From kitchen experiment to 7.5 million cans – the Hip Pop founder story

What does it take to build a consumer brand in one of the most competitive industries in the world?

In this founder interview, Anthony Rose (Founder & CEO at SeedLegals) speaks with Emma Thackray, co-founder of Hip Pop – the fast-growing gut-friendly soft drinks brand now stocked in major UK retailers including Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Co-op.

Emma shares how Hip Pop started as a kitchen experiment with fermented drinks, how the founders navigated fundraising without a finance background, and how a community of angel investors helped them scale the business to millions of cans sold each year.

Key takeaways

The problem with traditional soft drinks

• Many soft drinks contain high levels of sugar, pushing consumers to look for healthier alternatives.
• The drinks market is highly competitive, dominated by global brands with huge budgets and distribution power.
• Founders entering the category often face a steep learning curve in manufacturing, branding and fundraising.

Hip Pop’s solution

• Hip Pop creates great-tasting soft drinks with gut-friendly ingredients like fibre and live cultures.
• The brand began with experiments in fermented drinks like kombucha, inspired by their digestive benefits.
• By prioritising flavour first, the team built a drink that feels like a treat while still offering functional health benefits. 

Traction and growth

• Hip Pop has seen triple-digit growth over the past three years.
• The company produced 7.5 million cans last year and is stocked in retailers including Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Morrisons and Co-op.
• Early growth was funded by angel investors found through LinkedIn outreach, with investments scaling from £10k to much larger rounds as the business expanded.