Sometimes it's lunch, sometimes it's dinner. Sometimes you're one, sometimes you're a family of 4. Sometimes it's a side, sometimes you're starving. How does a food brand answer all of these consumer/human need-states?
STOCKED has created a product category that didn't previously exist: chef-made, frozen blocks of deliciousness - that you can choose to eat in 2,4 or 6 - you do it your way.
In this episode of Brand Growth Heroes, I'm joined by Sam Moss and Charlie Gilpin, the co-founders of Stocked, which is chef-made frozen food and reinventing the ready meal with portion-sized blocks that customers can heat, combine and serve however they like.
We talk about their extraordinary brand growth journey, from launching direct-to-consumer and cooking everything themselves to appearing on Dragons' Den, building their own manufacturing operation and securing listings with Ocado, Waitrose and Sainsbury's.
I first met Sam and Charlie in 2022 when they joined the Brand Growth Heroes strategy programme, and it's been AMAZING to see what they've built since. What makes their story particularly valuable for founders scaling consumer brands is how many apparently difficult decisions have become genuine strengths. Manufacturing in-house, keeping their product range focused on one type of food, and asking consumers to do a little of the preparation themselves might not sound like the obvious route to scale. But each has helped Stocked build a differentiated proposition. We also get into the realities of scaling a team, the advantages of having a co-founder you've known since childhood, and why growing a business doesn't necessarily mean making the product more complicated.
What You'll Learn
- How Stocked grew from £4K monthly revenue to a £15M annualised run rate, and why direct-to-consumer was so important in proving the proposition before retail.
- What Dragons' Den actually delivered commercially, including 60% month-on-month growth, long-term social proof and interest from major retailers.
- Why manufacturing in-house became a competitive advantage, despite initially being something the founders had hoped to outsource.
- How product focus enables more innovation, with over 65 unique SKUs developed while keeping production centred on chef-made, sauce-based meals.
- What Sam and Charlie have learned about scaling together, from sharing ownership and responsibility to building a team that allows them to move beyond day-to-day production.
Key Topics Discussed
- Creating a new category within frozen ready meals
- Growing from £4,000 monthly revenue to a £15 million annualised run rate
- The role of DTC in consumer education and product development
- Dragons' Den, social proof and retail credibility
- Launching into Ocado, Waitrose and Sainsbury's
- Why around 90% of the business was still DTC at the time of recording
- Building a manufacturing facility from scratch
- Using operational complexity to create a competitive moat
- Keeping the manufacturing model focused while expanding the range
- Restaurant, chef and food creator collaborations
- Why consumers value control as well as convenience
- The economics of flexible portions and different eating occasions
- Scaling the team without losing operational discipline
- The realities of building a business with a childhood friend
- Why a 50/50 co-founder partnership has worked for Sam and Charlie
- What the Brand Growth Heroes programme taught them about messaging and consumer awareness
Links:
Website: https://stockedfood.com/?srsltid=AU7gw4Uj6rrYMb0tAqZtRTi6oed5mIi3lx0sLIBwb3mbxcQuyzK_pmP5
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/stockedfood?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&xtok=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
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*** HUGE Thanks to Brand Growth Heroes’ podcast sponsor — Joelson, the BEST commercial law firm for Founders of CPG brands ***
If you're a founder, you already know how much energy goes into building the perfect product, creating standout branding and connecting with consumers.But scaling a CPG business also brings legal complexities that can make or break your growth journey - from contracts and regulatory compliance to protecting your intellectual property.
That’s why we’re proud to partner with Joelson, the leading commercial law firm specialising in helping founders of scaling consumer brands.
Joelson works with brands like Little Moons, Trip, Eat Natural, Bear Graze and Pulsin, and advised the innocent founders on their landmark sale to Coca-Cola - and still work with them at JamJar Investments today!
Joelson is offering a FREE LEGAL CONSULTATION to all BGH listeners (https://joelsonlaw.com/contact/bookings)- we highly recommend you take them up on it!
Credits
Thanks to our Producer & Sound Engineer Gyp Buggane at Ballagroove.com, to Kimberely and Charlie, to Nats and all the BGH team.
