How to get Steven Bartlett to invest with Bethan Higson, Mother Root

One of the biggest pieces of advice you'll hear as a founder is to find a gap in the market. But what if the real opportunity isn't finding a gap at all, it's solving a problem you've experienced yourself?

After more than a decade in the wine industry, Bethan Higson became frustrated by the alcohol-free options available during her first pregnancy. Rather than trying to recreate wine or spirits, she wanted to create something entirely different: a drink that delivered the same complexity, ritual and sense of occasion. Two years of experimenting at her kitchen table led to Mother Root, a fiery non-alcoholic aperitif made using ginger and apple cider vinegar. 

Today, Mother Root is the UK's fastest-growing drinks brand and has rapidly expanded from a direct-to-consumer start-up into major retailers, while scaling even faster in the US than in its home market. 

In this episode, Bethan shares what it was really like appearing on Dragons' Den, how she secured investment offers from three Dragons, why she ultimately chose Steven Bartlett, and why the deal never completed. We also explore category creation, hiring exceptional people, building momentum with retailers, preparing for explosive growth, and why saying no is one of the most important skills any founder can develop.

Bethan's Advice:

• Build your business around solving a genuine customer problem, rather than chasing a growing market.
• Adopt a test-and-learn mindset to make faster decisions and reduce the pressure of getting everything right first time.
• Prepare for success as much as failure by building the systems and team you'll need to handle growth.
• Hire people whose strengths complement your own, and don't hesitate when you find exceptional talent.
• Prioritisation is fundamental, stay focused on the opportunities that genuinely move the needle.
• Learn to say no to those opportunities which won’t further your business in the long term - but do it respectfully.

Chapters

(00:00) Why finding a gap isn't enough
(01:10) Meet Bethan Higson & Mother Root
(02:00) Building a business around a real customer problem
(05:00) Convincing retailers to back a new category
(07:15) Turning a kitchen-table idea into a business
(10:00) Founder fears, boundaries & obsession
(14:00) Behind the scenes of Dragons' Den
(19:15) Choosing Steven Bartlett as an investor
(22:00) Preparing your business for explosive growth
(26:00) Scaling Mother Root in the UK & US
(28:00) Why every founder should "test and learn"
(29:30) Hiring exceptional people
(30:30) Why saying no is a founder's superpower
(32:00) Finding the right COO & business partner
(34:00) Bethan's question for the next guest

FF&M enables you to own your own PR & produces podcasts.
https://www.fallowfieldmason.com

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.

Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on Instagram @fallowfieldmason.

MUSIC CREDIT: Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.

Transcript

[00:00:00] 

Beth Higson: you don't see the dragons until you have your opportunity to pitch.

And we were in there for two hours, they are testing your mettle as an entrepreneur, They're also trying to get some entertaining telly

 Last week we sold more bottles of Mother Root in the US than we did in the UK, from here on, it's our larger market, and we've done that in six months, which is unreal.

When you spot the right person, it's like fundamental to prioritise getting that person in because it makes a huge difference.​

Juliet Fallowfield: One of the biggest pieces of advice you'll hear as a founder is to find the gap in the market. But what if the real opportunity isn't filling a gap? After a decade in the wine industry Bethan, Higson became frustrated by the alcohol-free options available during her first pregnancy.

The next few years were spent refining recipes at her kitchen table, combining traditional winemaking techniques with apple cider vinegar 

The result eight years ago was Mother Root, a brand that has helped reshape the non-alcoholic category 

In this episode, Bethan, takes us through her Dragon's [00:01:00] Den experience, how she managed to get Steven Bartlett, among other dragons, to offer her funding, and how Mother Root has continued to scale in the UK and the US, 

​Hi, Bethan. Thank you so much for coming on "How to Start Up" today. Before we get into all things "Dragons' Den," I would love it if you could introduce yourself and a bit about the business that you have started.

Beth Higson: Yes, of course. it's a pleasure to be talking to you, Juliet. I'm the founder of Mother Root, and we make fiery non-alcoholic aperitifs that are made with a base of ginger that gives the real lovely slow burn, but also the secret ingredient is apple cider vinegar, which is where all of the complexity and delicious bite comes from

Juliet Fallowfield: Oh, I love this because you've gone straight into the goodness of the taste, but you're neglecting to mention that you're in The Times top 100 and I think the fastest growing UK drinks business?

