#87 - Zoe Fox - The Coconut Collab / Getting to Grow [Head of Business Development / Podcast Host]

0:00Hello, hello, hello. Welcome back to Young Founders. Today, I'm joined by the wonderful Zoe Fox, who is the head of growth at Coconut Collaborative. Coconut Collab make incredible yogurts. They've just released a new coconut water, all sorts of delicious products that are always in our fridge at home. And it was great to speak to Zoe. She is super passionate. She's been there nearly eight years. And she also hosts a fantastic podcast called Getting to Grow. So I wanted to unpick where her motivation, her energy comes from. Why does she love what she does? Why does she want to have these conversations?

0:29What is it about Coconut Collab that she's so passionate and so obsessed about? And we unpick all of that and more. There is so much within this. I think you're going to absolutely love it. Zoe is fantastic. And without further ado, let's get on with the episode. We all know that brand is important, right? But what if I told you it can impact growth and customer acquisition costs by up to 50 %? Against Ordinary are a brand agency who help founders, marketing departments, scaling teams ensure their brand is the most powerful tool for growth. from brand strategy, tone of voice and visual identity to helping you get retail ready with ongoing brand growth retainers.

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1:25hello and welcome back to unfounders today i'm joined by the lovely zoe fox so zoe can you let everyone know where you work and how long you've been there of course um hey lovely to be on the pod it has been a very long time coming i am zoe i work for a company called the coconut collaborative I'm head of business development there, kind of slash out of home. And I've been there eight blooming years. I'm part of the furniture, guys. Amazing. Well, for those who have never heard of Coconut Club, never seen it, what is it? How did you get involved? Like all that good stuff. I'm a big fan. I'm just going to put my hand up and say it's always in our fridge.

2:01My daughter loves it. My wife loves it. We have it pretty much every single day. But for those new to the brand, like what do you guys do? so we are the best-selling plant-based yogurt and dessert company in the uk we were founded by a gentleman called james arvidy he is the ex-ceo and founder of goo puddings which i'm sure everybody listening to this is familiar with he then sold goo had some time out and decided it was time for his next venture and then the coconut collab was born i fell into tcc we call it tcc internally but kind of long story short before coconut collab i worked came fresh out of university went to Bournemouth, studied fashion, thought fashion was going to be like my life.

2:36My mum's in that industry. I did lots of modelling as a kid. So I was like, kind of this is where I'd like to go. Did it for about 10 months, had the worst time ever. Like, people were like horrid. It's just nasty people, like ready to tread on everybody to get their way up. And I was like, look, I'm an incredibly ambitious person, but like not at the detriment of like my peers. And I didn't love the vibe in the office. But it was at that time that, you know, fashion is notorious, women don't eat a lot and being surrounded by women that really didn't eat a lot and would always go to this place called Whole Foods on lunch.

3:10Now, I grew up in Windsor and Ascot. There were like a random few health food stores, but nothing really, obviously, to the extent of Whole Foods. And I never been to Whole Foods before, never seen it, never heard of one. I remember going with the girls on lunch and like walking into the shop and being like, my God, this is fantastic. Like, what an amazing shop. What cool brands. Just genuinely a bit fascinated and never been like taken aback by something like that before um and i remember thinking like this is an industry i want to be in so i left university pivoted my entire like career life and i'd done work experience at like some really cool fashion brands that my whole experience to date was like basically like irrelevant now because i wanted to be in food but i um i went into whole foods and i bought like so many products off the shelf and i took a selfie with each of them and sent it to all the brands being like hey i have like no experience i'm incredibly hungry for the industry can someone give me a job I don't really care what it is I must have sent upwards of 150 people a message with a selfie of me and their product I honestly got like four people reply out of those four people um spoon cereals very kindly took the chance on me and allowed me to come work for them I worked for them as a field sales exec for about 10 months I sadly then got made redundant they decided to kind of um outsource their sales team and I was back to go on I remember thinking like oh god like I really don't want to go through the whole process again like 100 people five people reply like can't bother um I remember a recruiter got in touch with me about a few different roles and the coconut collab was one that was brought up as a brand that didn't really have a role at the time but you know would be up for having a discussion now I loved coconut collab um from before this this kind of role came up and I knew about them I when I was younger used to have like really bad eczema so my mum grew like I was kind of brought up ultimately like soy milk and there was no like decent sort of yogurt or any plant-based yogurt at the time until like I had coconut yogurt when I was a little bit older and it was coconut clav I'm fine with dairy now so it's not something I've like had to live with live or live without anyway I applied for proper corn white rabbit a water brand and I very luckily got all three but there was something about them that didn't kind of feel like home at the time and I wanted to go speak to coconut clav and the recruiter was like, look, there's not really a role there.

