Most companies talk about strategy as if it’s a spreadsheet problem. At Tony’s Chocolonely, strategy is about choosing which risks you’re willing to live with — permanently. In this conversation, Doug from Tony’s Chocolonely breaks down how real strategic decisions get made when the stakes are high, the information is incomplete, and playing it safe isn’t an option. This isn’t theory. It’s what happens when your strategy has real consequences — for margins, growth, and an entire global supply chain.

=============== 🍫 ON THE MENU ===============
🎲 Why business strategy is closer to poker than chess
⚖️ How Tony’s decides which risks to carry — and which to refuse
🚫 Why “sensible” decisions often lead to weak strategy
📉 What most companies lose when they optimise for safety
🌍 Making strategic bets at global food scale
🧠 Leadership decisions you only face when the stakes are real Whether you’re a founder, marketer, operator, or senior decision-maker, this is a masterclass in how to think about risk, trade-offs, and long-term bets — without hiding behind frameworks.

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♨️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/)

🔥10x creativity beats 10x budget. Want a life changing HUNGRY Creative Workshop for your team? DM brother

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💷💶💵For more on MIMO payments, financing & cash flow visit 👉 mimoHQ.com

What the monk?! Saiphin Moore, the visionary founder of Rosa's Thai Cafe, recounts how her ex-husband once invited a Buddhist monk to convince her to sell the burgeoning business. This extraordinary anecdote perfectly encapsulates Saiphin's journey, which began in a remote Thai mountain village where she lived without electricity until age 15, learning to cook on charcoal from seven and even raising a pet pig for income. Her leap to Hong Kong as a nanny, where she encountered hoovers and rice cookers for the first time and learned English from a single piece of paper, set the stage for her entrepreneurial spirit. Saiphin’s philosophy blends Buddhist principles of calm, acceptance, and forgiveness with a fierce drive to be "better than anyone else" and "honest with the customer" – a commitment she refused to compromise, even when faced with monastic persuasion. Now, with Rosa's Thai expanding to nearly 50 sites and a new venture in Dubai, she continues to champion authentic Thai cuisine.

ON THE MENU:
1. Growing Up Off-Grid in the Thai Mountains
2. Mountain Wisdom: Competition Without Jealousy
3. Buddhist Lessons for Business and Life
4. The Monk Who Told Me to Quit My Restaurant
5. From Rural Thailand to Hong Kong Culture Shock
6. Why London Was Ready for Real Thai Food
7. Street Food Principles: Honesty, Quality, Simplicity
8. Reinventing Delivery Without Killing the Food
9. Scaling Restaurants Without Losing Consistency
10. Trust Your Gut and Cook Authentically

Got empty tables? EatClub connects your restaurant with diners in real time, turning quiet hours into profit.
Contact us: fillmytables@eatclub.co.uk

Robin Gill is a serial restaurateur who has built multiple, entirely different restaurant concepts — not chains, not repeats. In this episode, Robin breaks down why great hospitality isn’t about big gestures or surface-level creativity — but about systems, discipline, and invisible details that customers feel without ever consciously noticing. Drawing on years of building restaurants from scratch, we explore what actually creates loyalty, repeat business, and long-term success — in hospitality and far beyond. =============== 🍽️ ON THE MENU =============== ⚙️ Why great hospitality is mostly invisible 🧠 Performance vs delight — and why it matters 🚫 Why removing friction beats trying to impress 🔍 The small details customers feel but never articulate 🏗️ Building restaurants as systems, not vibes 🎯 Why doing fewer things perfectly wins 📈 What hospitality teaches any business about human behaviour This isn’t about food trends or hype. It’s about how well-designed systems quietly win.

Got empty tables? EatClub connects your restaurant with diners in real time, turning quiet hours into profit.
Contact us: fillmytables@eatclub.co.uk

Espresso is proudly powered by our sponsor, Unleashed!

