Brand Growth Heroes has unveiled the 14 challenger brands enrolled on its second ‘Mini MBA’ accelerator programme, run in partnership with financial services firm Alantra.
The BGH MBA is a crash course aimed at equipping founders and management teams with the knowledge, skills, strategies and plans needed to scale while navigating industry challenges.
Following a selection process evaluating more than 150 applicants, the 2025 cohort has been whittled down to 14 brands spanning chilled, ambient and frozen categories.
The businesses taking part this year are:
- Mighty Slice
- The Black Farmer
- Lucky Saint
- Nice Rice
- Ombar
- Cookie Do
- Jux Food
- Crumbs Brewing
- Northern Pasta
- All The Aunties
- Grub Club
- Pack’d
- Craft & Crumb
- Oatsu
With Alantra backing the programme for a second year, the BGH Mini MBA is led by CPG experts Fiona Fitzpatrick (who runs the Brand Growth Heroes accelerator) and Charles Lanceley (Alantra head of UK food & beverage).
Commercial law firm Joelson and global analytics firm NielsenIQ have also joined the programme as partners for the 2025 edition.
The programme kicks off on 23 April, with ten ‘Mini MBA Challenges’, covering business, brand & category strategy, financial leadership and operational scale-up, covered over 12 weeks.
Founders will engage in weekly online modules, group workshops, personalised mentoring and fireside chats with industry leaders.
“The Mini MBA is about more than just learning – it’s a platform for transformation,” Lanceley said. “We’re thrilled to support this next wave of founders as they scale their brands and shape the future of the industry.”
Joelson managing partner Phil Hails-Smith added: “We love working with ambitious challenger brands and being a trusted business advisor. We’re looking forward to helping them achieve long-term growth through the Mini MBA programme.”
Rachel Havers, UK small & medium business team manager at NielsenIQ, said: “The combination of NielsenIQ’s market intelligence and the Mini MBA’s hands-on approach creates an exciting platform for category mastery and growth.”
Alantra is sponsoring four places again this year, while Joelson and NielsenIQ are jointly funding an additional four places.
Alex Emmanuel-Jones, commercial director at The Black Farmer, said: “We’re hugely excited to be joining the programme this year and I’m confident this will play a vital role in driving the growth and success of The Black Farmer brand.”
Graduates of the 2024 BGH Mini MBA included Bold Bean Co, Fix8 Kombucha and Pärla.
Bold Bean co-founder Ed Whelpton said: “The Mini MBA has been incredibly valuable – it covers every key aspect of business strategy, but most importantly, it forces you to get clear on how your brand will win.”
The 2025 Brand Growth Heroes Mini MBA runs until 18 July and will conclude with a live pitch event in London, where founders will present their growth strategies to Alantra, investors and key industry partners.
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