5:20But like Claire, who's the current MD of Spoon as Jim's now new next venture, I was like, look, it's worth coming in for a chat. And I was like, please let me get in front of them. I just want to meet them. I just want to say, hey, I kind of really want to work there. And I walked into their head office, sat down with Claire. I was there about 45 minutes and we just giggled for about 45 minutes. And she was like, I don't know what this is, but I need you and I want you and we're going to make the role work. And that was eight years ago. And I've basically grown. I've basically grown up there. Like I joke and say like they hired me when I was like a baby and now I'm kind of like an adult there.

5:51Like they've seen me through like my teenage years and my career. But yeah, that's ultimately like how I got the role and how I joined kind of the world of food in like a bit of a nutshell. Love that. I remember my first time going to Whole Foods many years ago and having that exact same experience. Just being like, what is this? Like why are not all shops like this? Just anything from like the Grindr and peanut butter to the food hall and everything was just, this is incredible. And then I was also like, I don't have enough money to buy anything in here. I'm going to come back another time but in the the eight years you've been at Coconut Collab like when you joined how big was the team and how big is the team now because obviously from a retail and even like product perspective Coconut Collab is huge now like great number of SKUs and I mean you literally last week announced a new product so yeah how big was the how big was the team when you first joined and what are you at now?

6:36So there was about 11 of us when I joined and there's now um 26 so we've grown quite significantly like a little bit more than doubled um in those years we are still a very lean team for our turnover size we are just incredibly efficient i think as a team and um yeah we managed to get like everything done that we kind of set out to do but yeah very efficient lean team the range has just like doubled tripled over the years like we have brought out mbd we've lost mbd we've kind of yeah loads of different things have come into the mix. So we have just launched a coconut water. Very exciting. Probably should have been done a while ago.

7:12We are the second biggest coconut water buyer in Europe. So we definitely have the right to play in this space. We own the kind of yogurt space when it comes to obviously coconut yogurt. Therefore, we have a part to play in coconut water. It is one of the biggest growth trends of drinks at the moment. So it's something that's had a massive kind of like exponential rise due to its natural electrolytes ultimately coconut water is like full of potassium which is an amazing like natural electrolyte versus kind of like other ones that maybe are not necessarily as natural out there i mean there are some great electrolyte brands out there but as in like coconut water in its like rawest form is ultimately like the best electrolytes you can kind of have for your body and yeah it launched on amazon literally this week so it's brand brand brand new um and then yes lots of fun things coming um which i can't talk about just yet but you'll you'll be seeing all over LinkedIn I'm sure soon but yeah coconut water has launched yeah no it's exciting my my wife is having coconut water daily at the moment as she's pregnant and it's great for the electrolytes keeping her hydrated so definitely some of the coconut collab one but for you with your your role then over the eight years like aside from the actual day-to-day doing like what is it about the team and the environment and like coconut collab in particular that makes you go I absolutely love working here because eight years is a long time for anyone to be in a particular a role especially food drink i'm obsessed with coconut collaborative i am obsessed with coconut yogurt there is genuinely nothing else to it like i bleed yogurt i bleed coconut collab believe in the product to a degree that like i feel like i'm part founder half the time and most people do come up to be like oh it's your business when i'm at like trade shows and stuff so that's lovely to hear firstly that i obviously am that passionate about something i really believe in kind of the ethos of the brand.

9:01I love the team. Like we have the best team ever. Like we are, I know everyone says you shouldn't be the business isn't like family or whatever, but like I genuinely believe like we have an unbelievable unit. The family we have at Coconut is quite special. Most people there have been there a really long time. Like our employee turnover is pretty low, which is a really great spot to be in. An incredibly supportive like internal network. You know, we win together, we lose together. It's all very much like one team, one dream kind of thing um I also think I've taken the kind of out of home P &L from like naught to circa five and a half mil and I've grown that baby and it's quite hard to leave something that you've ultimately like there's sort of like your child I don't have children but I can't imagine what it's like but it does feel like very special I also have like really advocated for them in you know I'm I'm just really bloody passionate about it.