Beth Higson: I know, and I guess that sort of just demonstrates where my passion is and, how the business started. I didn't say, "Oh, here's a gap in the market that I can exploit [00:02:00] because non-alcoholic drinks are a booming category." I was the customer and I was obsessed with, what is the solution?

What is the thing that's missing for me? And it started with product and an obsession with flavor. And so that's where it began. whereas, I think there's a lot of people who sort of jump on it and say, "Oh, I want a piece of that, category." and then I think often that's where things go wrong because you're not thinking about the end customer and you're not really necessarily experiencing that real gap and that need.But yes, I'm so thrilled and so proud with the progress that we've made. I guess being single-minded on the customer and the product has meant that, we are now the UK's fastest growing drinks brand, 

and we were in the Sunday Times Top 100.

 and it's just phenomenal to see where we've come

 in the early stages I got a lot of, "Well, are you sure? Does it need to have vinegar in it? That sounds unusual. Can you tone it down a bit? It's quite strong. maybe you should make non-alcoholic mojitos." And I was quite [00:03:00] single-minded about it because, I could really see that this delivered on so many things that I loved about drinks, having had a background in the alcoholic drinks world and that there could be legs in it.

But, there's a lot that goes into moving that massive rock, the uphill momentum that's required, especially in the early days. And you get a lot of like self-doubt because many people just don't get it. So you like hold onto those like glimmers of the, indicators, the green shoots, the signs that no, this is it, to help steer you when, a lot of people are giving you lots of advice and you've got to decide which bits you take and which bits you kind of politely 

ignore

Juliet Fallowfield: the unsolicited advice is amazing. I was dumbfounded because I left Bond Street Brands behind and I was made redundant and started, and I sent my website to a few friends to break for me. Said, "Can you click all the buttons and all the links and break it and tell me where I'm going wrong?" They say, "Why do you want to support startups and scale-ups?

You can do big brands and you should do big brands, and should and could are very different." I was like, "I could, but I don't want to." And it was a real lesson of I now have this liberty to [00:04:00] choose the direction I'm going in. 

But for you doing something new and just going back to your previous points, no one would say to make a margarita less, so why would you make a non-alcoholic 

drink less? 

Beth Higson: A-a-and that's the real challenge, I think, with the non-alcoholic category today. We sit within that category because of where the category is today. People need to know I'm going to shop those shelves in store. But actually it helps get found. But if I had my way, it wouldn't be called that.

It'd be adult beverage, and it would be alcohol percentage agnostic, and it's flavor-led and occasion-led and actually-- about, the, the non, because the non really puts it in something that's lesser than, which other story. But-- And I think truly over time it will get there.

But we are so early in the category itself. I mean, It's like five midnight if, you were looking at like the category in comparison to the length of time that alcohol has been around. It's super early days and a long way for this to go. But I'm really excited about, its future and leadingthat creation of it.

it's real blank [00:05:00] canvas.

Juliet Fallowfield: it. You can be going into retailers and be like, "Right, there's a whole new category coming." You can be on the front foot with this. 

Beth Higson: I-- getting into retailers was something we did only in last year, and that was after building a big audience online, so we knew the popularity of it. We had so many repeat customers, people sharing it but it was still a task to convince the retailers who had built their shelves up with non-alcoholic gin, vodka, rum, beers, to say there was space for this type of drink that wasn't a replica, that was doing its own thing, and they had to take a bit of a risk on it.

And then, the first ones to move were Ocado and Waitrose. Very food-focused, very much, aligned, so we had a lot of data to say our customers are shopping with you. So all of that stuff went into the pitch deck. But it stilltook a lot of effort despite all of that information. But then once we were in and once we started to see the rate of sale and we were climbing to the top of the category, not just non-alc spirits, but the [00:06:00] whole of the no and low category complete, that's when things start to sort of the momentum, that rock that I was talking about in the very early days, slowly pushing up a hill.

That's where it starts to go more downhill. yeah, the wind at your back and move.

Juliet Fallowfield: is like learning how to ski or surf or snowboard or all the things that I've tried and been all right at, but when it works, it's so dreamy and that feeling of this is working. But that uphill struggle, do you think it's like the harder the uphill is at the beginning, the more success or the more reward comes?

Or it's just, it's luck and chance, you just gotta throw everything at it and see what happens?

