Bold Bean Co | B Corp™

⬇️ Now this is bonkers. This morning, Ashley shared this with me this from Steve Monk - highlighting The Grocer and NielsenIQ's data on the growth of challenger brands in the UK. Internally, we've seen this sort of data point before, but always in isolation where we're like: "this sounds good, it is good, right?!". Seeing Bold Bean Co | B Corp™ incredible growth alongside some other (very inspiring) brands really just puts this stat into perspective. You can whistle through start ups always onto the next thing - thinking about the challenges ahead and not reflect - but sometimes, perspective is exactly what you need to feel that overwhelming sense of gratitude and pride. Which I really do seeing our beans in this list with 353% growth. And who better time to celebrate this win with than the team that made it happen. This week, Ed Whelpton and I are taking team bold bean for a 3-night workaway in Bristol - Christmas party included 🎉. Watch this space.... if this is what 2024 can do, we're plotting going even bigger in 2025. If we have it our way, beans will be claiming its own aisle in the supermarket to keep up with all of the bean obsessives out there.

Burnout arrived early this year! I had planned for it to show up during the Christmas holidays, but alas, it made an early appearance just the week before. Last night, in an effort to pause and reset, we headed to The Bull for a Pie & Pint (or a Botivo Spritz). For a couple of hours, we simply stopped—sitting by a roaring fire, soaking up the festive atmosphere. At the table next to us, three friends were exchanging Christmas gifts, and one of them unwrapped The Bold Bean Co | B Corp™ Cookbook. If you know, you know! Not only was it The Bold Bean Cookbook, but the thoughtful gift-giver had gone the extra mile (Amelia Christie-Miller you would have loved it!). She’d labeled her favorite recipes with little notes, explaining why each one was special. The quick-to-cook recipes were her personal favorites. I found myself engrossed, practically joining their table in spirit, as they spent a good 15 minutes chatting over the book. Even with my brain feeling burnt out, a spark of joy lit up inside me. I LOVE that we’re choosing to gift each other JOYFUL FOOD. This is the magic I want everyone to feel: the happiness, the shared passion for delicious meals, and the way food brings people together. It’s everything. Food connects us. It sparks conversations, stirs emotions, and deepens our relationships. So let’s give more foodie gifts this Christmas—they’re the absolute best! 🎁🍴✨

WE'VE GOT SOMETHING BETTER TO BE SMOOCHING UNDER⁠ ⁠ This is a legume root 🌱 ⁠ "WHY IS THIS INTERRUPTING MY PRECIOUS SCROLLING TIME OF INDULGENT FESTIVE CHEESE PULLS?!"⁠ ⁠ WELL. Today is a pretty key day for beans, legumes + pulses. And we don't just love them because, when done right, they're darn delicious. It's also down to what they do for the soil. And TODAY is #worldsoilday⁠ ⁠ Beans are #nitrogenfixers which means they take nitrogen from the air + fix it into the soil, which is all made possible by these very uniquely, sexy root nodules. This means that farmers don't need to use expensive, chemical fertilisers because it's already there in the air = HEALTHIER SOIL. ⁠ ⁠ + Beans are cover crops, which means they bind with the soil. This helps the earth from washing away in the spring rains and runoff = HEALTHIER SOIL⁠ ⁠ + Beans are often grown alongside less sexy crops who need their help (aka their nitrogen); this creates a diverse 'ole farming landscape for bugs, bees + bunnies. It also helps crops suppress diseases naturally. = MORE BIODIVERSITY.⁠ ⁠ So, sack off celebrating the mistletoe, we'll be snogging under legume roots. It's FAR more interesting and CELEBRATORY, if you ask us!

