Makin Mighty Challenger Growth Podcast: Retail, sales and commercial thinking for underdog food and drink brands.

Simon Greenwood-Haigh
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Makin Mighty Challenger Growth Podcast is for underdog brands trying to win customers, grow sales and stop shouting into an empty room. Hosted by Simon Greenwood-Haigh, founder of Makin Mighty, it is a practical look at how selling actually works in food and drink. Retail buyers. Distributors. Negotiation. Pricing. Rate of sale. Commercial strategy. Getting listed, staying listed and knowing what to do when growth stalls. Expect straight conversations with founders, buyers and operators, alongside episodes where Simon pulls apart the sales processes big food businesses use and shows how smaller brands can use them too. Before starting Makin Mighty, Simon spent six years inside a £16bn food business. Now he works fractionally with underdog food and drink brands that need commercial firepower without building a full sales team. The basic belief behind the podcast is simple: sales isn't a dark art. It is a process. You can learn it. If you're still doing most of the selling yourself, start here. Follow the show so the next episode lands when it goes live. Work out where you're stuck and how to get unstuck: www.mightymot.com

  1. 15h ago

    How to stay on shelf once you've won the listing | Stu McDonald, founder of ManiLife

    Send us Fan Mail Getting on shelf is hard. Staying there is harder, and it is the bit nobody talks about. Stu McDonald started ManiLife after meeting the Argentinian family who have grown his peanuts since day one. A decade on it is one of the most respected brands in its category, made in its own facility because it genuinely cannot be made in a normal peanut butter factory. Stu is also unusually straight about the fact that ManiLife was stuck for the first eight years. In this conversation he explains what actually keeps a brand listed, why he now tells early-stage founders to start smaller than they want to, and the counterbalance he wishes he had hired years earlier. In this episode... - What keeps you on shelf: relationships, data and storytelling, and why the buyer needs tools to convince the people above them - Why it is harder to reverse a bad story from 800 stores than build a good one from 50 - The production constraint that nearly killed ManiLife and then became the reason the product is good - Founder energy without operational counterbalance, and what eight years of that costs - Burning out after a record year, and why working harder had stopped working - Overrated: brand marketing with no permanence. Underrated: a genuinely good finance and ops thinker, early - "Are you raining into a bucket or onto porous soil?" - Great product, no momentum: the 1,000 true fans route, and what that looks like in D2C and in retail Guest details Stu McDonald, founder of ManiLife. Started the brand roughly a decade ago as the UK's first provenance-led peanut butter, working with the same Argentinian growing family since day one. ManiLife is produced at its own facility in Shirebrook using a process developed by accident in a rugby club kitchen. Stu stepped back from day to day running of the business after appointing an ops and finance director as MD. Links, offers & contact details... - ManiLife: ManiLife - The Peanut Butter People | Natural, Delicious Peanut Butter - Discount code: MakinMighty20 - Product Simon recommends in the episode: ManiLife Deep Roast Makin Mighty Makin Mighty helps underdog food and drink brands sell like the big players do. Twenty years in FMCG, six of them inside a £16bn food business, now working fractionally with founders who are outgunned commercially and done with bad support. Stuck and not sure what to fix first? Email Simon and ask for the MOT Lite. It is free, it is a short set of straight questions, and you get back a clear read on the biggest thing holding you up. If you want the full picture, the Mighty MOT is the proper commercial health check. Around half an hour of your time, and within a week you get back the three things costing you most, what to do about each one, and an honest read on whether you need outside help at all. £795 + VAT at mightymot.com, and £495 + VAT when you run it again six to twelve months later. Follow the show so the next episode lands when it goes live. LinkedIn: Simon Greenwood-Haigh | LinkedIn Web: makinmighty.com If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

    How to stay on shelf once you've won the listing | Stu McDonald, founder of ManiLife

