Hey {{first_name}} ,
This week we’ve picked out 5 brands from our visit Lunch! trade show at ExCeL, you should be watching, from a cottage cheese pot built for the foot to go to a ready to drink bubble tea.
We've also got two Dragons' Den raises, a cottage cheese that now comes smooth, a bone broth brand that took over a pub, and a catch up on last week's chat with Brink's founder Louis after a warehouse fire wiped out his new stock.
Let's get into it 👇
📱 From the Feed
What we posted on our socials last week
🥒 Farmer J launches a pickle drink: Farmer J's new seasonal YEW Pickle + Yuzu Spritz is built on YEW Sparkling Water's viral Pickle Sparkling Water and Pickle Project's brine. It's the first time Pickle Project's brine has been used in a drink like this, and they've just launched into Whole Foods Market too, so momentum is building in the space.
🚴 Are you underestimating independent stockists?: The Saucerer's Tour de Sauce is back bigger than ever. The premise is simple: ride from store to store, hand deliver stock and meet the independents who backed you early. This year that meant 837.3km, 320 stores and 12 guest riders, including Overherd, Yep Kitchen, Makan Malaysia, Foreva Farmers, Third Culture Kat, Sunny & Luna, DASH and Fil. You can always make time for the people who represent you on the ground.
💬 Last week’s interview: The startup that burned down overnight: Last week we sat down with Louis Brannan, the premium non-alcoholic cocktail brand he's built solo and self-funded, now in 80+ stockists including Selfridges. A warehouse fire destroyed his entire new stock of 7,000 cans, just one day before delivery. We got into what that meant for the business and how it changed his view on what it takes to build an independent F&B brand. Catch the full interview here.
👀 ICYMI: Brand Moves
Things you might’ve missed last week
🍗 Borough Broth takes over a pub: a two day takeover of The Punch Bowl. The menu was a full three meat roast dinner, an oxtail pie for every table and Borough Broth's new range of gravies served in branded ceramic gravy boats, with two nights of press, influencers and customers, finished off with a pub quiz that ended in a very heated round of rock, paper, scissors.
🐲 Two Dragons' Den raises: Soul Kitchen took £40k from Susie Ma for 15% of the business. The instant soup challenger has seen 920% sales growth since filming, has 100+ independent stockists and a new Eurostar listing, and is on track to sell one million products this year. Northern Pasta Co closed £50k from Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones for 10%. The Cumbria brand makes pasta from regeneratively grown British spelt, is stocked in Ocado, Booths, Waitrose and Whole Foods, and is set to hit £1M in sales.
🍛 All The Aunties x Kaana: Kaana's signature chilli paneer is back, this time made with All The Aunties' Garlic and Herb Paneer. It's a first in a few ways for Kaana: their first collaboration, their first bowl with two salad sides and no hot sides, and their first with a topping included. On the menu for four weeks only.
🧀 All Things launches Smooth Cottage Cheese: 70-80% of the cottage cheese recipe content they're tagged in features it blended, so they've done that bit for you. Soft, creamy and high protein, it's made for spreading, dipping, folding or eating straight from the pot. Available now in Sainsbury's and Ocado Retail, with Tesco following in October.
🍝 Sunny & Luna steps into pasta sauces: Three new launches: Sundried Tomato Pesto, Aubergine & Ricotta Sauce and Courgette & Pistachio Pesto, all made in Italy with no preservatives and no seed oils. The pasta disruptor isn't opening up a whole new category here, and with such a strong brand identity it can take out pasta lovers in both categories
💬 5 Minutes With: brands to watch
No interview this week. Instead, here are 5 brands from our visit to Lunch! at ExCeL that caught our eye.
1. Alter Ego Cottage Cheese: A UK, female-founded brand making creamy, high protein cottage cheese from four natural ingredients. We chose them for their NPD: a meal deal friendly pot topped with pulses, seeds or crunch, because as convenience becomes more important, brands need to keep up.
2. Dot Dot Bubble Tea: A London brand making low sugar ready to drink bubble tea in glass bottles and cans, made in their own brewery. We chose them because it's done great on trade, so why not carry it across to major retailer in the off-trade too?
3. Mojo Maté: Organic yerba maté in a cold, lightly sparkling can, grown in regenerative agroforestry in Brazil. We chose them because they launched into Whole Foods earlier this year, and while other teas have grown massively, maté still isn't in the mainstream.
4. Drooly: A brownie brand now available in single and duo versions. We chose them because in a world of health, wellness and moderation, there's still time for indulgence.
5. Freja Bone Broth: just launched a new soup. We chose them because they are double downing on ambient, so there's no need to chill or freeze, which makes it convenient all round.
📌 Noticeboard
Got something worth sharing with FMCG brands, buyers and investors?
📅 FSI Expo, 29-30 Sept, ExCeL London: the Food Service Industry Expo brings together buyers, investors and food service experts across drinks, hospitality and retail. Register through our partner link.
📅 The Beverage Forum, 1 October, Abbey Road Studios, London: Europe's drinks industry gathering returns for its second year, bringing together retailers, investors and operators for a day of insight, category strategy and high-value networking. Register here for 15% OFF using code: AISLEONE_15*
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‘Til next week