9:54I just think they have an unbelievable product. I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it. I think Jim is such an amazing entrepreneur, like working underneath him is so inspiring, so motivating. Claire, the MD of Coconut, who's now gone spooners side, which is again, another one of Jim's ventures, the cookie dough. You know, she's also like the best person to like work with and learn from and the way she, you know, she's ex Ella, she's ex Go. Like we've got some really, really good people at Coconut that I can really learn from and like hone in on commercial skills and expertise and stuff so I just think they have something quite special and unique and um yeah I feel very very lucky to work there for you with um obviously I love hearing when people find their kind of home and being there for so long it's obviously amazing for for you with now you're out of home and growing that side like over the years what have been some of your favorite partnerships I know this is like choosing a favorite child but for you like what are some of those moments where you look back and you go this was absolutely amazing like whether it's getting them into a smoothie like a particular yeah like any of those kind of like big wins you're like yeah that that was a moment well there's been so many um i mean virgin was a big one like we have an amazing relationship with virgin a nice partnership with them so yeah like shout out to harry i'd say virgin is is a really big one for us um another one is probably you know we work closely with a very big qsr chain um that again is a real big like wow moment like it was i had like two goals when I joined coconut I remember when I was younger Jim sat me down he's like I want this and this and I was like done might take me five years but I'll get it done for you sort of thing so like yeah those two are big ones I think you know I also like route to market's really important for us so like yeah we can win the end customer but we don't have the route to market like it can be a bit pointless sometimes so ensuring we just like the route to market is like completely like that is that is kind of our strategy we need to get all the routes to market to unlock like like end consumers opening up like, you know, upwards of like 45 customers.

11:52I think we have now an out of home, like so many that we work with on like a daily basis. You know, the opportunities that we have with export as well. I've recently been in Dubai, which is a whole nother podcast episode, literally. But, you know, we've had we had some amazing conversations there. So there has honestly been so many. But I think like if I had to choose one, yeah, it would be it would be probably working with Virgin. they're an amazing business and I obviously completely rate Richard Branson I think he's like the OG entrepreneur and I'm a bit obsessed with like entrepreneurs and kind of founders obviously from pod my podcast as well so I think like working with Virgin is pretty cool yeah I had Shida and Harry on last year and I loved kind of hearing like Harry's take on food and like Shida the drink side of things and I think what they do as a business is just incredible and same for like the clubhouses like they just did a refresh in the last few months and seeing that just looked absolutely stunning yeah Now, for you, I know you said, obviously, you did modeling when you were younger.

12:51But when you were growing up, was that the goal? Were you like, when I grow up, I want to be a model. That's me. Or was there something else that you were like, actually, no, I do think this is what I want to do? So, like, I think I romanticized it a lot. And I think modeling gets a very glamorous, like, outlook. And I think people are like, oh, being a model is glamorous. And, like, yeah, of course, there were glamorous parts. Like, I'm not going to, like, it was. we did have some great opportunities like you know free trips all over kind of sometimes the world I did the skiing one once and I got you know a free week skiing and everything they were amazing but like they just didn't outweigh the negatives of it so a couple of modeling agencies were very negative around like women and like bodies and um I'm a muncher like gal loves her food like to the point where like I snack probably like 75 times a day I can't not eat like I just have to to like genuinely function my brain doesn't work without like carbohydrates like lots of good food as well so there was that and then I've always grown up like being quite self-confident as well like my parents have been very good at instilling that in me I haven't really ever struggled with that side of myself and I remember like going for this one particular shoot it was for big hair brand um and they wanted me to dye my hair bleach blonde and um I remember my mum saying if you do that like I'll support you but like your hair won't be what it is but It won't come back to like that for a long time, like dyeing your hair bleached.

14:10And I'm talking like bleached, like tipped, da-da-da. It would ultimately like ruin your hair. And I remember thinking like, and this was a young age, I obviously had something in me that was like no at the time. But I remember thinking like, why should I change for you? And that was then. So I think I've grown up with just like, I am sort of like who I am and like kind of everyone should still be okay with it. And if you don't like it, like so far enough, but like I'm not going to be a cup of tea. And I just remember being like, I'm wasted behind the camera here. like I have got so much chat and personality that taking pictures of me just doesn't gain who I am so like I think I wanted to be a model because of the glamorous side of it but as I got into the industry I was like nah not for me and I think yeah if it was our end goal obviously it would have been to be like a Kate Moss but like these are unicorns of individuals like one Kate Moss only comes around every like what 50 60 years we haven't got one of our generation I don't think at this level anyway or maybe like a Hayley Bieber but you know half influencer at the same time so It's very different the way the industry is changing.