  2. Sep 29

    Series 2 starts 6 October: what's changed and what's coming

    Send us Fan Mail Series 2 starts on Tuesday 6 October. The podcast has a new name. The Challenger Sessions has gone, partly because it was trying a bit too hard for a man sat in a small office in St Helens, and partly because it told you nothing about what the show is actually for. The first series finished five months ago. Since then Simon has been working with brands, sitting in buyer meetings, building sales plans, negotiating and getting things wrong, which is where most of the material for Series 2 came from. Series 2 goes deeper into the things that actually decide whether a food or drink brand grows: - How to approach buyers, and why nobody replies to your emails - What retailers actually say yes to - What happens after you get the listing - Negotiation, pricing, distribution and rate of sale - The commercial decisions founders have to make before they can afford a proper sales team Founders, buyers and operators, plus plenty of Simon telling you how he thinks this stuff works. You are very welcome to disagree. New episodes every Tuesday for twelve weeks, starting 6 October. Follow the show and the first episode will land on its own. **Makin Mighty** Makin Mighty helps underdog food and drink brands sell like the big players do. Twenty years in FMCG, six of them inside a £16bn food business, now working fractionally with founders who are outgunned commercially and done with bad support. Stuck and not sure what to fix first? Email Simon and ask for the **MOT Lite**. It is free, it is a short set of straight questions, and you get back a clear read on the biggest thing holding you up. If you want the full picture, the **Mighty MOT** is the proper commercial health check. Around half an hour of your time, and within a week you get back the three things costing you most, what to do about each one, and an honest read on whether you need outside help at all. £795 + VAT at mightymot.com, and £495 + VAT when you run it again six to twelve months later. LinkedIn: Simon Greenwood-Haigh | LinkedIn Web: makinmighty.com If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

    Series 2 starts 6 October: what's changed and what's coming

  3. Apr 7

    Buyer Truth: What Retailers Want from Challenger Brands | Chris Otto (ex buyer)

    Send us Fan Mail What do retailers actually want from challenger brands — and what gets you ignored instantly? In this episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh speaks with Chris Otto, who spent nearly 20 years at Co-op in buying roles and leading buying teams across frozen, impulse and grocery. We get into:  what “challenger” really means from a retailer perspective  why challenger brands matter to retailers (innovation, energy, relevance, younger shoppers)  what gets a buyer’s attention vs the red flags that get you filed away  how busy buyers really are (new supplier volume + existing supplier workload)  what successful challengers do operationally and commercially once listed  how to think beyond the first 6–12 weeks and build incrementally over time If you’re pitching retail — or trying to stay listed — this is essential listening. Link:  www.makinmighty.com If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

    Buyer Truth: What Retailers Want from Challenger Brands | Chris Otto (ex buyer)

  4. Mar 31

    AI for Sales Teams Without Sounding Like a Bot | Craig (ex-Cheesies)

    Send us Fan Mail AI is everywhere in sales right now — and most of what people are doing either turns into spam, or it’s so complicated nobody uses it. In this episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh speaks with Craig — founder of Cheesies and a commercial operator/consultant turned AI practitioner — about how challenger brands can use AI to sell more without losing their human edge. We cover:  why sales is one of the safer career paths in an AI world (and what will actually change)  the biggest misuse Craig sees: generic inputs leading to generic output  a practical “start here” setup (Claude Pro, global instructions, connectors, and better prompting)  how to keep AI outreach human, on-brand, and believable  what Craig learned building Cheesies: focus on a single audience and spot early traction signals  what he’d do differently if starting a brand today with AI agents from day one  Craig’s new venture, The Expedition, helping FMCG leaders integrate AI properly Link:  www.makinmighty.com If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

    AI for Sales Teams Without Sounding Like a Bot | Craig (ex-Cheesies)

  5. Mar 24

    How Superfoodio Drive Rate of Sale Once They’re Listed [NIRALI & JAG - SUPERFOODIO]

    Send us Fan Mail Getting listed is exciting. Staying listed is the hard bit. In this episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh speaks with Ja and Jag, founders of Superfoodio, about what really drives rate of sale once you’re on shelf. They share practical, founder-level tactics on: why availability is the first battle (and how brands get caught out)early retail mistakes you only learn the hard way (including a barcode issue that nearly got them pulled)what they do first in a new retailer to drive volumeactivations that actually shift units (not just look good online)building store colleagues into brand champions when you can’t be everywherehow packaging becomes your salesperson when you’re not in storewhy improving 1% at a time through data and feedback loops keeps momentum goingIf you’re a challenger brand trying to win once you’re in retail, this is gold. Link:  www.makinmighty.com If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

