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- 🚀 Your Weekly Slice of UK Consumer Startups #11
🚀 Your Weekly Slice of UK Consumer Startups #11
How did Belly Dance drinks win Startup of the Year in just 8 months of trading? Hear from the Co-Founder 💡
The Startup Slice
July 13, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes
Hey 👋
It’s been a big week for the functional F&B space, with a fresh wave of funding pouring in.
We’ve also refreshed our Bitsize Playbook, now featuring conversations with voices from across the UK consumer startup scene. Expect insights straight from the frontline: founders, supermarket buyers, startup operators, VCs, and more.
First up: our chat with Hannah Calder, Co-Founder of Belly Dance Drinks 🪩.
And keep an eye on our LinkedIn next week, there are plenty of incredible brands crowdfunding 🚀, and you can have the chance to be part of their journey.
📱 From the Feed
 The Uncommon’s trio of English wines at Wimbledon. | 🎾 Startups spotted at Wimbledon: As the championship comes to a close, we picked out as many startups and challenger brands as we could find at Wimbledon. 😳 Big brand monopoly: We explore the wild stat. Did you know, 3% of the largest consumer good companies generate 87% of all UK branded grocery retail sales? 🥳 Belly Dance wins big: after just 8 months of trading, the drinks brand wins Startup of the Year at the Free From Food Awards, sponsored by Tesco. |
👀 ICYMI: Brand Moves Worth Watching
💰 Goodrays close £5M: led by Guinness Ventures, the CBD drinks brand closes out their Series A round to fuel their next stage of growth. 🌍 Smol x Nuud: with plastic-free July in full swing, Smol collab with Nuud gum to call out the government to ban plastic chewing gum. 🏃♂️ Marathon de Sauce: Tim Hillgarth, founder at SAUCERER, sets a challenge to visit 300 stores in 30 days. 🚀 AG Barr agrees deal with The Turmeric Co: the Irn-Bru owner secures a majority stake in Innate-Essence, the functional beverage manufacturer, launched by ex-Welsh-International footballer, Thomas ‘Hal’ Robson-Kanu. |  Nuud x smol, plastic-free July collab |
💡 Bitesize Playbook: Hannah Calder, Co-Founder @ Belly Dance
We chat with Hannah, following Belly Dance winning the Startup of the Year award at the Free From Food Awards sponsored by Tesco! 🪩
Harriet Armston-Clarke and Hannah Calder, Co-Founders of Belly Dance (LTR)
Give us a quick elevator pitch of Belly Dance Drinks
Belly Dance is a gut-groovin' kefir soda!
Harriet and I met teaching yoga in East London and became best friends! When I was studying nutrition and Harriet became a new mum, we both became interested in the gut microbiome but struggled to find an accessible and tasty fermented drink that slotted into our busy lives.
Enter Belly Dance! After experimenting at home and delivering kilner jars of our ferments to friends and family, demand grew fast and we upscaled production to share the amazing benefits of water kefir with the nation.
Fun, fizzy and functional, our award-winning sodas are bubbling with a unique blend of three different probiotics.
This all-natural, vegan, low-sugar, caffeine-free fizz caters to all types of bellies.
Why do you think stood out to the judges?
It was an amazing moment for us! The judges commented that they loved the branding and brand language, and felt our brand intentions were well considered and executed - something we're really proud of! They also said the quality of the product and our growth ambitions aligned to the brand and the market. In such a crowded space, we were really honoured to be selected and we hope it's a sign of good things to come!
What's one surprising challenge about building an RTD brand that people don't talk about enough?
Stock management is definitely a challenge - we're constantly having to hedge our bets and it's really tricky. Saying this, the challenger brand community is incredibly supportive so thankfully we're not alone!
If you were launching Belly Dance today, what's something you'd do differently based on what you know now?
We’ve only launched recently so it’s hard to reflect yet as things are still unfolding. We like to act fast and learn from it - so we don't have any regrets at this stage as every outcome really is a valuable learning!
What's next for Belly Dance? Any exciting plans?
We’ve just started our first fundraise and we have lots of exciting plans for growth to get more bellies dancing. Plus, we’ve just launched some groovy merch - available until end of July!
📌 The Noticeboard
Your weekly list of things to check out:
📣 Events
The UK’s first olive oil bar: A Mediterranean-inspired space featuring EVOO tastings, cocktails, workshops and delicious food collaborations. 📆 17th-28th July 2025 📍2 Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill.
FMCG Collective: 📆 18:00, Tuesday 28th July 2025. 📍 The Gallery at Tileyard, London. Drinks, snacks and a chat with Lara Taylor, Operations Manager at Bubala. From skipping school to restaurant shifts to leading one of London’s top Middle Eastern spots, Lara will share her journey, insights on operations, openings, and what it takes to run a Grace Dent-approved restaurant.
Thanks for reading this week’s edition! 🥳
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