Show notes
Can you imagine choosing to walk away from a dream career as a Premier League and International Footballer? Well, that’s exactly what Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu did and in this episode of Building The Brand, he shares the full journey from professional footballer to founder, from home-brewed shots made by his dad to producing hundreds of thousands of units a week, building a vertically integrated manufacturing operation, taking strategic investment from AG Barr and pursuing a mission to make functional nutrition mainstream.But this conversation is not just about building another drinks brand.Thomas talks openly about the pressure of running a business while still playing professional football, why a side hustle is only a problem if it damages performance, how The Turmeric Co is trying to challenge the way people think about food, health and medicine, and why scaling a business requires the founder to evolve from passionate generalist to true CEO.Thomas and his team have generated a discount code for Building The Brand listeners to benefit 20% off of their first one-time purchase - enjoy! Click https://tinyurl.com/turmericbtb and use code BTB at checkout▪️ How a career-threatening football injury led to the creation of The Turmeric Co▪️ Why his father’s kitchen-made blend became the foundation for the business▪️ What it felt like going from Euro 2016 hero to health brand founder▪️ Why business impact now feels more meaningful than football glory▪️ The pressure of building a company while still playing Premier League football▪️ Why a side hustle is only a problem if it damages performance▪️ How The Turmeric Co is trying to challenge big food, big pharma and the wider health system▪️ Why evidence, data and clinical research matter for functional health brands▪️ How the brand scaled from kitchen batches to a 20,000 sq ft manufacturing site▪️ Why vertical integration became one of the company’s biggest advantages▪️ The leadership shift required when going from startup to scale-up▪️ Why The Turmeric Co chose strategic investment from AG Barr▪️ What comes next for The Turmeric Co, Raw Hydrate and functional beveragesKey Moments: 0:00 — Intro01:15 — The Euro 2016 goal against Belgium03:37 — The testimonials driving The Turmeric Co mission04:13 — Thomas’ career-threatening knee injury06:13 — Why standard medication did not work for him07:19 — How the original turmeric blend changed his recovery08:03 — Retiring from football on his own terms10:00 — Running the business while playing professional football11:32 — The pressure around athletes having side hustles14:00 — PAUSE POINT: A side hustle is only a problem if it hurts performance16:16 — Thomas’ dad and the origins of the kitchen-made blend18:50 — The mission to make functional nutrition more accessible20:30 — Taking on big food, big pharma and outdated health beliefs21:26 — Moving from testimonials to data and health markers24:58 — Why healthcare needs to think more about prevention28:19 — PAUSE POINT: Some brands are trying to change a system, not just sell a product30:30 — Going from home brew to scaled production32:45 — Why manufacturers refused to make The Turmeric Co blend34:33 — Launching The Turmeric Co direct-to-consumer36:00 — Moving from 1,200 sq ft to a 20,000 sq ft site36:46 — Why vertical integration became a superpower37:14 — Achieving BRCGS AA+ manufacturing standards39:17 — Moving from startup chaos to scale-up structure43:03 — Why growing businesses need specialists45:46 — The founder’s shift into the CEO role48:11 — Process, SOPs, cadence and business traction50:16 — PAUSE POINT: The founder who starts the business is not the same one who scales it54:26 — The business book Thomas recommends to founders56:23 — Taking investment from AG Barr57:36 — Why strategic investment made more sense than private equity1:00:31 — Launching Raw Hydrate and entering natural hydration
