Stu McDonald, founder of ManiLife, joins us to share how a chance trip to Argentina led to one of the UK’s most loved food brands. What started with a bedroom full of peanuts and a delayed accounting job offer quickly became a mission to reinvent peanut butter.After discovering a family-run peanut farm in Argentina, Stu returned to the UK convinced there was a better way to make peanut butter. One problem... His production partner pulled out the day the first shipment of peanuts arrived. So he rented a rugby club kitchen, recruited friends, and started making jars by hand.In this episode we cover:◼️ Turning down a career in accounting to start a peanut butter company◼️ Finding the Argentine family that still supplies ManiLife’s peanuts today◼️ Building a brand from a bedroom full of peanuts◼️ Landing Waitrose and scaling into the UK’s biggest retailers◼️ Growing from £1M to £4M during lockdown◼️ The burnout that nearly broke him◼️ Why founders should operate from love, not obligation◼️ Building a manufacturing business from the ground up◼️ Raising money without traditional institutional investors◼️ The biggest mistakes, failures and lessons along the way◼️ Why great products create communities, not just customersToday, ManiLife is stocked in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and thousands of independent stores across the UK.But for Stu, the mission has always been bigger than peanut butter. It’s about bringing people together, building something meaningful, and creating products that people genuinely love.As he puts it: “If it wasn’t for peanut butter, I would be single, childless, and probably still an accountant.”Thanks to our epic partners ITV Ignite and Lovey!Chapters00:00 – Why Peanut Butter Changed My LifeFrom accountant to entrepreneur, and how a trip to Argentina changed everything03:00 – The Bedroom Full of PeanutsMeeting the peanut farmers, bringing peanuts back to the UK, and making ManiLife by hand in a rugby club kitchen 07:45 – Landing Waitrose & Scaling the BrandThe Gusto breakthrough, meeting his future wife through ManiLife, and growing from a startup into a national brand 11:00 – Growing Too Fast & Founder BurnoutCOVID growth, scaling from £1M to £4M, panic attacks, and the dangers of operating through obligation instead of love 16:30 – The Mindset Shift That Changed EverythingHow Stu rebuilt his role, found his energy again, and learned to focus on what only a founder can do18:30 – Building Their Own FactoryWhy ManiLife took manufacturing in-house and the advantages of controlling the entire process 22:00 – Getting Into Retail & Building a CategoryWinning supermarket listings, category storytelling, and how to make products fly off the shelves25:00 – Becoming the UK’s Number One Peanut Butter BrandThe long-term vision, international expansion, and why ManiLife believes it has the best product in the market28:00 – Raising Investment Without Losing ControlCrowdfunding, angel investors, and avoiding the pitfalls of traditional institutional funding31:30 – The White Peanut Butter DisasterThe biggest mistake in ManiLife history and what happened when unroasted peanut butter hit the shelves 35:00 – Building Demand, Community & Brand LoveCreating loyal customers, working with chefs, and turning consumers into advocates40:00 – Why Independent Retailers MatterThe importance of local shops, community, and building emotional connections with customers42:00 – Final Reflections & Founder LessonsThe highs, the lows, and why entrepreneurship is both the best and worst thing you’ll ever do