15:04So I guess yes, but quickly realized no. Yeah. And then I guess coming full circle to the podcast and now everything you're doing with getting to grow and that side, I'd love to dig into that side because like myself, you run a podcast and yours is way more involved. You do it in person, you do events, you do all sorts. So for you, when you were first starting the podcast, what was it you were like, I'm really passionate about this. I want to have these conversations. Where did that drive to share those stories come from? and what have you now built? Because it's amazing seeing even what you did last week.

15:35It's amazing to see what you've done with that side of the business. It was lockdown, ultimately. Like I wasn't furloughed. So I was working all day and I am a doer. Like give me a task. I'm like a dog with a bone. Like I like to do. I get very bored, sat still for a long time. So we had all this time in lockdown. There's only so many bloody walks I could do. So I was like, no, I need to do something else. And I started a WhatsApp group in lockdown called New Business. And it was basically, I shoved loads of friends that worked in industry. I was in new biz at the time after pivoting a few different roles because of COVID at Coconut.

16:07And was just like, hey, thought I'd make this chat. Like, what are we all doing ultimately? Like, it's really insensitive to call. Like, any contract catering is really insensitive to call. Like, any restaurant, they're literally all shut. Who are you speaking to? But what ended up happening in that group was basically lots of people, like, sharing, like, stories. And I then would jump on, like, a few teams with a couple of people and realized I was jumping on teams with, like, founders of businesses. and just thought these conversations I'm having like pretty good I should probably record these I didn't even know the word podcast I knew what a podcast obviously was but I didn't know that was what I was almost trying to do at the time it was more just like I was recording these chats for I don't know really I didn't really know where I'd put them I just thought oh these are quite good maybe I'll like put them on Instagram but again really didn't understand or didn't know this stuff and it was my ex-boyfriend at the time that said these are podcast worthy conversations and ultimately that's how Great Intergrace started we then literally googled like how to start a podcast and it kind of came from then and then I started jumping on chats with lots of different founders all F &B and then honestly it's just like growing from strength to strength so yeah production's completely leveled up you know sponsors then it's like I do a lot of external hosting as well of like a variety of different occasions and stuff like I really love moderating as well as like hosting a podcast I think I've got I bring like a nice bit of energy a different kind of flair especially in the corporate world it's like very fun seeing a very bright red girl coming on stage and being like, let's change the game here.

17:28So kind of like that sort of stuff. And yeah, I mean, the conversations I've had are like phenomenal. Like to think this was a lockdown thing and then I had Head of the Guinness family on, like what the hell? Like that's pretty insane as a guest. You know, Axel Arrogato, a hundred million pound business, like fashion brand. You know, obviously that's not like food and beverage, but still technically a fast moving consumer good. You know, it's a product that people can purchase in a supermarket as a piece of clothing. So, so many insane brands and people I've been in like, you know, rooms with from it.

17:55Like the weekend I was in the room with a Dragon's Den investor. I was in the room with Shark Tank investor. Like unbelievable opportunities that have come from this. So I'm just obsessed with the people that have an idea and do it, not the ones that sit on the idea. I want to hear the stories of people that have done it. Like you're the ones that go, I've got an idea, but then you take that risk. And that is so hard to do. Like it's so hard to risk everything. And for you then from your conversations, is there anything like a running theme or a takeaway have you managed to unpick like what it is within these people that is that like i'm the one that's going to take that risk because i think i reflect on all the conversations trying like that i've had around people's journeys and what they do and what they're passionate about and how they kind of get into this industry and everyone kind of falls into industry there's been very few who were like oh actually this is exactly what i set out to do when i was growing up i knew i wanted to be sales so i've done sales it's like no i did a bit of this and a bit of that because it's you're always learning but have you managed to like come to any conclusions from your conversation?

