Last week, I sat down the utter legend is Perry Hayden Taylor Perry is the founder of bigfish a marketing and design agency who's built a bevy of juggernaut brands. Gu Puds Charlie Bighams SipSmith Freddies Flowers Our conversation is a smorgasbord of tidbits, each containing scrumptious gems of knowledge to propel your business forward. ON TODAY’S MENU 1. Charlie Bigham's success story and crucial lessons for challenger brands 2. How to build a company culture where everybody LOVES to work (amb...
Mar 03, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 12
This week’s episode of HUNGRY. is with the Food and Drink Marketing Master, Mark Palmer. Mark has a glittering and illustrious career: Ex-Marketing Director: Green & Blacks, Pret A Manger. Co-founder: Cawston Press, L.A. Kombucha. Chairman: UNION Hand-Roasted Coffee. Marketing Manager: Burger King and United Biscuits. His experience provides a deep well of knowledge. I took as many buckets (and lessons) as possible. ON THE MENU: 1. How Green & Blacks Scaled From a £4m “Niche Organic” Bra...
Feb 23, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 11
"Covid changed consumer habits. Speciality is BOOMING. How do we enter the market?" “My brand isn’t a B-Corp yet, but how can we do better as a brand today?” “How do we make our brand REALLY work in speciality?” Asking yourself these questions? I’ve just THE podcast episode for you. Feast your ears on this week's Ep of ManiLife Conversations (soon to be called something else) with Paul Hargreaves, founder of Cotswold Fayre. Paul has over 20 years experience in speciality and is one of the early ...
Feb 03, 2021•50 min•Ep. 10
“But I don’t have a big marketing budget to drive a listing?” “How can I compete with the big corporate brands” “How are we ever going to hit RoS targets” Having this conversation with yourself or team, right now? Keep reading. Last week, got very saucy on the podcast, with my broski Liam White co-founder of Dr. Wills In Lockdown 1, Dr Wills, like so many brands, were ransacked by Covid with food service and hospitality forced shut. 2020 was trudging through treacle. BUT fast forward a year - th...
Jan 20, 2021•30 min•Ep. 9
Before Christmas, I interviewed Chris Dee ex- CEO of Booths and Director of Food at Harrods. At Harrods, Chris launched The Perrier Jouet Champagne Terrace, Harrods Brasserie, Tiffany Blue Box Cafe. But recently he's crossed the chasm to follow his passion: Whisky and is co-founder of MALTDAQ, a secondary buyers/seller’s market for Whisky. This episode was so much fun, I learnt a SHED load - 1. Your Ego stops you leaving your safe job. Be comfortable moving from Secure Master to Insecure Novice....
Jan 05, 2021•50 min•Ep. 8
"But I’m not a big brand with a big budget, where do I start?" “WTF?! - what brand am I even trying to create?" “Ye but, How do I stand out in crowded categories?" Need answers to these questions?? Keep reading — Last week, I interviewed Lottie Unwin, Founder of The Copy Club and Ex-PROPER Head of Marketing. Lottie has the ability to cut through the “marketing jargon" and KEEP. IT. SIMPLE. We talk lots about my good friends over at Dr. Wills who’ve embraced the old school grit and hustle to driv...
Dec 09, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 7
Shutting restaurants and pubs shut off peoples's happiness. Eating out is irrevocably life’s greatest pleasure. Walking through a restaurants doors abruptly melts away stiff-edges of stressful day. Swift service lays the table for an evening of delicious conversation with loyal friends. In a world overcooked with data and technology, a plate of food is the umbilical cord back to the bosom of intuition and creativity. Food never judges, only cuddles. Fold in some Malbec and neighbouring chitter-h...
Nov 17, 2020•37 min•Ep. 6
I had the joy of interviewing Guy Hacking founder of TRIBE . Guy is an absolute MACHINE - he ran 39 Marathons in 39 days in aid of fighting child trafficking and has built a big brand in an unconventional way. I learnt BUCKET LOADS from this interview!! ON THE MENU: 1. Be Authentic + Consistently show up + Lots of time (and failures) = SUCCESS 2. No food and drink startup journey is ever linear - it’s squiggly, left-right, side-to-side, up-down journey. 3. In Running/Business/Life always remembe...
Nov 12, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 5
Last week, I interviewed the fantastic and knowledgeable Zoe Howorth for Episode 4 of ManiLife Conversations. Zoe has 23 years of experience working for World-leading brands at Proctor & Gamble and Coca-Cola. Recently, Zoe's moved to a Non-Ex role at SME brands in different industries: Water Babies, Houston PR and Play Finder. Giving Zoe a very unique and holistic view of what makes Great Brands and successful businesses. My goal with the episode was to unpack Big Brand Lessons that small Ch...
Oct 25, 2020•35 min•Ep. 4
Yesterday, I had a delightful conversation with Olly Hiscocks from OLLYS for We ran slightly over 30 mins - yup, time flies when you’re knee deep in chinwag! ON THE MENU: 1. HOW TO SELL YOUR STORY AS A BRAND, HOW OLLY GOT HIS OLIVES INTO SAINSBURYS 2. HOW TO STAND OUT VS. BIG CORPORATES WITH BIG BUDGETS. 3. HOW TO POLITELY HARRAS/PATIENTLY PERSIST WITH BUYERS - (DON’T SEND: “CAN I HAVE A MEETING EMAILS”) 4. HOW TO USE N.P.D TO STAY RELEVANT - FOCUSING ON CORE VS. PUSHING NEW LINES 5. WHEN IT GOE...
Oct 24, 2020•38 min•Ep. 3
Alastair is the ex Marketing Director of Invesco and FTSE International. Today, he is the founder of Linguabrand, which work with ADIDAS, Cadburys NZ, Johnson & Johnson and Beam Suntory. They use Artificial Intelligence and Psychology to listen intently to consumers, and the brands they could choose from, to: ON THE MENU: 1. Understand WHY consumers pick up brands off supermarket shelves 2. Learn THREE types of language to communicate EFFECTIVELY with consumers. 3. Understand HOW brands must...
Oct 24, 2020•51 min•Ep. 2
A couple of weeks ago, I recommend a book by David Gluckman called "That Sh*t Will Never Sell" It's fantastic. David and I have talked in great depth about all things Food and Drink. We decided to film one of our conversations to help other challenger brands. There’s a lesson in execution here: Did I have any idea what I was doing? Absolutely not. Was the sound quality shoddy? YES. Can I sit still? No. Was I nervous? Yes. Could it be improved? Absolutely. If you've got an idea, execute IMMEDIATE...
Oct 24, 2020•41 min•Ep. 1
