20 minutes with...

Building a global food supply chain business from a standing start might sound like a carefully planned journey. For Dean Attwell, it began with survival. In this episode, Dean joins Eimear Andersen to share the story behind Oakland International, from the collapse of the family farming business to spotting an unexpected opportunity in frozen storage and building from there. He reflects on how the...

Retail technology is evolving quickly, but for many retailers the challenge is knowing which tools genuinely add value - and which simply add complexity. For Darren Nickels, that balance has shaped more than two decades working at the intersection of retail and technology. In this episode, Darren speaks to Eimear Andersen about the origins and growth of Henderson Technology, a business built from...

Margins are tightening, customers are more price-sensitive and costs continue to rise across the retail supply chain. In that environment, pricing has become one of the most important - and often misunderstood - decisions retailers make. In this episode, Caroline Cookson speaks to Eimear Andersen about the psychology, strategy and practical realities of pricing in today’s retail landscape. Drawing...

Technology, data ownership and the race to control the last mile are reshaping how retailers reach their customers. For Ricardo Amorim, that shift has been more than a trend. In this episode, Ricardo speaks to Eimear Andersen about the evolution of Stuart, the B2B last-mile delivery specialist operating across the UK and Europe. He explains how services such as Iceland’s in-store “cart drop” model...

Family retail heritage, fresh food innovation and a growing obsession with AI might not seem like an obvious combination. For David Sands, they are all part of the same story about how independent convenience retail is evolving. In this episode, David speaks to Eimear Andersen about growing up in a fifth-generation retail family, launching David’s Kitchen in 2014 and reshaping the traditional conv...

Surviving a catastrophic plane crash and building a global technology platform to reduce food waste might seem like very different stories. For entrepreneur Mike Osborne, they are deeply connected. In this episode, Mike speaks to Eimear about how his long-term recovery shaped his sense of responsibility, resilience and purpose, and how that mindset now drives his work with Gander, a technology pla...

In this episode, host Eimear Andersen sits down with Mandi Leonard, Welfare Director and Megan Harrison, Marketing Director of GroceryAid, to explore how the charity is breaking down barriers and reaching people when they need it most. Mandi explains the breadth of support available to anyone working in the UK grocery sector—from manufacturing and warehousing to independent retailers and convenien...

In this episode of 20 minutes with, Eimear Andersen speaks to Kirsty Henshaw, founder of Kirsty’s, about building one of the UK’s most trusted free-from food businesses. Kirsty shares how the company began after her son was born with multiple severe food allergies, at a time when free-from options were limited and uninspiring. She reflects on pitching on Dragons’ Den, the realities of scaling a sp...

In this final episode of Series 1 (we’re back with Series 2 soon!), Eimear talks to Jonathan James. From a small farm shop in a disused barn to a thriving multi-site retail estate spanning the country, he has built quite the journey in convenience retail. In this episode, host Eimear Andersen sits down with Jonathan to explore what it’s really like running a family business alongside his wife Rebe...

Victoria Lawson – Making form-filling a distant memory Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most transformative. Victoria Lawson, Founder and CEO of Wholepal, has created a platform that’s quietly revolutionising how suppliers and wholesalers share product data — removing the spreadsheets, the errors and the hours of wasted time that once defined the process. In this conversation, Victoria shares...

Kevin Hunt – The Reality of Retail in 2025 Fourth-generation retailer Kevin Hunt leads a family business that began in 1946 and now runs 23 local community SPAR stores. In this powerful and often candid conversation, he shares what it really takes to keep an independent business thriving nearly 80 years on.   Kevin talks about:   Growing up among shelves stacked with sugar and joining th...

For nearly 30 years, James Lowman has been at the heart of the Association of Convenience Stores — 19 of them as Chief Executive. He’s steered the organisation through major change, from the rise of convenience retailing and new government regulation to the turbulence of COVID. In this wide-ranging conversation, James reflects on his journey from public affairs manager to CEO and the evolution of...

For more than 30 years, Debbie Robinson has helped shape UK retail, leading major high-street names while championing people, communities and sustainability. In this episode, she shares how purpose and values guide her leadership as CEO of Central Co-op, which is one of the country’s largest independent co-operative societies. Debbie talks about: How a Saturday job led to a lifelong career in reta...

Eimear Andersen is joined by Mike Severs from Volumatic. Mike has  spent more than a decade making cash handling simpler, safer and smarter for retailers of all sizes. They explore why cash is still vital in a digital-first world, how retailers can balance efficiency with customer choice and the technology that’s helping frontline colleagues feel more confident at the till. You’ll hear about:...

20 Minutes With… Michael Lorimer, CEO of DCS Group Michael Lorimer leads one of the UK’s most remarkable distributor success stories. In this episode he talks about balancing global brands with a thriving own label and how people, values and community sit at the heart of DCS’s growth. He reflects on 31 years of consecutive expansion at DCS Group, moving into food distribution and the vision behind...

In this episode, Eimear Andersen is joined by SPAR UK MD, Michael Fletcher, a leader who has shaped the UK grocery and convenience sector for more than three decades.  From starting out at Tesco in the 1990s to now guiding thousands of independent stores across the country, Michael brings a wealth of experience and a passion for retail that shines through every conversation. Michael shares: H...

20 Minutes With… David Walker In this episode, Eimear Andersen is joined by David Walker, tech and data specialist and CCO of Cerve. David is helping the food and drink industry unlock the power of real-time insights – cutting waste, saving costs and reimagining how supply chains operate. David explains how APIs – the digital “pipes” that allow data to flow seamlessly between systems – are transfo...

20 Minutes With… Stuart Holmes In this episode, Eimear Andersen sits down with Stuart Holmes, who has spent more than 25 years in the drinks and coffee industries with brands such as Bacardi, Campari and Illy, before stepping out to create his own consultancy. Stuart shares his journey from corporate life to founding The Power of Five, a consultancy designed to help FMCG businesses – from founder-...

First full episode coming on Friday 12th September. Click on subscribe here to be notified as soon as it is published. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.