinks industry needs. Pour yourself a dram and enjoy.  

Here we look inside the dustier corners of our kitchen cabinets with Rupert Derham, the founder of Spice Dept - the brand redefining the spice aisle through particular quality.  As a generation of home cooks, we care where our ingredients come from. The origins of our olive oil. The provenance of our heirloom beans. Our sourdough, made locally, ideally by someone we could name. But when a recipe calls for smoked paprika or ground cumin, we head to the supermarket aisle and grab whatever generic glass jar is closest. The unfortunate truth: most supermarket spices are already three to five years old before you buy them. And by the time they hit your plate the flavours have already started to fade. Rupert lived in Delhi, where cooking with vibrant, peak-season, single-origin spices changed his relationship with food entirely. When he moved back to the UK, the lack of flavour on supermarket spice aisle drove him mad. So he decided to do something about it. Sourcing directly from pesticide-free farming groups in India and Sri Lanka, Spice Dept gets spices from harvest to kitchen counter in months, not years, and pays farmers up to 40% above market price. Wrapped in beautiful, table-ready tins, courtesy of my branding agency, Roleplay with creative director Hugo Ross at the helm, they're designed to bring back a sense of pride back to home cooking - in more ways than one.  In this episode, we dive into the world of commodity spice blending, the logistics of building a direct-from-farm supply chain, and why your spice rack is the last blind spot in an otherwise carefully considered kitchen. Put down the dusty jar, grab your pestle and mortar, and enjoy.  

Welcome Tarek Moursi, the founder of Better Sundays - the hard kombucha brand proving that you don't have to choose between a good time and a good gut. We've spent the last decade watching the 'low and no' category take off, and while it's great for a Tuesday night, sometimes you still want a drink - you just don't want the beer bloat or the sugar-laden cider crash. Enter the 'healthy hedonist'. Reflecting the cultural shift that's happening where drinkers are moving away from the 'all or nothing' mentality and looking for what Tarek calls 'sessionable' alternatives that fit a more modern lifestyle.    This is a category on fire. While the general UK kombucha market is growing at a healthy clip, the hard kombucha segment is projected to rocket at a staggering CAGR of 18.7% through to 2033. People are waking up to the fact that you can have your live cultures and your 3% ABV too.   Tarek didn't come from a drinks background. He spent his 20s in the high-pressure worlds of fintech and asset management, making 200 calls a day and leaving jobs just before he was asked to go. Better Sundays was born out of a personal need - traditional booze was making him feel gross, and the alternatives weren't hitting the mark. From brewing in his kitchen to a 50-store Waitrose launch this November, Tarek has built Better Sundays with a 'brutal speed' that most founders only dream of. In this episode, we delve into the 'bloody awful' reality of bootstrapping, why being an industry outsider is actually a superpower, and the 3 a.m. cash-flow worries that come with an opportunity that's outstripping your balance sheet. Pop a can, enjoy the cultures, and enjoy.

Say hello Claudia Boyer, co-founder of JENKI - the UK's favourite matcha brand, coming to a high street near you. Swapping the coffee jitters for a 'calm focus'. As a coffee lover, I've always been curious (yet skeptical) of matcha. Isn't it just 'green tea' rebranded for a new generation? For those who want to feel focused, not wired - swapping bean origin and moka pots for function and status - antioxidants and L-theanine, with an aesthetic that says 'we're on top of a chaotic life, not part of it'.  This culture shift is a massive business opportunity. The UK matcha market is exploding, currently valued at around £175 million and projected to rocket to a staggering £300 million by 2033, at a CAGR of 8.6%. Claudia and her husband Otto saw this opportunity early and went straight to the source - the hills of Uji, Japan - to find a ceremonial grade powder that actually tasted good. They started with a £15 market stall at Brick Lane and have since built a new world of matcha with bars in Spitalfields, Selfridges, and Battersea Power Station, delivery for those who need it on demand, DTC channels those who need it at home, as well as wholesale for those who need it in store.  In this episode, we delve into the confidence it took to remove coffee from their menu, the reality of building a business while raising twins, and why matcha is the drink of a new generation.  Grab your whisk and enjoy.

Say hello to Lou and Sofia, co-founders of SPILL - the tea brand on a mission to 'spill the tea' on a broken global industry. We've all been there: standing in the supermarket aisle, reaching for a box of bags for a couple of quid. It's convenient, it's 'British', but as Lou and Sofia realised, it's dull and ethically murky. That's because most 'everyday' tea is a blend of hundreds of cheap leaves, processed to the point where the flavour (and the farmer's pay) - is stripped away. Lou is a tea heavy weight by trade. A former buyer at Tetley who went on to co-found Teapigs and spark the UK's first tea renaissance. And Sofia ran it by her side with a focus on brand.  But there was unfinished business. Whilst a lot had changed in speciality tea, not a lot had changed in the tea we drink everyday. They've launched SPILL to upgrade the humble cuppa - championing taste, fair pay and transparency. Grown in volcanic soil and sourced from smallholder farmers who are paid 50% above the Fairtrade minimum, SPILL is a 'challenger' that is serious about tea, yet playful about everything else.   In this episode, we delve into why 'tea is too cheap,' the agony of choosing a name, and why the most radical thing you can do for your morning brew is to stop blending and start 'spilling.' So pop on the kettle, pull out the biscuit tin and have a brew.