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** The Growth Newsletter for
UK DTC Brands
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Hey there,
Yesterday, the DTC Live Team took 15 brilliant food and drink brands for a exclusive event, a cooking class, and it was a real success. Safe to say, we left as very happy (and very full) chefs too!
We’ve got a full line-up of DTC Live experiences coming up, from Manchester to London, covering everything from beauty to wellness and annual planning. Here’s what’s coming up, would be great to see you at any (or all) of them. 👋
Learning Labs London: Annual Planning
9th October | Menier Lounge, London
A practical session focused on how to build your brand’s annual plan, from setting clear goals to making them happen, with examples and advice from other brands.
📝 Book your spot (https://2aahovc9gzu.typeform.com/to/jnwEWzZM?typeform-source=www.dtclive.com)
DTC Live London
16th October | Fable, Holborn Viaduct, London
Talks, panels, drinks, and deep dives with teams from leading brands. More details to follow.
🎟️ Free brand tickets (https://www.dtclive.com/dtc-live-london) , use code JAQRGFUAX
Learning Labs Manchester: Annual Planning
October (date TBC) | Huckletree, Ancoats
Everything you need to get your annual plans sorted, actionable workshops, templates, and honest discussion with other brands.
🤝 Book your spot (https://2aahovc9gzu.typeform.com/to/nkYaO9XM)
Gran Canaria Brand Retreat
24th–27th September | 5-star wellness resort
An all-expenses-covered* escape for founders, leaders and decision makers, focused on trends, tactics & transformation (*except flights).
🌴 If you’re interested, fill out this quick application:
📋 Exclusive Brand Retreat Application (https://2aahovc9gzu.typeform.com/brandretreat)
Want a look at last time?
Take a look at our highlights video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_0YscPaf6w) , photos (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fzDcP7h0T4rr7prfb-m6ZULur-vS5STN?usp=sharing) , and last year’s agenda (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VOaL_O_goqUdp2ZmK9ikxcPcs4T-dS65/view?usp=sharing) !
Sculpt & Scale, An event of beauty and wellness brands
5th November | Reformer Pilates Studio, London
A private reformer pilates session, juices and breakfast, plus a chance to connect with other brands in health and wellness.
💪🥤Register your interest (https://2aahovc9gzu.typeform.com/to/YE93NOiQ)
Hope to see you soon!
Check out our FULL events calendar here 📅 (https://www.dtclive.com/events-calendar)
🪄 From Dealer to Healer | How Liam Built Full Power Cacao
Ever wondered what it really takes to build a purpose-led brand from scratch? This week, we sat down with Liam (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FweKHGa9zHE) , founder and CEO of Full Power Cacao, who went from “suicidally depressed” and building off-grid earthships in Guatemala to running the UK’s biggest ceremonial cacao brand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FweKHGa9zHE
“I was in a really bad place, honestly. I’d given myself three years to either find something worth living for, or just check out. Then I ended up in Guatemala, building these earthships, and that’s where I met the cacao shaman.”
Liam says he’d been “eating chocolate his whole life, never even knew it came from a tree, let alone that it was a superfood the Mayans used for healing.” After sitting in on the ceremony, “I went from being a drug dealer, always hunting for a party, to being the guy always carrying cacao and hunting for the next yoga studio. It just flipped a switch in me.”
Back in the UK, Liam kept running cacao ceremonies, even when it meant hosting people in a tent in his back garden. Demand exploded during lockdowns, and what started as a hobby soon turned into a brand. “I was putting on events that just kept selling out. It went from my garden, to yoga studios, to actual venues, to now getting 400 or 500 people at a time. That’s just on the events side.”
When people started asking him to train them, he realised, “You’re actually unconsciously competent. We need to make you consciously competent.” So he built a training manual, and started running sold-out courses.
** 💥 Why Cacao?
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15x more antioxidants than blueberries
High in magnesium, iron, and calcium
“It’s a natural antidepressant,” Liam says, “especially good for women, perimenopause, menopause, periods, but actually good for everyone.”