Do you belong in this job? I really want to cultivate a TRUE sense of belonging at Bold Bean Co, not by creating a team of “cookie-cutter” characters all singing from the same hymn sheet, but by attracting a mix of perspectives, genders (lol we need more men unlike most!!), ethnicities, cultures, ages and everything in-between. THAT is what real quality culture looks like and what we aspire to create. A quote I recently came across sums it up perfectly: “Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort” - John Ruskin (thank you Ed Perry!) For a culture that's diverse and inclusive, you need intentionality and constant work. And in the world of food and drink #fmcg, everyone knows this isn't easy. As a small brand, we've invested time and resources in this area, running team talks on topics like cultural appropriation in food (thank you 🔹🔸 Mallika Basu🔹🔸) and LGBTQIA+ inclusivity (thank you Luisa R.!). But now, thanks to an incredible community of likeminded SME's, we are THRILLED to announce we don't have to navigate this journey alone! I feel incredibly fortunate that we've been welcomed in as one of 3 new members of the JEDI MATTERS Collective - a group of brands that are fighting to create a more Just, Equitable and Inclusive landscape for SMEs. Here we are able to pool our efforts, share resources, tackle challenges and take meaningful steps towards CHANGE 💪 We're working to make you obsessed with beans, by giving you the best of beans - and beans are one of the most diverse food groups we have, showing up in food cultures across the globe. We want to reflect that in what we do and how we are. Caring about diversity is about staying true to our mission - not just making people #beanobsessed - but by making EVERYONE #beanobsessed 🫘🫘 To do this we need to be an open and accessible brand where everyone feels like they belong - JEDI MATTERS Collective is helping us on this continuous journey - and we are buzzing to be part of it alongside brands we look up to in so many ways 🙌

DO NOT FEAR THE BEAN STOCK⁠ ⁠ Instead, ✨cherish it ✨ that stuff is LIQUID GOLD.⁠ ⁠ Bean stock is the result of cooking the beans with a pinch of salt + water.⁠ ⁠ •The long slow cook = the starches from the bean get released into the cooking liquor.⁠ •The starchier the bean = the thicker, more gelatinous the bean stalk. Aka PERFECT for thickening soups and stews.⁠ •Of course, drain for a salad 👌 but they don’t always need rinsing, as a lot of the flavour from the stock latches onto the bean.⁠ ⁠ And lastly NO ITS NOT MOULD. ⁠ Some of the darker beans - like carlin peas + black beans - get oxidised, meaning they get even darker in colour, but that’s only because WE DON’T USE ADDITIVES 🙏⁠ ⁠ In short, all bean stock is GREAT bean stock, so delicious, you can eat it straight from the jar 🙌

Well would't that be a nice addition to your next @tescofood shop⁠ ⁠ STOP DREAMING. START BELIEVING - WE'RE IN TESCOS!!!⁠

Only the finest

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT BEANS are having a moment, and they're making the major headlines in the latest issue of Pit Magazine Ltd Think ancient history meets modern-day cool. We're not not just talking winter-warming beany stews or how to make the best hummus 🥱 we're celebrating the BEAUTIFUL BORLOTTI, an innovative black bean sauce, and the unsung hero, THE CARLIN PEA. Pit’s signature spectrum also dives deep into the history of beans, with a trip down memory lane from Balkan Kitchen who tells the story of the cultural significance of beans in Balkan canteens. There's so much more for us to learn about beans, and we're ready to dive in FULL FORCE. Cover credits to illustrator Holly St Clair, photographed by Pit Magazine Ltd Robert Billington GRAB A COPY: https://lnkd.in/en-jh5FU

GOOOOOD MORNING

When I joined Bold Bean Co, I was inspired by their mission to make the world obsessed with beans, by giving them the best of beans. What I didn’t expect to see was this small but mighty brand actually making this mission a reality 🚀 But don't just take my word for it - The Times recently featured a fantastic article highlighting the incredible work that Amelia Christie-Miller and the amazing team at Bold Bean Co. are doing. ✨ Sales are up a remarkable 122% YoY, “driven by foodie influencers as well as the upmarket brand, the Bold Bean Co” ✨ 🫘 Queen Black Bean are up 417% and Queen Red Beans are up 355% - try them in a delicious Smoky Black Bean Bake this weekend and I promise you’ll see why As the article states: ✨"Bold Bean Co. has almost single-handedly reinvented the humble bean, transforming it from a staid, commodified product” ✨ As Amelia summarises: “Pulses are the closest thing to the perfect food." Essentially, the more beans we get people eating, the better—for our health, for the planet, and of course, for our taste buds (because, honestly, they’re ridiculously delicious). Let’s keep spreading the bean obsession! 🌱 💚 🌍  For the full article see here: