Organised to champion Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic food and drink entrepreneurs, the event combined practical advice with personal stories from founders who have successfully carved out a place in an increasingly competitive market. Throughout the day, one message remained consistent: building a successful drinks business requires far more than a great product.

Opening the event, flavour expert and food scientist Manon Galizzi highlighted why flavour should always come first. While branding and packaging may encourage consumers to make an initial purchase, she argued that repeat purchase is the true measure of success.

Founders were encouraged to understand which flavour profiles naturally complement their product base rather than simply following trends, while recognising that trying to please everyone often leads to a less distinctive product. Galizzi also stressed the importance of seeking objective feedback throughout product development, warning that creators' own palates quickly adapt to repeated tasting. Current flavour trends including pineapple, cherry and matcha continue to present opportunities, she said, but brands should look to put their own twist on emerging trends rather than simply replicating what already exists.

The importance of understanding your customer was reinforced by Tanya de Sousa Grimaldi, founder of children's drinks brand Slurpz. After identifying a gap in the market for drinks that were both healthy and enjoyable, she developed a range that is low in sugar, made with natural ingredients and fortified with vitamin C.

Creating products for children, however, means appealing to two very different audiences. While parents focus on nutrition and ingredients, children ultimately decide whether they enjoy drinking the product. Extensive consumer testing with children of different ages helped refine the recipes, including finding the right balance of carbonation to create a lightly sparkling drink.

De Sousa Grimaldi also discussed the challenge of building trust with parents, explaining how organisations including the Kids Food & Drink Collective, Buy Women Built and Raising the Glass have helped strengthen the brand's credibility and profile. She encouraged founders to seek honest feedback beyond friends and family, noting that external perspectives are often the most valuable when refining products and branding.

Founder Joe Roberts-Walker shared the story behind Mejuicer, which began after the closure of a café serving his favourite carrot and ginger juice. Unable to find a comparable product elsewhere, he spotted a gap in the market before eventually pivoting towards ginger-based products to overcome the commercial challenges associated with the short shelf life of fresh cold-pressed juice.

From starting production in his father's kitchen during lockdown to building an accredited manufacturing facility supplying contract caterers and major financial institutions, Roberts-Walker's session focused heavily on sustainable business growth. He spoke about learning every aspect of production himself, achieving NSF accreditation, investing in strong supplier relationships and carefully reinvesting profits rather than spending too quickly.

Relationships, he argued, underpin every aspect of the business.

"This game is so much more about people than about products," he said.

Whether working with suppliers, customers or corporate clients, Roberts-Walker encouraged founders to invest time in understanding people's needs and communicating the story behind their brand. Free sampling proved an effective way of introducing new customers to the product, while offices and events became a natural route to market before expanding through contract caterers. His advice also extended beyond sales, encouraging founders to value their own time, attend networking events with purpose and continually test the resilience of their business as it grows.

Founder Akhil Patel explored how Amala Chai has balanced authenticity with commercial growth. Built on a mission to bring genuine chai to the UK while working responsibly with farmers, the business now spans physical sites, street food trucks and an ambient retail range.

Patel reflected on initially trying to pursue every possible sales channel before recognising the importance of focusing on those that genuinely drive growth. As the business expanded, building a team to manage day-to-day operations allowed him to concentrate on developing the retail brand.

Rather than treating each channel independently, Patel explained how they reinforce one another. Consumers who first discover the brand at physical locations, including King's Cross, often go on to become wholesale customers or seek out the retail range.

He also posed an important question as chai becomes increasingly mainstream:

"Are we helping people expand their knowledge of what chai is, or are we narrowing it down?"

The day's final founder interview featured Tina Chen, founder of HumaniTea, who identified a gap in the UK market for ready-to-drink tea lattes after growing up in Taiwan, where milk tea forms part of everyday life. Launching with Matcha Latte and Earl Grey Latte, the brand champions tea as a source of natural energy without the crash often associated with coffee.

Chen offered an honest account of building the business from the ground up, including renting a commercial kitchen between midnight and 6am to reduce costs before spending her days trading at markets. She emphasised that passion is essential in a sector characterised by significant upfront investment, premium ingredient costs and tight margins, while also reminding founders to prioritise their physical and mental wellbeing.

She encouraged entrepreneurs to celebrate every success, however small, and to make use of the support available through local councils, funded business programmes and the British Library's Business & IP Centre. Looking ahead, HumaniTea is exploring export opportunities in the EU and UAE while continuing to expand in the UK, with a chai latte among the products under consideration.

Chen also spoke candidly about some of the additional challenges she has faced as a young female founder from a diverse background, including inappropriate behaviour experienced while pitching products to retailers and differing attitudes towards women when exhibiting internationally. Despite these challenges, she emphasised the importance of persistence when building retail relationships, noting that category reviews happen behind the scenes, buyers frequently change roles and maintaining regular, thoughtful contact is often what eventually leads to opportunities.

Across every session, the founders returned to many of the same themes: creating products consumers genuinely want to buy again, building lasting relationships, growing sustainably and remaining resilient through the inevitable challenges of entrepreneurship. For anyone building a drinks brand, Spill the Beans: Drinks Edition offered practical advice, honest reflections and a reminder that long-term success is rarely built overnight.