Beth Higson: it's probably a bit of both because I think if you're truly doing something that's difficult, there will be fewer people who are also as committed to do it and therefore you have the potential to have more of the market when it comes to you, and so yes, I think thenit is more yours to own because you've done the hard graft of really opening those doors and you have that first mover advantage.

But then it's the the flip side of the first [00:07:00] mover advantage is that you're the one who's pushing down all the very firmly closed doors. but then when they're open, they're, they are more yours to take advantage of, 

Juliet Fallowfield: That's a really nice way of looking at it, 'cause I think a lot of people in that beginning bit could be really tired and frustrated and just like, "Is anyone gonna get this? Is anyone gonna listen?" But for you, we're gonna talk about getting investment on "Dragons' Den," but given your background was in the drinks sector, when did you realize this personal frustration that you thought, "Actually, there's a business here"?

Well, the gap I noticed was, as I said, from personal experience. I was pregnant with my eldest son, who's now 10, so this goes back quite a long time. And I really missed that bite and complexity and the wind down moment, and every option just felt like such a kind of compromise and like an afterthought, and I wanted to feel part of whole experience.

Beth Higson: I'd worked in hospitality even longer than 10 years. it was my first jobs were in restaurants and bars, and it's such a meaningful part of what it is to be human. You invite people around for a drink, and really what you're saying is, [00:08:00] "Come round and have a catch-up. I want a conversation with you."

It's a moment of connection and, you want something that-- It's a ritual and you want actually something that is equal to that moment. so it was really from that that I discovered vinegar is a really intriguing ingredient that had been used in many ancient drinks.

It's not an, it's not I didn't come up with the concept, People have been in- including vinegars in their drinks since the Middle Ages and even going actually till the ancient Egyptians. So a really long history of it. But it was kind of reimagining that history for the modern use case,which was trying to find a decent, proper drink,that had loads of flavor.

And I love fermentation and how fermentation makes vinegar, and fermentation is also what makes alcohol and it's what builds flavor. It's all of those,small mini fermentations that happen that actually build something called flavonoids, and that's why you have such full flavor with drinks that have a little bit of vinegar in them. I believe it was the chef of Noma who described vinegar as [00:09:00] liquid seasoning. And, you know, you you think you add, salt, pepper, as like the core seasoning, but vinegar is that third seasoning that will just bring a sharpness and an aliveness 

Juliet Fallowfield: And 

it's good for your gut as well.

Beth Higson: is just famed for being good all round. It's good all round. And I guess I felt so good after drinking it, not just because I finally found something that was deliciousand really like moreish, but also the ingredients made me feel good. It's got loads of natural ginger in there that gives you this lovely burn, but alsoit's very uplifting.

It gives you a bit of a pick-me-up and the apple cider vinegar helps to get that digestive process going, it is all part of feeling good. 

Juliet Fallowfield: So the aha moment, turning this into a, from something I made and discovered the, the gap to turning it into business actually came three years later, where I'd be mulling it over and seeing the growth of the category But no one is doing this," and this still feels like the best solution in my opinion.

Beth Higson: I was pregnant for the second time and,got a, a big old group of friends [00:10:00] who were, like NCT kind of friends. And I took them all down to the pub. We were there with our little babies. you know, our first babies. I was, put play mats on the floor I had, clipboards and I was doing focus group taste test with them, just getting their opinions beyond me, beyond my little bubble of, "Now, would you drink this?

When would you drink it? Do you like this one and this one?" And like giving them the earliest samples and also like canvassing their thoughts on, name and the format and all sorts. And so that was the very early days. And then basically I got enough encouragement at that point that I decided if I'm actually gonna do this and not just think about it, because I was so scared. No one in my family was an entrepreneur. No, none of my friends were. They all did normal jobs, quote unquote. 

Juliet Fallowfield: Scared of what exactly? 

The risk or the unknown or? 

Beth Higson: like starting a business, the, all the unknowns. I was like... And also not r- I am obviously, I wouldn't want it to fail, but I'm more scared of success in a strange way, because I knew that this would [00:11:00] have the potential to take over my life.

And my issue is I am not very good with boundaries, like self-imposed boundaries.

