HUNGRY.

How do you build a food and drink brand somebody actually wants to buy?
In this Hungry Podcast “Megatron” episode, Dan Pope brings together four masterclasses on all things EXIT with Adam Balon, David Milner, Barney Mauleverer and Giles Brook.
They unpack what really makes a business attractive to buyers: genuine product superiority, strong margins, the right team, international potential and a clear path to future growth.
From Innocent’s near-death experience and Fuel10K’s exit journey to walking away from 2,000 Walmart stores, they reveal the decisions, mistakes and negotiations that can make or break an exit.
Plus: how to reverse-engineer your ideal buyer, create competitive tension, survive due diligence, understand valuation — and why your exit will probably take twice as long as you think.
Essential listening for any founder who wants to build, scale and eventually sell a brand.
 ============================================== 
ON THE MENU:
Worked for 2m 14s
[00:00:00] Intro [00:02:10] The Exit Timeline Founders Get Wrong [00:06:45] Reverse Engineer Your Buyer Before You Sell [00:10:40] Why Multinationals Pay More for Brands [00:13:23] Adam Balon: Different AND Better Wins [00:19:54] David Milner’s Four Exit-Ready Building Blocks [00:26:42] Why Your First Team Won’t Scale [00:29:37] The Gross Margin Rule Founders Ignore [00:35:16] Innocent’s 2008 Near-Death Experience [00:43:34] The Three-Thing Focus Rule [00:50:00] Why One Brand Beats a House of Brands [00:55:44] The Retail Listing That Can Sink You [01:01:41] Fuel10K’s Exit Nearly Collapsed [01:08:30] What Due Diligence Actually Uncovers [01:13:34] How to Create Buyer Competition [01:18:59] Start Selling 18 Months Before Exit [01:22:05] The Negotiation Rule That Saves Your Margin [01:29:25] See Your Business Through Buyer Eyes [01:34:45] Why Innocent Struggled in France [01:42:40] Why Brands Get Stuck at £5M [01:49:15] Fuel10K Walked Away From 2,000 Walmart Stores [01:54:19] From Breadline to Nasdaq [01:58:21] How Buyers Actually Value Your Business [02:02:28] The Darkest Day After Vita Coco
♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here - https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/🍲 
============================================== 
🤝 Let's Connect! 
►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/) 
►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/) 
This episode was edited by: G.Thomas Craig (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gthomascraig/)

For this archive replay, we’re going back to one of my favourite conversations with Will and Jack, founders of Fallow — breaking down how they think about food, marketing, teams, energy, pricing, social media and the relentless work behind building restaurants people actually want to visit.
The world has changed. The way you build a restaurant has changed too. This conversation shows you how.
Yes, they’re incredible chefs — serving 10/10 banging food. But they’re also GENIUS marketeers who ripped up the restaurant rule book, zigged when everyone else zagged, and built Fallow, FOWL and ROE into three of the most exciting restaurants in the UK.
 ============================================== 
♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here - https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/🍲 
============================================== 
🤝 Let's Connect! 
►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/) 
►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/) 
This episode was edited by: G.Thomas Craig (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gthomascraig/)

📙Download HUNGRY Big Banging Reading list here 
🧾 HUNGRY survey would be so grateful if you may please fill out

Mahesh Raikar wants to build the “Indian McDonald’s.”
The founder of SKVP joins Dan Pope to unpack how he’s turning Indian street food into a scalable quick-service restaurant brand — without stripping away the authenticity that made the food special in the first place.
Mahesh breaks down the systems behind SKVP’s 23 sites, why a seemingly huge menu can still deliver food in around seven minutes, and how the business thinks about everything from store-level EBITDA and bottlenecks to central kitchens, location strategy and its hero product: the vada pav. They also explore SKVP’s ambition to reach 44 UK sites by March 2028 and eventually take the brand global, why Mahesh believes Indian food still has a huge untapped QSR opportunity, and the lessons he’s learned from McDonald’s, Burger King, Nando’s and other global restaurant brands.Plus: Mahesh’s journey from starting as a porter at Compass, the reality of managing stress as an entrepreneur, Bollywood and Indian culture as brand-building tools, and why SKVP is investing relentlessly in making its core product “the best in the world.”

ON THE MENU:
00:00:00 Intro
00:05:00 The Indian Burger That Could Go Global
00:11:00 Why Indian Food Needs a Western Lens
00:15:05 SKVP’s Plan for 44 UK Sites
00:18:25 How SKVP Serves Food in Seven Minutes
00:23:25 The Systems Making Indian Food Scalable
00:29:10 The Bottlenecks That Hold Businesses Back
00:34:10 Building Today for 100 Restaurants Tomorrow
00:43:00 The Numbers Restaurant Founders Must Understand
00:51:00 From Porter to Building SKVP
00:54:00 Why Authenticity Is SKVP’s Advantage
01:00:50 Every Great Brand Needs a Hero Product
01:07:10 Could Franchising Take SKVP Global?
01:10:10 What Will Actually Limit SKVP’s Growth?
01:18:40 The Hardship That Shaped Mahesh Raikar
01:24:50 Why Founders Need Macro Patience
01:30:20 Entrepreneurship Is Really Stress Management
01:40:00 Building the Best Vada Pav in the World
01:47:55 How Bollywood Builds Indian Soft Power
01:53:45 Can Delivery Help Build the Indian McDonald’s?

  
 ============================================== 
♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here - https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/🍲 
============================================== 
🤝 Let's Connect! 
►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/) 
►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/) 
This episode was edited by: G.Thomas Craig (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gthomascraig/)