Used in Mayan ceremonies as a heart-opening plant medicine
Liam puts it simply, “The consciousness of cacao is about opening people’s hearts, getting rid of what isn’t aligned, and helping people live their life purpose. If everyone swapped coffee for cacao, the world would be a different place in a couple of days, I swear.”
Full Power Cacao really hit its stride after a “mad” Dragons’ Den appearance. “I hit seven million people in one night who’d never even heard of cacao,” Liam says. The business exploded, “I went from hustling at events, doing no ads, to people just recognising the brand everywhere. Now I’ve just unloaded 10,000 kilos of ceremonial grade cacao, straight from Venezuela. It’s mad.”
The direct supply chain is key: “The cacao we get is known as the best in the world for ceremonies. It’s like wine, the conditions matter, everything from the pH of the soil to the companion trees. I’m only interested in the real deal.”
Liam is the first to admit he doesn’t come from a business background. “My background is acting, drug dealing, partying, music… it’s all creative. Now, suddenly, I’m running a factory, managing cash flow, unloading shipping containers. Some days I walk in and think, ‘How have I done this?’”
But he’s learnt on the job, leaned on mentors like Peter Jones’s team, and is driven by a bigger purpose, “My biggest thing is, how many lives have I changed this year? That’s how I measure success. The money is secondary.”
“The next big thing for the business is we’re expanding into the US via Amazon, We’ve got facilitator training in September, and another one before the end of the year, the biggest ever cacao ceremony in London, the 8th of November and we’re working on cacao syrups so every coffee shop in the country can make cacao exactly how we want them to make it.”
Want to Try Full Power Cacao or learn more? Check it outhere. (https://fullpowercacao.com/collections/all)
How Bare Kind Broke Into 1,000 Retailers
Dreaming of getting your DTC brand on the shelves of shops across the UK? At DTC Live London, Bare Kind’s Andrew, Managing Director of Bare Kind, revealed the strategies (and honest setbacks) that took the brand from zero to 1,000 retailers, fast.
🧦 Why Go All-In On Retail?
“We went through Faire, the B2B ecom marketplace, if you guys know it, absolutely crucial. If any brand or product brand is here and they’re not on it, 100% get on it.”
What happened next?
Opened doors to independent stores most brands ignore
Created extra sales opportunities in untapped areas
Saw online and wholesale channels grow together
🛠️ How Bare Kind Did It (and What You Can Try)
1️⃣ Chase down your perfect stockists
Identify your ideal retailers and go direct, even if it means thousands of emails.
“We did a lot of cold email outreach to a lot of podiatrists, I think like 5,000 of them, so my fingers were just like bleeding but that was the big thing for us, just trying to get things that people aren’t doing.”
2️⃣ Leverage automation to grow without burning out
Use digital tools to manage new accounts and save yourself from endless admin.
“It’s just been pretty much automated, like a Shopify would for Faire.”
3️⃣ Don’t underestimate traditional sales tactics
Not every breakthrough comes from the latest marketing trend—sometimes, tried-and-true methods deliver.
“Old outreach still works, there’s a place for it for sure. I think people don’t necessarily like doing it, but it works.”
4️⃣ Expand into new locations to spark growth
Branching out into different areas leads to spikes in both retail and DTC sales.
“We see a huge uplift whenever we move into a new town, even though they are kind of small towns, we see a huge uplift then on sales not just on the B2B side but also the DTC.”
5️⃣ Stay reliable and keep your promises
If you let retailers down on stock, it can damage your reputation and future opportunities.
“If I ever talk to a retailer and they find out I’ve sold out of my Christmas crackers or something, they’re so angry at me, like you’re putting me out of pocket. So you’ve just got to make sure you’ve got enough stock, just get your ops right, pretty much.”
6️⃣ Experiment with untapped strategies
Continuous testing and taking creative risks is how you stay ahead.
“Just trying to get things that people aren’t doing, basically, old outreach still works. There’s a place for it, for sure.”
Check out Barekind (https://barekind.co.uk/) and their and the founder’s podcast channel here. (https://www.youtube.com/@candidfounders)
Check out our FULL events calendar here 📅 (https://www.dtclive.com/events-calendar)
That's it for this week!
Thank you for reading :)
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We'll be back with more growth strategies and insights for eCom and tech brands next week.
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