Juliet Fallowfield: we talk about this all the time. even people who are not self-employed are like doom scrolling at midnight, not doing the meditations or the breathwork. Like we all know, but it's very hard. But if you knew that going in, 

I want to ask later maybe if there was anything you put in place to protect your boundaries or...

'Cause it, businesses we know can take everything and more, and actually Kate Halfpenny from the episode before said this, she's "It will take everything, whatever you offer it and more of that, so you have to protect yourself." But it's so hard. Yeah, that's probably a 

Beth Higson: So hard. 

Yeah, I'm a very obsessive person, and I guess many entrepreneurs are. I realize clearly it was, a natural part of my personality. It helps enormously to keep digging at something or keep going at something when, everything's saying sort of maybe, "No, don't do it," or to just go deeper in [00:12:00] research or having that sort of,blind belief,

Juliet Fallowfield: But the off switch isn't there,And to just to a nod to the boundaries piece is I guess my family is a self-imposed boundarythat is, they need me. They need me, and other people needing me, I need that But you're still potentially

putting yourself at the bottom of 

the 

list.

Beth Higson: to give yeah. So that is so true. But they fill up my cup at the same time. But yes, I often, I find up here it goes in peaks and troughs, and where it's been really intense, Like I start to realize itand,I can talk to people, my team. I've got very good trusting relationships with my COO and, we have really good regular one-to-ones where we're super open, and that is a lifesaver. but I would say I noticed when my, my kids have been away for school holidays, like with the grandparents for a week,that's happened occasionally, and I just don't stop working. And so I know how healthy it has been for me, as, as mad as it sounds, 'cause obviously it's a lot to juggle a job and, run a business and have [00:13:00] young kids. But I think actually it's been the making of me 

Juliet Fallowfield: that forced stop where, these two little humans, it's non-negotiable 

 But it can, especially as you're doing your job, you've created a job for yourself. You're doing something that's never been done before, which is also a really key point for listeners to hear that of it's one thing to do something, so I could have started a PR agency very easily.

I'd have made my life very much simpler for myself, and I went another way and I teach founders how to do their own PR and everyone's like, "But why? Why would you do that?" It's it's the best thing for the business. It's a project, it's not a retainer. It's how PR should be done. 

But you can go and go and go and sometimes I said to a friend, "You just have to shut the laptop." We call it laptop down. Even if you haven't finished the email or emptied your inbox, you have to walk away. And it was Uwern Jong in his episode, he's the founder of "OutThere" magazine. He said, "Just know when the end of your day is and stick to it.

If it's 6:00 PM, if it's 10:00 PM, whatever it is, have structure." I'm like, Okay, fine." And we've done a number of episodes on sleep as well and I'm like, "Okay, yeah, I'm really not listening to my guests enough." I [00:14:00] was gonna ask you, after years of building the business, "Dragons' Den" became the opportunity to put Mother Root in front of millions of people and some of the best known investors.

What made you decide to go on "Dragons' Den" given you were already succeeding, and what was the process of getting on the show actually like? 

Beth Higson: So I don't know how much you know of the whole process, but I'm, maybe revealing, you know, how, what goes on behind the scenes. so many people [00:15:00] will apply to go on the show, and then they've got scouts who will look for interesting businesses or interesting kind of stories that they think they would quite like to get on the show. So they invite you to apply. So I was invited to apply. but they still go through the process of then deciding if they want you on the show.So we decided that it was the right time in the sense of the business was in a good place, and we had just been doing a big three-year plan.

We'd just been raising a round of investment, so all of the financials were in a good place,I had confidence that I could go in and not be the, charity case or the laughing stock, which obviously "Dragons' Den" is an entertainment show, and they want highest highs, they want big successes, or they also want something that you're gonna be ridiculous and out and, like, digging a hole and, being sent out of the den with, no offers, et cetera.

But I obviously didn't want that to be my fate, so I thought it was a good time to apply because the opportunity of getting that much airtime for us,you know, we were doing well, but we're still really young, small business that [00:16:00] couldn't afford to get that exposure on TV any other way. And we'd spoken to a few other founders who'd been on it who just said how transformational it had been.

So I thought, Let's go for it. This is one of those roll the dice moments." And it was just a brilliant opportunity that I would've kicked myself if we hadn't said yes. So that was it. So we decided to go for it. We got through to the filming, and then when you go on, it is completely as You would imagine. you don't see the dragons until you step out and you have your opportunity to pitch. weeks of,multiple times writing that pitch and getting it, checked by BBC, who kept doing these small edits, and then we had to try and learn it again, and then they would chop and change it, and we had to learn it again.