18:52I think like the one word that I would use is passion. Like nobody does this shit on a whim. Like you cannot be a founder if you're like, oh, I might try this tomorrow. Like they are so dedicated to their business and they do not think it's going to fail. Like that is not an option in their head. If they think it's going to fail, you're never going to succeed. All the founders I've chatted to have genuinely never, yes, they've had their like dark moments and their moments of doubts, you know, in the evening when not on their own set or their productions go wrong and all that stuff of course comes into it but in the same breath they genuinely believe they have a product that like deserves its space on shelf deserves its space d2c whatever the brand is or whatever the product is so they are so passionate and the purpose they have they really understand it so i think that would be my one thing is that like they are just so passionate about what they're doing i think that ties in nicely because you're clearly very passionate both about coconut collaborative because you said you're obsessed with it and then same with the podcast it's that same level of energies for you amongst that you're also then living you still have to eat and sleep like how do you find that juggle of doing that all um because i know for me i kind of have it very streamlined in terms of this is like an hour and then i'll edit for an hour and that's it like i try and keep it very minimal but it's still a commitment to be like right every single week i'll find people i've got to get them in and to do it take it that step further and like i'm gonna host a whole event whilst doing this really high up role in coconut collab so where do you find the time honestly like my most asked question is that question you just asked me I'd say I definitely don't have a work life balance I don't like it's not something I've ever managed to master I work most evenings and I work most weekends so it is not something I've really mastered like at all I think like I think the one thing that slips for me is my social life so I obviously love loads of friends etc but I don't get to see them as much as I'd like to I definitely would like so sad but like spend a Saturday editing or doing what I need to do for pod or planning that versus like being out and enjoying life and stuff and you know like to add flipping things to my plate sick gal here decides to run a marathon on Sunday like am I tapped yes I think I've got a screw fucking loose here like is this why is why have I decided to train for a marathon genuinely god knows but you know six months ago it was a brilliant idea it will be amazing and I know it will be etc but like I My life is not conducive to running marathon right now, but I'm very excited for it.