📦 1. Wait…what is Unleashed?
Unleashed is inventory management software – but not the boring kind. It doesn’t just track stock...it connects seamlessly with your finance tools, eCom platforms, and CRM. That means one smooth system from sales to stock to cash. We use it daily at Islands, and honestly? Total game changer.

🍴 2. Why foodie founders love it
Unleashed helps you slash admin time and stay laser-focused on your margins. Know exactly where your costs are, what’s selling, and how your cash flow's looking (because yes, cash is still king).

🚀 3. Trusted by the best in FMCG
From Candy Kittens and Tiny Rebel to TRIP, Tarquin’s Gin, Three Spirit, Minor Figures, The Turmeric Co., and Volcano Coffee - some of your favourite challenger brands are scaling with Unleashed. If they’re using it, you know it’s the real deal.

📅 4. Fancy a chat?
Book a quick call with the Unleashed team here 👉 https://calendly.com/unleashed-sales-team/discovery-call-with-unleashed-hungry

🎁 5. Try it for less
Get 50% off your first 3 months if you choose to subscribe. You’ll wonder how you ever managed without it 👉 https://www.unleashedsoftware.com/

♨️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 🍲

🤝 Let's Connect!

►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)

►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

When I started the poddy, I scribbled on scruff paper a list dream brands Top of list: Innocent Innocent are THE OG challenger brand. The Innocent Illuminate (or Alumni) all built WHOPPPA brands:

Giles, Barney, Emma, Peter Oden, loads more All extol fruitful learnings from Fruit Towers. Many see Innocent as a Brand & Marketing machine (they are). In this episode Adam Balon revealed something much DEEPER Something surprising. Something you've not thought about.

♨️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 🍲

ON THE MENU:

1. Why There are Multiple Status Games and We Are Never Playing One Status Game
2. Why a Story is a Deal - a UNIQUE deal between your brand and your consumer - so tell the story right
3. The Science of Brand Storytelling Nike and The Rise of Metcons in Cross Fit
4. Why Status is Making Us Live in a Blandemic - Blandemic of Buildings, Restuarants and Brands - how to escape
5. Why Bad Brand Story Telling is vague, “Reflect the story world back at me, so I can find my identity in it”
6. Why Falling in Love is Similar to Brand storytelling: Your Goal is to Reflect back to them what they want to know”
7. The brand is a light figure in storytelling: How does your story make consumers Status + Connection
8. Why Ambition can become corruptive and how to solve it
9. Why the best organisational structures are focused on the “Me” and “We” (this is SO SO SO good)
10. We Earn Status Through Virtue
11. The Status Game and Michelin Star Restuarants: The Downfall of Status

==============================================
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✨North Star: (www.northstarbc.co.uk)

---------------------------------

🤝 Let's Connect!
►Let's link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)
►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

Espresso is proudly powered by our sponsor, Unleashed!

📦 1. Wait…what is Unleashed?
Unleashed is inventory management software – but not the boring kind. It doesn’t just track stock...it connects seamlessly with your finance tools, eCom platforms, and CRM. That means one smooth system from sales to stock to cash. We use it daily at Islands, and honestly? Total game changer.

🍴 2. Why foodie founders love it
Unleashed helps you slash admin time and stay laser-focused on your margins. Know exactly where your costs are, what’s selling, and how your cash flow's looking (because yes, cash is still king).

🚀 3. Trusted by the best in FMCG
From Candy Kittens and Tiny Rebel to TRIP, Tarquin’s Gin, Three Spirit, Minor Figures, The Turmeric Co., and Volcano Coffee - some of your favourite challenger brands are scaling with Unleashed. If they’re using it, you know it’s the real deal.

📅 4. Fancy a chat?
Book a quick call with the Unleashed team here 👉 https://calendly.com/unleashed-sales-team/discovery-call-with-unleashed-hungry

🎁 5. Try it for less
Get 50% off your first 3 months if you choose to subscribe. You’ll wonder how you ever managed without it 👉 https://www.unleashedsoftware.com/

♨️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 🍲

🤝 Let's Connect!

►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)

►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)