Juliet Fallowfield: I was gonna say 

the prep work,

 so the prep was knowing, obviously knowing your business inside out, but if you're raising any way you would be-- you're pitching for investment, but it just happens to be on camera. other preparation did you do to feel confident?

Beth Higson: When you're pitching for investment in a normal way, of course, you've got your, pitch deck and you know your numbers right now,you've got files that you can refer to or [00:17:00] send on, you know, said, "Yes, I'll send you that piece of information afterwards in an email."

But it's it's more encyclopedic. It's a bit like, you know,studying for a, an exam back at uni or a school where you've got to know all the information because you've got to be pull out,a margin figure from three years ago,or,what happened, why were there those lossesand really getting into the nitty-gritty,of things that happened quite a long time ago.

'Cause whilst it was a young business, it was still already at that point about five years old, so it had quite a lot of history to go through. And we were in there for two hours, so they did go through a lot. and I think it's 'cause it is a genuine process. It's very rigorous. They are testing your mettle as an entrepreneur, which is part of the process.

They're also trying to get some good,entertaining telly

Juliet Fallowfield: Did you watch

 previous episodes and try

and, like, find patterns? 

Beth Higson: Yeah.

I was on there with my COO, and, we basically we got a bit over the top. It comes back to the obsessive nature that we both have.

we're downloading all of the transcripts from all the episodes and putting it through AI to then understand, like, which are the questions that are the ones that come up the [00:18:00] most and, like pattern match and, so that we could predict what to expect, which was really helpful. But yeah, we definitely, we went a bit 

Juliet Fallowfield: But I think potentially, but also when you feel prepared, you feel more confident, and if you feel more confident, you'll do a better pitch. and what was it like standing there pitching? How did you feel?

Beth Higson: Yeah, very nerve-wracking. I definitely fluffed my initial line. Had to sort of stop and start again. It was more that it's such an unusual situation. Very rarely do you go in and deliver a pitch like that.even though I'd pitched hundreds of times my business, it's just the kind of formality of them coming in through the doors, them staring at you.

But as soon as that initial pitch was over and it went into the Q&A, I was completely at ease because I knew my subject material really well and had done it hundreds of times before, and it just felt like a normal conversation.you almost forgot that the cameras were there, except every so often they would go, "Cut!"

 like, dab the, like, shine on our [00:19:00] forehead 'cause we'd obviously were sweating so much under the lights and we're, "Oh, God." we'd occasionally, like, we'd moved too much off our spots, and we'd have to, shuffle back, which, then, broke the fourth wall or whatever that's 

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah 

Beth Higson: you're, "Oh, God, yeah, we are filming."

But, you'd forgotten,

Juliet Fallowfield: Well, that's quite nice. Yeah, 'cause you're building the rapport and obviously you're being asked questions about something you know inside out, which is amazing. But at what point in that whole two-hour period did you realize this wasn't just about getting an investment, you were gonna have a choice with who to partner with?

Beth Higson: they were making good noises and you could see there was at one point where Steven says,it's gone quiet. That's a good sign. That usually means they're planning their next move." And then you could see a little smile from both Sara uh, Sara Davies Sara Daviesand Deborah Meaden, who were the ones who ultimately offered alongside Steven.so yeah, at that point we knew, but we weren't expecting. We were going in there with a, a aim of getting an offer, but, we weren't expecting to then actually have to go to the wall and then sort of choose 

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah. Well, just very quickly before we move on to the next question, I love that you always refer to [00:20:00] everyone on there with their full names, apart from Steven Bartlett, who's just Steven. He's done an amazing job on his branding. But receiving multiple offers in the Den meant deciding which investor was the right fit for the next stage of your business, and you have a very short period of time to make that decision.

When you've got more than one dragon wanting to invest, how do you actually decide whose money to take? Did you have a gut feeling? Had you discussed it before?

 well, they were our top three, you know. Absolutely loved, and they were very warm, all three of them during the whole process. We really liked them on a personal level.they really made us feel at ease, and that's huge.the gut feel is a big part of how you make that decision. in the end it came down to, well, we want whoever we choose to feel fully invested, and therefore we didn't want to split it, so they had real skin in the game.and then it therefore came down to, what are the additional, what's the added value that we could get? and given that our business is so driven by digital marketing, that made the call to be with, Steven as opposed to,Sara and Deborah [00:21:00] because, it is a huge part of how we grow our business. So it was more about 

Beth Higson: that 

balance 

Juliet Fallowfield: has Steven Bartlett's, involvement been with the business since?