21:10I don't have a work-life balance. I work most weekends. The output of my work, majority for pod happens after work and on the weekends. And my day job, I'm pretty like, I know what I need to do every day. I do have a bit of a like rigid to-do list. I'd say I wake up to write it down. Like if I get three days, five things, I'm okay with my day. I have to write a to-do list. I think that's my one thing is like, it doesn't, honestly, I'm not one of those girls that has like a flipping Trello board and like has a cool notebook like it's literally like things like this I'm like right today I need to get one two three four on a random lemon tissue like I don't care where I eat a piece of paper from it just has to be written and as long as those things are ticked off I'm okay but like I do prioritize my sleep so I'm an early sleeping gal like I'm probably in bed most nights by like half past nine ten and I'm like lights out by um by 10 30 so I do sleep quite a lot as well because I don't think I'd be able to like function on it I also have so much energy like I am literally the Jurissel Bonnie like I don't ever like empty my tank of energy so I think I'm very lucky I do have this like ridiculously unlimited supply of energy which hopefully stays with me forever because it's a part of me that I really love but yeah it is really hard and I think like it's so hard like there are days when I literally wake up and I'm like I couldn't even explain to someone how much I have to do because like it would take me five hours to just explain my to-do list to somebody that actually like it's sometimes incredibly overwhelming and like just last week I had like oh my god it was like Friday morning or something and I just like burst into tears in the kitchen and my boyfriend walks in and he's like oh my god what's going on I was like I am just so overwhelmed like Coconut is so busy at the moment in the best way possible like launching NPD like we've got amazing launches going live with like some really cool businesses that we've been working on for like years that are finally happening I've got like two events I'm planning for you know for Q3 Q4 coming up I've got podcast recordings I've you know I'm hiring social media manager like there's so much coming on that it's like it is really tough so yeah I think like there's no there's no one approach of it's all you know like if I do yoga I get up and I love hot yoga so I do hot yoga a lot and it's like my chill time but I don't come home and shower before my calls I ain't got time for that so I'm definitely stinky for the rest of 24 hours until 5 p.m then I'll have my shower like foul for some but like I don't have those 10 minutes like I am home breakfast go you know like that is just how I function um and if anybody says they're like showering that much then they're lying I'm sorry it's work from home day like you're not you liar love that yeah I think the phrase if you want something done give it to a busy person comes straight to mind and I think it's the same for me that I'm most productive on the days when I have got a million things to fit in versus the one day where you've got the whole day to do one to ask and you're like oh yeah I'll just do this I thrive of complete chaos yeah i thrive off genuine chaos like i am really not good in quiet like that's why when i'm older i always date my partner like i really would love like a massive family like i'd love four kids obviously has a literal heart attack when i tell him that but the thought of having like a really quiet house is like what where's all like the children and the minions running around like let's create those mini me and he's like oh my days like i can't deal with that like you are enough you'll need that energy to keep going at that stage yeah literally we've got a second one coming in June yeah I think it's going to be very exciting and interesting period to do yeah two kids full time job head of sales plus podcasts plus trying to see friends family like yeah it's the balance but I think the the real takeaway is the reason I'm implying here is you're so passionate about both things that you actually get energy by doing these things I think if there's things or tasks that actually take away that energy you feel it straight away like for me I know there's certain tasks I'm just like and it will be that like complete change of energy that complete change of passion but for you in terms of your drive your motivation is this being inspired by parents by friends by family like where does that kind of internal engine come from that you're like I need to do all of this because this is what I want to achieve so I grew up in a household where my dad has always told me two things in life number one is the world owes you nothing well these these are from my dad so the world owes you nothing um is the one that my dad's instilled for me from like a very young age like you have to go out and work for it and whatever it is you want in life and the other one is if you don't ask you don't get and I love that one that is something I honestly like live by like if you don't ask you don't get and then my mum was always be kind and have courage they're kind of three like sentences I've grown up around and my dad is an entrepreneur um successful businessman um not in F &B like totally different industry but did well from like not a lot and it's quite inspiring and my thing has always been if I can give my kids the upbringing I had or better I've done very well for myself so it comes from a place of being able to like ultimately give my children something like really quite special and they'd look at their mum and dad and go like I'm pretty proud of like what my parents have been able to achieve I also think it comes from just innately as even as like little like I did like young enterprise at school and I remember being like we have I'm quite competitive like I want to win I love winning like winning is obviously unbelievably fun hence why I'm in new biz like I bloody love closing a deal like it's great it like gives me a genuine buzz it's like my high some people get it off cocaine I get it off selling you know like that is where I get like my kind of energy for stuff so it's fun and I think yeah I have a bit of a bit of a drive to like be successful and I think seeing it from my dad and my mom you know she worked throughout like all my life and stuff and she's very hard working even to this day and so is my my father so I think does come from a childhood like you know kind of like upbringing but also I have very very successful mates like all of my friends are like pretty high up within companies or they're lawyers or they're like bankers or you know ultimately like very successful people that I surround myself with and I think that like spurs you on hugely like I surround my like my circle is small but it's like a very close-knit successful circle I think yeah ultimately like my network's pretty successful and like you're constantly comparing your whole life to everyone else's so i think like you always have that drive to do better yeah there's definitely something to be said by the the people you surround yourself with you're like the phrase something like you're the sum of the five people you most spend your time with and i think yeah making sure those people are the ones that are adding to your energy and giving you that motivation and drive to go oh i want to i want to help like grow together and i think it's amazing when you see your friends win and like you're like cool now i need to win like it's just such a nice thing and i think the way that i love that like as you do through these events and doing the panels and doing the hosting and the podcast like you're just able to kind of keep reintroducing yourself to different people in that remit of elite and it's like what can you learn from them um i think for me every conversation like it could be someone's first job but it's like i want to understand them and how they've got to there because you can learn from everyone and i think that is my level of growth mindset we did a motivation workshop last week and it was actually really interesting to try and dig into what my motivators are and it's like actually like the money side isn't necessarily my driver it's more like okay how can I help people how can I give back how can I learn more how can I share that learning and be known for that like not in like a I want to be famous way but it's just more of a like people think of