#54: Alan Barratt: The Grenade Story: From Start Up to £200 Million (co-founder and CEO)

START UP. START NOW.

Send us a Text Message.

Al is a serial entrepreneur and Co-Founder/CEO of Grenade, one of the most successful UK FMCG brands of the last 25 years. Starting with a £500 loan from the UKTI Passport to Export program in 2010, he sold shares in Grenade in 2014 for £35M, again in 2017 for £72M, and in 2021 for £200M, to Mondelez International.
Current trading as of 2023 values the brand at over £500M and still growing.

Grenade has been featured in the Virgin Fast Track 100 for seven consecutive years in a row, with no signs of slowing down, and its signature product, Carb Killa, is currently the bestselling protein bar brand in the UK grocery channel, disrupting the entire confectionary category for the first time in many years, as well as the number one selling item in food on Amazon.

Al has won UK Entrepreneur of the Year an unprecedented three times, and is a mentor for Virgin Start Up, as well as an angel investor and philanthropist. He also holds multiple pilots licences for both aeroplanes and helicopters and is an honorary Colonel in the British Army (Royal Artillery)

He has invaluable experience in going head to head with industry giants and passionately tells the highs and lows of building a disruptive global brand and overcoming adversity against all odds, from making front page headlines after surviving a plane crash to creating one of the UKs best known and fastest growing consumer brands.

Find out more about Al Barratt via: LinkedIn.
Find out more about Grenade via: their website, Instagram and Twitter.
A new episode EVERY WEEK, showcasing the journeys of inspirational entrepreneurs, side hustlers and their mentors. We discuss their successes, challenges and how they overcame setbacks. Focusing mainly on what they wish they had known when starting out. The podcast aims to give aspiring entrepreneurs the confidence to START UP and START NOW by showcasing real and relatable entrepreneurs. After all, seeing is believing!

Join the conversation using #startupstartnow and tagging us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Don't forget to leave a review as it really helps us reach those who need it and allows us to get the best guests for you!

Connect with START UP. START NOW. and to nominate a guest please visit: www.startupstartnow.co.uk. To connect with Sharena Shiv please visit: www.sharena.co.uk.