Beth Higson: So Steven is a, a super lovely guy. in terms of the investment, I don't know how much you know about how it works, but, it is very a laborious process after the, the handshake agreement, which is what happens on screen. So it takes a lot of time, a lot of,due diligence, et cetera, and the business was changing all the time throughout that process.

So in the end, we decided not to progress, but he was, amazing throughout and was really supportive and a real mentor. So, it was an amazing opportunity for brand visibility

Juliet Fallowfield: I was gonna say from a PR comms perspective, that sounds like win-win 'cause you're not giving away any equity of the business, but you've got the brand exposure. Just to be completely callous about this 

It's incredible for the ability for a small business to be able to get that time. I think it ultimately is sort of six minutes on BBC One, and be able to speak to the audience about it. And, our [00:22:00] business even before it was aired was growing, significantly and I think then, you just make a decision as to whether or not, it's gonna be the right partnership or the, the partnership that's required at the same way as maybe when we originally filmed it.

Beth Higson: And, as anyinvestment conversation goes, you have to align on whether it makes sense at the time of investing.I think an, a good number do go through, but also a good number don't, when they're going through that process after, after the show finishes.

Juliet Fallowfield: Well, that double opportunity shouldn't be underestimated, 'cause I know one friend of mine, Déj, he went on and secured investment and then said no to it afterwards, is actually this isn't right for me, but had the exposure. So turning that television moment into long-term growth can be a very difficult challenge, 

 A lot of founders go after exposure, and it can be through paid marketing or earned media, which is PR, which is you going on a not paid placement. and after the episode aired, I believe sales jumped by 2,000%. 

Beth Higson: Yes. Yeah, overnight

Juliet Fallowfield: And from the outside, that sounds incredible, but what does that kind of spike actually do for the small business?

'Cause I [00:23:00] presume it fills me with great fear because if you think about stock fulfillment, packaging, customer service, you're running a business at a certain level, and then for the sales to come in that much higher, what happened next? Your face says it all.

Beth Higson: no, it was actually good. We filmed in June of 2024, and the episode aired in October 2025, and that's what I mean, in between time a lot had changed, including we had listings in supermarkets, so we'd had to already scale up production to meet that additional, customer base.

We had built out the team. We were building brand awareness all, every day, which was driving more sales and repeat business. So we'd already been able to build up a bit more of a buffer to prepare for that event. And, we were also really focused on making the most of it, so we simplified our offer on the website, just offering [00:24:00] people one thing that we then packed all of that ahead of time so that we knew that we could just get the bottles out the door, and it was gonna be really easy from a fulfillment perspective, and we would be getting, delighted customers getting their bottle, within two days and, be able to really build and take advantage of that.

That was our key focus. But it was weeks and weeks of preparation going up to that, date. And the thing is, you're told only by the BBC two or three weeks ahead of when the date is actually going to be, and they always caveat that they might not actually include you because they, you know, It's their, edit, it's their program.

So we were "Ooh, I mean, is it ac- is it gonna not?" But, you have to just go, with a hope and a prayer it is gonna be, and you have to prepare two things in business, I think you have to prepare for failure. you have to be like really aware of the risks, but you also have to prepare for it to go really well.

and that includes like this focus on making sure the website was perfect, the doing test runs and, building that, that very singular offer so [00:25:00] that spike that we saw onto the website. They had a very special offer. We were giving away a pourer, a mixer, some soda, some tonics, a stirrer, all in one.

So it was a really lovely offer so people could get the special Dragon's Den deal of the day. And yeah, and I think that just really worked. It's that sense of, right, this is just for today, and it really captured people's attention as they were visiting the site. Yeah.

Juliet Fallowfield: This sounds dreamy and it just sounds so well executed. and I've interviewed a number of people that say, "Oh no, we had no idea that was gonna happen. It was a complete disaster, and our customer service nearly had a heart attack." But for you, you'd done the prep work, you'd forecast, you'd learned how to scale with your retailer.