Frozen I want them to think of me like that's what I'm trying to build so for you now completely flipping it because this has all been very positive and uplifting I think you're going to have the highest highs what have been some of the lowest lows when things haven't gone to plan because I think those are some of the ones you learn from the most i'm so heart on sleeve i'm such a feeler like when i'm upset it's pretty obvious as you as you said like i am genuinely like a super chatty person quite confident very confident um and i do definitely feel so yeah god i've had some low lows i mean i've fucked up pretty badly once that i won't ever forget i don't think i can actually talk about it um but you know it involved like lots of different things where i wasn't it technically was my fault but it wasn't like done with intent and stuff so there's so much stuff I mean I think my biggest thing is I really don't like like letting people down I really hate letting people down so if I let people down it like hurts because I want people to like walk away from just like obviously this is life and this happens but I'd love people to walk away from like most interactions being with me being like that's a girl I like surround myself with she's super cool like ambitious all that stuff and I think when I don't leave that impression makes me like a bit like oh damn I think the lows are part of the highs I think if I didn't feel the lows I wouldn't feel the highs and I know everyone says that like oh god Zoe like give me something original but like it is kind of true one thing though is that like I always get myself back up like I never I think also right I've been in modeling I know rejection like very well like I am so understanding of rejection and I've had rejection from a very young age the amount of modeling like the amount of things I used to go cast for that I wouldn't get because I wasn't right for them ultimately like eventually it just become Walter of Doc's back you're like no okay move on no okay move on like you don't take it seriously so I'm quite good with like the rejection piece and it doesn't really phase me like if I'm not right for you now fine I might be right for you in x amount of time or like I'm not right for you forever fine but I think the one thing that like the lowest lows have been in my like is this personal like career either or I think it's just for me I think the learnings do come from those moments that was really really tough but I'm a better person from it or actually I'm just not to do that again yeah like personally god yeah parents are divorced and that wasn't like the funnest as a kid um I've had some like pretty shite heartbreaks that have sent me west and I think they you know they one of them stopped the podcast for a year it was quite bad so like there's there's so much stuff but I am quite a strong character and like I don't let most things get me down like I I build myself up quite quickly and I can compartmentalize stuff like very well I can put it in a box but I think the biggest for me the things about the lowest lows is that like I know it's only for a short amount of time as well like nothing's forever and if you're feeling pretty crap or shitty it doesn't last it usually is like x amount of time and then it goes yeah it can take years but it also hopefully in some scenarios can take like a day or a month whatever it might be so they don't last i build myself up pretty quickly and i look at bigger picture as well i think it's that like when you zoom out perspective like when you zoom in it's like the big peak big trough big like it'll go up and down if you actually zoom out it's gonna be a pretty steady line with exactly the old spike here and there yeah and i think that's like the the idea of modelling into field sales felt very apt as well because honestly i'd go into cafes and they'd be like no i'd be like cool likes for the coffee have a nice day like genuinely didn't even bother me and i think that's why like i was quite good at it because i just wasn't sad about rejection i'd be like oh just go to the next coffee shop where they'd be like oh you know some of the other girls i work with get quite like down about it and i'd be like it doesn't matter it's like one shop there's like literally 500 million independents in london like what are you worried about i think goes the next one for for you then when you kind of look to the future for both the podcast and you professionally like what are some of your goals or aspirations like in the podcast do you want to put out in the ether in terms of any guests or any things that you want to run or are you like i can't say it because it's it's going to happen and i know it's going to happen i want to have the number one consumer brand podcast in the uk yeah like that is goals i want to have the number one consumer brand podcast in the united kingdom where i get to chat some amazing founders with intangible things so consumer goods it's my world it's what i know I'm staying in my lane with that that would be ultimate goals I think like I um adore what I do at coconut collab so like staying there for as long as fits etc like 100 % is is also but yeah I think like I don't actually set too many goals for myself like other than that fat one but like it's quite a big one but um you know that's like it's not a tomorrow thing it could take me x amount of time but it's something that I don't yeah I'm not really a goal setter I'm just a bit of a like every day as it comes because I know so many things can happen along the way obviously I have like strategies and stuff and I do sometimes write the old goal but I'm genuinely like it's never something I've ever done like I'm not really a goal a goal kind of orientated person when it comes to podcasts and I guess I am internally I guess I'm saying that out loud I do have goals but they're kind of in my head I don't like write them down obviously with work I have like x amount of things I need to hit like KPIs and stuff like their goals but I don't like set myself up I don't like set myself up for like failure because some things always don't like end up the way you kind of think they're going to end up so i think um yeah i wouldn't say i'm like the biggest goal setter that resonates a lot because i'm exactly the same i find it really hard to actually visualize it's like someone's like where do you expect yourself to be in five years i'm like i actually don't know like i want to work towards growth growth like yeah exactly and like as a woman i want kids one day and like that's gonna set things all over the place and stuff so you know and i don't i think you know family would come before a career for me so um that's definitely a balance it changes perspective like speaking from my experience with now going to two kids i am thinking okay actively like how much am i away from home like what can i do to support more when can i be around how can i do these things like allowing like building in those periods of like first thing in the morning i want to spend time with my daughter like in the evening before bed i want to be there for it it's like those are priorities now so there's yeah you can't get that time back london is always the draw there's always events there's always things you could be doing and spending time doing but sometimes i'm like no you know what i'm actually gonna be at home because i haven't seen my daughter or i want to do this so it changes your priorities but to me that's the exciting part that's the future-proofing i'd hate for her to grow up and be like yeah dad was never there that cuts me deep i'm like no yeah exactly and like do you know what like it's not worth it like nothing is worth that sentence to be honest with you in my opinion so now final kind of closing thoughts um it's been fascinating as i said i'm a big fan of the podcast and what you do and i think you've built an amazing brand and a name for yourself in the space and I'm excited to see that continue to grow um but for anyone who is wanting to kind of get into the consumer brand space like whether that is as a founder or as an employee or an unfounder like clearly you are kind of a heartbeat within coconut club haven't been there for so long what would be your top advice be to anyone that's like I think I like it like you obviously did the whole foods were sending selfies and going I like all these products could I work for you but yeah Yeah, what would your top tip be now you've learned as you have?

