Before launching mash of brands®, I spent 20 years working as a marketer, publicist, and entrepreneur. While at university in Edinburgh, I launched my first successful business, supplying bands to local venues. After receiving a degree in marketing, I studied at Le Cordon Bleu. My first job upon leaving Cordon Bleu was as the personal chef to the Dutch Ambassador. Later, I became a publicist, working at global agencies in London and Dubai before becoming Head of Media and Communications at an in-house role.
In 2009, I plucked up the courage to say fuck it, quit my real job, and pursue my dream of importing the world's finest artisan teas. Having helped clients develop and grow major brands, I was confident I could do the same for myself. Despite starting with a budget of under £1,000, within a few years, I grew a small business selling tea on eBay into a six-figure income and multiple category-defining brands - which I later sold to a private equity firm.
After selling my companies, I began working as a freelance marketing consultant while occasionally providing creative business advice on Reddit. Soon I began receiving frequent requests from other small business owners who had seen my feedback, asking if I could help their companies grow; this became the start of mash of brands®.
In the late spring of 2023, I relaunched mash of brands® as a specialist tea and coffee startup consultancy. My goal as a consultant is to provide the help, support, and honest advice I wish I'd received when I quit my own career and started off on my drinks startup adventure.
Jamie Ewan Henderson
Founder of mash of brands® | Startup Drinks Brands™