So did it go out smoothly? were there any hiccups?

Beth Higson: there are always hiccups when you're dealing with that many orders. some will go to the wrong place. There's a, the customer service kind of levels really goes through the roof. But again,we'd had the opportunity to really plan ahead, and our team was very... were small, but all focused

behind this one thing and making it a [00:26:00] success.

Juliet Fallowfield: Love this. And then since then, Mother Root has expanded into like major supermarkets and launched in the US, which is huge. Looking back, how much growth has come from "Dragons' Den" and how much had already been set in motion before the cameras turned on?

Beth Higson: Yeah. Oh, it, we were already doing, best in class rate of sale in supermarkets. So we were doing really well from that perspective. but "Dragons' Den" was a step change. it is really, you can see it. You can, if you look at your brand on Google Trends, you can see unusual, spikes in, usually it's media.

Let's say you suddenly get a piece out on the TV, or you get this, a really nice piece in a, a national paper. or let's say something goes viral. So if you're really good at organic viral posts, you'll see these spikes. So ours was this just off the charts spike from the show, which then settled going into the end of the year at, twice the awareness levels, And that coincided with us also unlocking Sainsbury's as a new retailer. So it [00:27:00] really meant a fantastic, Christmas 2025. so all of those things really matter, and it's given us confidence actually to go having those big, campaign moment that we might have been nervous about putting some spend behind.

It's given us the realization that actually let's try and do something again. Obviously, we can't replicate, "Dragons' Den," but we can come up with our own moments where we create a bit of a splash,and do that at the right time, right before, a key trading period like Christmas or summer, for example.

So now we're starting to think more in that fashion and We've got a bit more confidence because we've got some examples of how well that worked in the past.

Juliet Fallowfield: It's so nice, isn't it, when you can invest in that proactive behavior because you've got that confidence and gut feeling to go for it, and it's exciting 'cause it's well, it may work, it may not work, and there's a couple of things we've done but on a very small scale where we've taken a risk.

It's really nice to experiment and test and learn, but you need the money in the bank to do all that stuff. Although my accountant accused me year two, he's like, "I see that you're saving your [00:28:00] corporation tax that's due in seven months' time. You do know most people have spent that and reinvested it in the business and tried to make it back."

Beth Higson: yeah, 

I was just going to say test and learn is one of the main things that we try and reiterate in, across the business. It was what really was the first step change, from the early days where I was throwing a lot of stuff at the wall, but not in a very, like, systematic way and just basically trying everything, trying to do everything at once and being a bit, just like burning out, burning myself out.

As soon as I started to view things as a test, it also took so much of the exhausting, ruminating, should I do this? what if? It took that pressure away and got focused on, okay, what's the smallest thing that we can do next to, get the learning we need to then maybe do it bigger next time?

And that test and learn has continued throughout the business, and as we've grown the team, we're now 18 people. we all trying to, make sure that we don't lose that, test and learn mindset

Juliet Fallowfield: I love that. [00:29:00] Something that we do with our guests is around now, next, and never. What is one thing you're focused on right now for the business?

Beth Higson: Right now is building out the team, and that is about hiring great talent and making sure that we don't dilute, that level of talent that we already have. So 

with our hiring process. that means getting good at interviewing and,building those processes as to how you can try and do the best job you can at that

Juliet Fallowfield: it makes or breaks any job with the people around you, but it is the hardest part 'cause people are human beings, they have opinions, they have bad days. Yeah, interesting. I'm gonna watch and see what you do with that. And what about what's next for the business?

Beth Higson: And what's next for the business will be thinking bigger. So US is scaling unbelievably quickly,

Last week we sold more bottles of Mother Root in the US than we did in the UK, so we've passed that transition period. So it's now from here on, [00:30:00] it's our larger market, and we've done that in six months, which is unreal.

So what that's means, so coming from the mindset of, what's taken us to, what's worked to get us here, I think it still applies, but we just have to start thinking at a bigger scale. those calls, I think we can afford to take bigger risks. yes, hiring some really top-tier talent because, we need it, and also the team is going to get bigger, and they're gonna bring that knowledge, and they're gonna bring the big thinking and the big campaigns and I think,that's what's next is, thinking bigger

Juliet Fallowfield: And what would you not do ever as a founder? What's the never?

