Fran Gresswell | Riveiera Iced Tea | Risking Everything at 21 to Take on Lipton

Описание: At 21 years old, Fran took her travel savings and launched Riviera Iced Tea – a premium UK iced tea brand taking on giants like Lipton and Arizona.

In this raw and honest interview, she shares:

/ How a £12k manufacturing disaster nearly killed the business
/ Why she said no to Tesco in year one to protect her margins
/ The harsh reality of retail: promos, supermarkets and who really pays
/ Working evenings and weekends while friends climb the corporate ladder
/ Losing a long-term relationship, but getting closer than ever with her family
/ Raising investment as a young female founder – and spotting red flag investors
/ Why she’s building to exit and what it really takes to become a household name
/ If you’re building a food & drink brand, thinking of launching a CPG product, or just want the unfiltered truth behind “overnight success” stories – this is for you.

0:00 – Starting Riviera Iced Tea at 21
2:27 – £12k in unusable stock & nearly closing the business
5:12 – The brutal truth about supermarket margins
7:15 – Personal sacrifices, money, and missing out
8:35 – Saying no to Tesco & protecting the brand
9:55 – Raising investment and avoiding bad investors
11:24 – Competing with Lipton & positioning as a non-alcoholic alternative
13:42 – Is iced tea actually a growing market?
14:57 – Insecurities, failures, and lessons as a founder
17:37 – The branding mistake that made her cry
18:44 – Future plans: health trends, sachets & preventative wellness