    How Superfoodio Drive Rate of Sale Once They’re Listed [NIRALI & JAG - SUPERFOODIO]

  6. Mar 17

    How to Turn a 200-Year-Old Brand into a Challenger | Josh Daly (Grey Poupon)

    Send us Fan Mail How do you make a 200-year-old heritage brand behave like a modern challenger — without losing what made it famous? In this episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh speaks with Josh Daly, who helped take Grey Poupon from being “in the wilderness” to behaving like a brand with a clear point of view. We get into: why Grey Poupon got delisted (and why that was actually useful context)how to spot duplication and pull away from the incumbentwhat was sacred (product quality, the jar) vs what had to change (tone, audience, comms)fast, scrappy insight gathering (farmers’ markets, real conversations)the tactics that moved the needle: a challenger campaign, relevant creators, merch, and smart use of datawhat Josh would do more of, less of, and avoid completelyIf you’re trying to modernise a legacy brand or sharpen differentiation in a crowded category, this one will land. Link:  www.makinmighty.com If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

    How to Turn a 200-Year-Old Brand into a Challenger | Josh Daly (Grey Poupon)

  7. Mar 10

    What “Good Enough” Actually Means for Early Brands | Simon & Scott

    Send us Fan Mail Early-stage founders often try to rush to “perfect” — perfect branding, perfect plans, perfect decks — before they’ve sold a single unit. In this co-hosted episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh and Scott Cramner unpack what “good enough” really means for challenger brands, and why perfection is often just procrastination dressed up as strategy. We cover: why selling early beats endless planningwhere you can compromise (and where you absolutely can’t)why big brands still launch products that flop, even after loads of testingthe difference between being “rough and ready” vs being carelessa useful mental model: “precisely wrong vs roughly right”If you’re building a challenger brand and feeling pressure to look bigger than you are, this episode is a reset. Link:  www.makinmighty.com  If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

  8. Mar 3

    Looking Premium vs Being Premium | Simon & Scott

    Send us Fan Mail Loads of challenger brands describe themselves as “premium”. But premium isn’t a word you write in a strategy doc — it’s something you deliver, end to end. In this co-hosted episode of Makin Mighty: The Challenger Sessions, Simon Greenwood-Haigh and Scott Cramner break down the difference between looking premium and being premium — and why getting this wrong is one of the fastest ways to lose trust (and repeat purchase). We cover: why premium needs to show up in the whole customer journey, not just the packaginghow small details (emails, delivery, unboxing, service) create the premium feelingthe Zappos story: customer service as the real differentiatorhow premium pricing without premium value (or margin) falls apart quicklywhy over-engineering can be as bad as under-deliveringLink:  www.makinmighty.com If you found this useful, please share it with someone building a food or drink brand who’d get value from it. You can follow me on LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for clips and extra insights: just search for @MakinMighty And if you’ve got a question you’re wrestling with right now (brand, growth, retail, positioning) email it in. We’re collecting real questions from founders and we’ll use those to shape future episodes. Thanks for listening. See you next time makinmighty@gmail.com

    Looking Premium vs Being Premium | Simon & Scott
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About

Makin Mighty Challenger Growth Podcast is for underdog brands trying to win customers, grow sales and stop shouting into an empty room. Hosted by Simon Greenwood-Haigh, founder of Makin Mighty, it is a practical look at how selling actually works in food and drink. Retail buyers. Distributors. Negotiation. Pricing. Rate of sale. Commercial strategy. Getting listed, staying listed and knowing what to do when growth stalls. Expect straight conversations with founders, buyers and operators, alongside episodes where Simon pulls apart the sales processes big food businesses use and shows how smaller brands can use them too. Before starting Makin Mighty, Simon spent six years inside a £16bn food business. Now he works fractionally with underdog food and drink brands that need commercial firepower without building a full sales team. The basic belief behind the podcast is simple: sales isn't a dark art. It is a process. You can learn it. If you're still doing most of the selling yourself, start here. Follow the show so the next episode lands when it goes live. Work out where you're stuck and how to get unstuck: www.mightymot.com

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