34:58I think my top tip would be have a personal flair. Like what makes you, like everybody's replaceable in my opinion, but some people are harder to replace, right? So what is that part of you and hone in on that and make that your superpower? Love that. Yeah, very, very true. I think that's a really, really nicely summed up point. Go on to the next question of the music one. This is the one I ask every guest. what is a song that comes to mind thinking about your career is there a coconut collab anthem is there something that you're like this is this is my track for like when i need to get in the zone this is what i listen to marathon runner in particular are you are you a music runner are you i can't do music no i am god i mean i have the most like basic bitch taste ever like i am a bieber core fan like he is the love of my life it's like a known thing in my relationship with my boyfriend if bieber said zoe i love you i'd leave like obviously i'm joking but like it would be my hall pass like we his is margot robbie like it's a known thing we chat about it we're okay with it so biebs is always it's everything for me but like obviously one less lonely girl and favorite girl are like number one they are the number one ever ever ever ever our men full stop underlying bold italic done other than that when i'm in the zone of running and like getting myself ready for the day it's anything m &m which is so not me and like so not who i like my aura but um anything like quite like mocking you know blocking myself anything quite like hardcore hitting and I do know the full rap of Mockingbird, so that comes out at parties.

36:25But anything quite beat, like rappy, is how it gets me going. But I don't think I have one particular song really dull. But yeah, probably anything Beep and then To Get Me In The Zone. I know he's been cancelled recently, Kanye West, and he's not a good boy, but I do like a couple of his songs and they also do have a special place when I need to get across that finish line when I'm on a run. Yeah, love that. And I'm a fan of Beeper, it's got to be said. He's the best thing to walk this earth. in my opinion. Like there's just nothing close to Justin. Sorry. He's just broke Coachella. So he's done a good job.

36:57Of course, like I had no doubt. I had no doubt that man would break Coachella. Like he is just ultimate everything. So for anyone who wants to find out more about you or Coconut Club or listen to the podcast, like where is the best place to get hold of you and learn more? Honestly, any platforms. I'm pretty active on LinkedIn. So yeah, Zoe Fox is my handle there, whatever you call the LinkedIn name, I guess my name. But I go for loads of coffees, with people so do do drop me a message if anybody's up for it i'm based in kind of like london bridge so anyone that's around that fancies a coffee happy to do that but yeah do listen to my pod as well it's all obviously founders in an industry but a little slightly different to what mitch is doing but i think we're both on some cool trajectories um and yeah getting up there i mean instagram literally wherever great to finally make this happen after a long time coming um and i'm very excited to see future mpd get my hands on this coconut water in terms of retailers I imagine you're everywhere in terms of all the other products.

37:53So basically, go to your industry. Honestly, Coke, Mac, Lab, Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Asda, Whole Foods, wherever you do your shopping, you'll find us. Coconut Autor, at the moment, Amazon, but obviously rolling out. And then, yeah, QSR bits and mobs are also going to be happening soon. And then lots going on in the out-of-home world and stuff too. Yeah, you've got the lovely little granola pots, Smiths and all sorts. I know, we're completely sorted. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, like, what do you need? We've got it all. And a drink now. Love it. no I've loved this thank you so much for sharing with us and it was really good to chat great and to everyone listening thank you so much we will see you on the next episode goodbye