Recipe for Greatness
Recipe for Greatness
Jay Greenwood
Interviewing the founders behind the best food companies in the UK to deconstruct the skills and knowledge they used to grow their business so you can learn from the best and start-up something yourself.
Real Snacks That Actually Nourish | Ineke Nugteren - Nourish Founder
We sit down with Ineke Nugteren, a nurse turned founder, to unpack how frontline healthcare experience sparked a mission to change what everyday snacking looks like. We talk through the messy realities of building Nourish from a kitchen table into major UK retail, while staying focused on real ingredients, gut health and balanced blood sugar. seeing conventional low-fat guidance fail patients in real lifea turning-point patient story that triggered deeper nutrition researchvolunteering in Afr...
Jul 3
32 min
From British Army Major to Healthy Toddler Meals | More Toddler Meals Founder - Ed van der Lande
Baby food should not feel like a trade-off between “quick” and “good”. We sit down with Ed van der Lande, founder of More Toddler Meals, to unpack a deceptively simple question: how do you feed toddlers wholesome meals with real texture and visible ingredients when you are exhausted, out of the house, or racing between nursery pick-ups and work? Ed traces the idea back to a moment on deployment in Somalia, watching his wife carry the full load at home and feeling the friction every parent kn...
Jun 9
33 min
Taking on Haribo With Half the Sugar | Wild Thingz Founder - Fliss Newland
We talk with Wild Things founder Fliss Newland about going from Mondelez to building an organic, plant-based gummy brand that targets families without losing the fun of sweets. She breaks down the practical steps behind the leap, from finding the right opportunity to nailing brand positioning, packaging, and early retail wins. Childhood hustle stories and the influence of self-employed parents Learning FMCG fundamentals at Mondelez, from perfect store to pricing and promotions&nbsp...
May 1
38 min
Stock in a Can Sounded Ridiculous - Now It’s Shaking Up Categories | Founder Owen Potts
We talk with Owen Potts about building The Potts Partnership from a home kitchen into a premium ambient food manufacturer stocked by major UK supermarkets. We dig into hands-on learning, bold packaging choices like aluminium cans, and the unglamorous cash flow and operations work that makes growth possible. Turning a gap year job in a jam factory into a career in food manufacturing and product development Learning factories end to end by jumping onto every machine and process&nbs...
Apr 17
35 min
Building a Multi-Million Pound High-Protein Frozen Meal Brand From A Gym Freezer | Craig Allen - GSN
We talk with Craig about how he leaves university, learns the fundamentals of margin and negotiation in meat trading, and turns a steam-cooked chicken discovery into GSN. We break down the scrappy freezer-in-gyms launch, the Covid pivot to e-commerce, and the principles that keep the brand focused on profitable growth. leaving university to gain real-world experience in a family commodity trading business Learning negotiation, margin, factory operations and spotting value in overlo...
Apr 9
37 min
From Market Stall To Global Snacks - The Journey of The Protein Ball Co | Founder - Matt Hunt
A teenage trader learns to move stock on Romford Market, then builds a clean‑label snack factory that challenges ultra‑processed bars and keeps going through COVID with a private‑label engine. Matt Hunt, co‑founder of The Protein Ball Co, joins us for a candid, high‑energy tour through graft, grit, and the choices that change a business. We dig into margins, manufacturing, pet treats you could eat, and a bold rebrand made to win shelves. • early market lessons shaping sales craft and urgency...
Feb 6
38 min
From Jitters to Clarity: Building a Functional Coffee Brand That Actually Works | Unconform Founder Yusuf Amanullah
We trace Yusuf’s path from schoolyard hustles to building a functional cold brew that swaps jitters for calm focus. The story spans painful caffeine experiments, tough retail lessons, and the mindset shift from making a product to selling one at a profit. Listen to the story of building Unconform • early ventures and the itch to build • caffeine overload as the spark for a solution • cold brew, adaptogens, and nootropics for a smoother hit • scrappy R&D, 31 iterations, ...
Jan 29
32 min
Poker Lessons, Pasta Vision, And Patient Growth : Andrew Macleod of Emilia’s Crafted Pasta
We explore how poker shaped Andrew Macleod's thinking and how those mental models helped him build Emilia’s Crafted Pasta into a debt-free, multi-site brand. From scouting Italy to opening under budget and growing slow, we show how to balance soul with margins. • Poker as a mirror of risk and behaviour • Bootstrapping events and earning trust without capital • Finding the pasta gap and validating with travel and craft • Raising seed from relationships built on delivery and discipline • Secur...
Nov 13, 2025
39 min
Food, Purpose, and Mental Health: Inside Will Howard's Commercial Journey
Will Howard shares his journey from hospitality worker to Managing Director of GrowUp Farms, revealing how purpose-driven leadership and vulnerability create stronger businesses and teams. • Started career with a passion for food, working in hospitality before transitioning to FMCG roles at L'Oreal and PepsiCo • Found his authentic leadership style at purpose-driven companies like Red Bull, Innocent and Ella's Kitchen • Practices vulnerability by openly discussing mental health challenges wi...
Sep 19, 2025
32 min
From Market Stall to Shelf: How Pip Organic Revolutionised Clean Label Children's Food
What does it take to build a thriving food brand that refuses to compromise on values? Karen and Patrick O'Flaherty, founders of Pip Organic, reveal the remarkable journey that transformed their humble market stall selling fresh juices into one of the UK's most trusted organic food and drink brands. The husband-and-wife team share how their backgrounds in marketing and finance, combined with Patrick's family history in organic farming, created the perfect foundation for their business. Their...
Aug 29, 2025
40 min
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