Email: john@stapleton.eu | Telephone: +44 (0) 7790 146403
ABOUT ME
I have created and grown a few successful consumer-led businesses over the last 35 years, both in the UK and the USA. I have learned hugely from both successes and failures and I talk passionately and honestly about both. Having exited my third business, I now actively manage an Investor/Non-Executive Director portfolio, delivering value-added business growth advice, guidance and mentoring to businesses in early-stage and scale-up phase.
I am a founder member of the start-up team that set up and built New Covent Garden Soup Co Ltd. (1987), which pioneered and grew the fresh soup category in the UK. We sold The New Covent Garden Soup Co in 1998 to The Daniels Group (later Hain-Daniels).
I then co-founded Glencoe Foods Inc., tasked with bringing the fresh soup concept to the US.
On returning to Europe, I established a consumer-branded food consultancy and worked with a number of corporate and early-stage growth businesses across the FMCG sector in the UK, US and continental Europe.
In 2005, I co-founded Little Dish, which supplies healthy, natural and convenient meals and snacks to children over one year old. Little Dish created the chilled toddler food category, developing full UK retailer distribution and became the go-to brand in fresh toddler food and healthy snacks. I exited Little Dish in 2017 to a US-based private equity firm.
I now provide business growth advice and mentorship to growing businesses. I am regarded as a business thought leader and speak on a wide range of entrepreneurial, management & motivational leadership topics.
I actively manage an investor/Non-Executive Director portfolio contributing value-added business growth advice, guidance and mentoring to business owners.
I am resident business advisor to Bord Bia’s entrepreneurial start-up programme in Ireland (Food Works) and am investor director of Mission Ventures, a progressive business accelerator designed to build challenger brands in the UK food & drink space, principally in partnership through Corporate Venture Accelerators (www.missionventures.co.uk)
I also advise, mentor or have invested in a number of early-stage growth businesses, including:
Mission Ventures is helping transform the food industry by building better challenger brands. Working in partnership with corporate and fund partners, Mission Ventures support innovative challenger brands in achieving their ambitions for growth and, ultimately exit. Led by a group of seasoned entrepreneurs with over 75 years combined industry experience and exits valued at over £50 million from brands personally founded, Mission Ventures has been the UK's leading accelerator for food and drink brands since 2015.
Fischer Farms is an agriculture technology firm who specialise in vertical farming / hydroponics. They have two farms, one near Lichfield and the other near Norwich. The first farm has a growing area of 3,200m2 and the second has a growing area of 25,000m2 with the capacity to expand to 75,000m2. John is chairman.
Redesdale is the only venture capital fund dedicated to the early-stage Irish food and Drink sector. John is a founder-member and a member of the Investment Committee.
Food Works is an Irish Government-sponsored Accelerator Programme that helps develop the next generation of scaleable and export - driven Irish food businesses. The programme is run by 3 Irish Government agencies - Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board), Enterprise Ireland & Teagasc. John is a resident Business Advisor to Bord Bia and the Food Works programme.
Insane Grain is a brand of unique, delicious, nutritious bagged snacks that are good for you and good for the planet. John is an investor.
Nix & Kix is a natural, low calorie, sugar-free vegan adult soft drink brand with a cayenne kick. John is an investor director.
Spoon produce a range of healthy, simple and tasty alternative breakfast options. John is an investor.
Capsicana creates award-winning authentic Latin American cook sauces, side dishes & seasonings. John is an investor and has been a director from December 2017 to February 2021.
Kaleidoscope Investments help entrepreneurs with disabilities to realise their dream of running and growing their own business. Ki provides on-going help, expertise and investment throughout the duration of the business life-cycle, nurturing and encouraging ideas in order to best achieve lasting commercial success. John is a member of the KI Investment Committee and is a founder-mentor.
DIAL Global is a cross-industry global network of business leaders who exist to move the dial on diversity, inclusion and belonging. DIAL Global is a network of C-suite, senior executives, D&I and HR leaders, providing our members with on demand content, knowledge and expertise. The DIAL Global mission is to support organisations and shape the future of the workplace through the diversity and inclusion lens.