We've had MOTHER ROOT on our radar since they walked out of Dragons' Den with three offers. At the time of filming: 400% YoY growth, 23,000 new customers in six months, Amazon's #1 best-seller in the UK. Steven Bartlett backed them. They're now a £7M brand with their sights set on £50M. We wanted to know how you actually build that, so we got Alex on.

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Tell us about Mother Root and what makes it a challenger brand.

“Mother Root was built on a simple observation, the low & no category was full of imitation, copies of spirits people already knew, but not offering anything new. We went the other way, full flavour, quality ingredients, something worth choosing on its own terms. For us it's not about what you take out, it's about what you put in”

You joined MOTHER ROOT just as it was entering grocery for the first time. What was the sales strategy walking in, and how has it adapted over the months?

"The core principles haven't changed, product focus, test & learn, and go as deep as possible on each channel before moving wide. We started grocery with Waitrose and Ocado because our D2C data told us our customers shop there, so it was the logical first move. What surprised us was how quickly rate of sale ramped up and overtook the incumbents, which gave us the confidence to go deeper - bigger activations, new promo campaigns on Ocado, and winning more feature space in-store. The strategy didn't change, we focussed on the basics and have since scaled our ambitions in the grocery channel."

Going from zero grocery presence to the #1 non-alc spirit SKU in total grocery within 12 months of launch is a remarkable rate of sale. How did you unlock further distribution, notably the expansion into 350 Sainsbury's stores?

"First things first, product is king, and you don't grow that fast unless thousands of people agree you've got a great tasting product. In terms of the quick growth, there's no magic bullet, but the awareness work we do outside of retail has a direct impact on grocery sales. We reach 2.8 million people in the UK each month through our digital channels, and meeting shoppers where they are on their weekly shop has been really powerful. In terms of unlocking new distribution, data is absolutely our #1 tool! Walking into a buyer conversation with a clear case study showing the incremental revenue Mother Root will deliver to their category makes the ranging decision much easier. The other side of that is being selective, new distribution only works if we can support it properly with feature space, POS and compliance where neccassary, so we won't take on what we can't resource properly."

Low and no is an up and coming category where there's no playbook to copy. How do you navigate making strategic decisions?

"Many traditional spirits brands are built in the on-trade, so going D2C first and then grocery is bucking the trend slightly, but it's working. The honest answer is we go back to the shopper, strip out the noise and ask what this person actually needs. We over-invest our time talking to customers and digging into why they've entered the category, and our D2C model gives us direct access to those insights, something bigger brands can't easily replicate. There have been some real gems in those conversations, and it's shaped a lot of how we think and move. We also take a test and learn approach to everything, going after big swings and if something doesn't work, drop it and move on."

You're now four months into the US market. What are the major considerations for overseas expansion, how are you adapting your approach, and what have you learnt so far?

"The fundamentals travel, quality product, clear positioning, and going deep before going wide. What doesn't travel is assuming the market behaves the same way, and being recently back from Expo West in LA, nearly every low & no fixture felt behind the UK in terms of range development and signposting. That's a challenge, but it's also a real opportunity for us to show US retailers what the category looks like when it's done properly. US retail is also far more fragmented than the UK, it genuinely feels like 51 different countries to plan for, so we're going one state at a time and proving the concept before scaling it. We're also taking inspiration from other other UK FMCG brands, and speaking to as many people as possible that have made the US work. The UK is a hot-bed for great brands, and it's so great to see the likes of Huel, Trip, Misfits and many others go from strength to strength in the US."

For someone thinking about/trying to land their first major grocery listing, what's the one thing you wish you'd known going in?

"There were no major surprises going in (other than some quite eye watering quotes for data!), but advice for any early stage brand is making sure you have product-market fit before going near a major retailer is crucial. It might sound super obvious, but often brands rush into grocery without the demand to back it up, and it quickly becomes an uphill battle to hold the listing let alone grow it. Taking the time to verify demand, listen to feedback and tighten the proposition is time well spent, the listing will still be there when you're ready, and going in underprepared is a much harder problem to fix."