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Coconut Lane
Coconut Lane is an Oxfordshire based business founded in 2015 by then 22 year-old best friends Jess Lancaster and Charlotte Stagg. Their vision was to design and sell ‘stylish and affordable accessories’. Initially operating from their bedrooms, the duo has expanded the company into an e-commerce business with sales of £12.4m in 2024 and a team of 14 women. The company sell products such as phone cases, watch straps, and laptop cases. When co-founder Jess got a dog during lockdown it sparked the launch of sister brand Cocopup which sells dog accessories including collars, leads and bags. Coconut Lane and Cocopup have cultivated a loyal social media community and presence with over 550k Instagram followers.
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CLIQ
Nicola and Jason are the Founders of CLIQ – a community app that connects communities online and offline. The couple are serial entrepreneurs who built and sold their first company within three years, a beauty booking platform that was acquired in 2022. Now, as co-founders of CLIQ, their platform aims to foster real-world connections through interest-based communities and events.
CLIQ focuses on interest-based groups such as walking groups, book clubs and wellness groups that promote real-life connection. Users can create and organise gatherings with built-in ticketing, event chats and analytics dashboards. Today CLIQ has over 100,000 users and has raised over £500k via investors and a crowdfunding campaign. -
Citizens of Soil
Citizens of Soil is a London-based extra virgin olive oil brand founded by Sarah and Michael Vachon. By sourcing from small-scale farmers practicing regenerative agriculture across the Mediterranean, Citizens of Soil aims to deliver sustainable and nutritious oils to its customers. Citizens of Soil operates its own subscription service as well as selling via major retailers such as Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and Waitrose. Earlier this year, the company secured £1.8m in seed funding co-led by FIGR Ventures and a private family office. This investment will support their Olive Oil Club membership, which is the fastest-growing part of the business, as well as their impact initiatives around regenerative farmers.
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Chaiiwala
Leicester-based co-founders Sohail Ali, Muhummed Ibrahim and Mustafa Ismail were inspired by a family legacy dating back to a 1927 tea stall in New Delhi. Their vision when launching Chaiiwala, was to modernise traditional Indian street food, offering dishes like Karak Chaii and Masala Chips with a twist. Since launching, the business has expanded to over 100 locations across the UK, Canada and the UAE. Recent milestones include opening its first airport outlet at London Luton Airport and forming a strategic partnership with Lote Global to support their growth plans of reaching 500 global stores by 2026.
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byellie
Ellie Carlile founded byellie in 2021 after struggling with skin breakouts and lip damage from acne treatment she received during the covid lockdown. Unable to find an effective solution, she invested 2k – the last of her savings – into creating a lip balm that healed and soothed her lips. Following the positive response she had from customers, Ellie went on to create other solution-based products. After launching ‘Brow Shape’, the brand grew, and went ‘viral’ across socials with videos reaching 30m views. The company’s products are now stocked in all UK Sephora stores, with plans to expand into retail across the US, EU and ME.
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Arrowtown
Arrowtown Drinks is a vodka soda brand founded by brothers Rob and James Smith. Inspired by travels in Arrowtown, New Zealand where they saw the popularity of the ready-to-drink market, the brothers decided to bring their version of all natural, low sugar vodka sodas back to the UK market. Operating from East Sussex, the duo bootstrapped their venture straight out of university – Rob worked building-site shifts while James balanced final exams and essays – before launching in late 2020. Their product range now includes black cherry, lime & elderflower, peach and tropical flavours, which they sell via Amazon, in Co-op stores and other independent retailers. Arrowtown also supply major festivals and will be stocked at over 35 festivals across the country this summer.