Beth Higson: I would never say yes to absolutely everything, I would say.

prioritisation is is fundamental, and a lot of that means, saying no, and that can be quite uncomfortable because especially when business is a human game and, it's about, your network, your community, you want to help everyone.

great opportunities come across your desk all the [00:31:00] time and that, you'd be like, "Oh, that does sound cool. Oh, that brand is quite cool. Oh, that person, I love that. I love that influencer really loves our brand. I love that they want us to show our drinks." And, if you mull over all of those things, actually just say no, to 90% of the stuff that comes your way and keep super focused on the big things that move the 

needle

But you know what? I do find it really difficult to craft a message that says no that also feels warm and respectful, and I was actually probably doing the worst thing and avoiding, which means like ultimately not getting back to people.

I find a good use of AI has been to help me just get that paralysis out and they start me with a kind, probably usually too over the top, but a kind letdown and, and I'll tweak it and then I get it, gets it going and sent and then,that's been really helpful for me

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah, brilliant. And then our question from our previous guest, which was Kate Halfpenny from Halfpenny London, who set up this beautiful bridal brand and has grown over [00:32:00] 21 years, and we talked about the mastering the art of celebrity and how to work with celebrities and sort of a PR funnel. her question for you was, as a solo founder, how does she find the right CEO or business partner to come into her business?

And this is obviously relevant for me too. I'd love to find a senior person that I could trust and delegate to, but I've time and time again gone, "It's just easier if I do it myself." And I am then limited because it's me and I'm only one person, and apparently you need to sleep and look after yourself, and there's only 24 hours in the day.

do you have any advice for people bringing in senior hires or a co-founder or a sort of business partner?

Beth Higson: Yes. I think it's really hard. what worked for me is when we were advertising for a role, it happened to be an operations lead. we put it out to our network, including our customer base, and Alice was a customer. Alice, who came on the "Dragons Den" with me and is now our COO, and she just loved the drink.

It was her favorite Nonart drink. She passionately believed in it. She'd already become very [00:33:00] evangelical with her friends. 

And, 

she said, "Look..." she said, "This is actually not at the level that, I would want, but I wanted to let you know, I really love your brand."

And so I met her anyway thinking, just love her kind of, the way she wrote. And, and as soon as I met and interviewed her, I was like, "Okay, I need to find a way to make sure she gets in this business," because she had the exact skill set that I needed, and it was about, making it work.

So making some other decisions in terms of what we stopped doingWhen you spot the right person, it's like fundamental to prioritise getting that person in because it makes a huge difference. she was very much the opposite skill set to what I had as well. So it's, that's also a key thing when you're looking for that second business partner or someone who's gonna play that role.

and yeah, if they really love and believe in what you're doing, you're gonna build that trust, and you're gonna be able to get through the difficult times as well because it's for a bigger mission. It's not just a job. It's for, the longer term. And so I'd say that's, that's key.

Juliet Fallowfield: Love this. This is great and quite inspiring. I love that you put it out to your community as well, because [00:34:00] then you get people who are already invested in the business 'cause they're passionate about it. What would your question be for our next guest? 

Beth Higson: What's your approach to making big decisions when you don't have perfect information?

Juliet Fallowfield: Really interesting 'cause everything

Beth Higson: Yeah

Juliet Fallowfield: doing is for the first time on a daily basis and it's, the decision fatigue is quite real. But yeah, that's really hard 'cause you're pushing things forward, you're doing things for the first time.

You don't have the information. experience is what you get after you've needed it. That's very interesting. 

Right, I will let you know. Thank you very much. Bethan, it's been an absolute joy speaking to you. Huge congratulations on Mother Root. it's so exciting to see a female founder, and I hate I have to actually call out. I should just say founder, but someone succeeds so brilliantly and with such beautiful packaging, product, values, ethos, everything.

There's, good things come, so well done with everything, and thank you for your time.

Beth Higson: Thank you. It's been fun

Juliet Fallowfield: If you'd like to contact Bethan, you can find all of her details in the show notes, along with a recap of the advice that she has shared,and please,like, [00:35:00] subscribe, rate and review, interact with the podcast somehow through your listening app because it really does make a difference to me, the host, to know that you're there and enjoying it.

Or DM us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com to suggest future guests or questions that you might like answered in your own entrepreneurial journey. Thank you for listening, and I'll speak to you soon.