For this edition of Coffee Unfiltered with Siren Grounds, we sit down with Jennie Bayliss, founder of Letterbox Cocktails, to explore the journey behind building an award-winning ready-to-drink brand in a competitive FMCG landscape. What started as an idea rooted in convenience and quality has grown into a recognised name across direct-to-consumer and corporate gifting, shaped by Jennie’s background in strategy, systems, and execution.
In this conversation, Jennie shares the realities of scaling a product-based business—from navigating compliance and refining brand positioning to unlocking growth through partnerships and gifting channels. She also reflects on leadership, resilience, and why staying true to your values is essential when building a brand designed not just to grow, but to last.
Can you introduce yourself and share the journey that led you to where you are today? What were the pivotal stages in building your brand within the food, drink, or FMCG landscape?
I’m Jennie Bayliss, the founder of Letterbox Cocktails. I have been running my own businesses since 2012, but this is the first product company I have had. Before starting this business, I spent many years working in business admin, project management, and consultancy, which gave me a strong grounding in strategy, systems and execution. What I didn’t expect was that those skills would eventually be applied to building an alcohol gifting brand.
The early stages involved a lot of experimentation. Recipes were tested and refined, packaging had to work through the post, and we learned very quickly that building a food and drink brand requires attention to detail across production, compliance, logistics and branding. There are a lot of laws and regulations placed on alcohol companies, and getting legally compliant took some time and meant we couldn’t trade until we had that in place.
Some pivotal moments helped shape the business. Winning various awards has been a major confidence boost and has given the brand credibility early on. We also realised quite quickly that gifting would become our strongest channel, particularly corporate gifting, weddings and special occasions. And securing our wholesale license has meant we can now sell B2B and not just B2C.
Today Letterbox Cocktails is an award-winning, family-run brand producing premium ready-to-drink cocktails that are delivered directly to customers across the UK, focusing on quality, creativity and giving people a reason to celebrate.
What defining moment shaped your approach to business or leadership? Was there a particular commercial challenge, retail breakthrough, or operational lesson that shifted your trajectory?
The defining moment for me was winning The Business Show’s VIP Launchpad competition in November 2024. We beat over 500 brands to win a £100k package of new business support. At that stage, Letterbox Cocktails was still a relatively young brand, and like many entrepreneurs, you are constantly questioning whether you are crazy or not in what you are building.
Winning the Launchpad will always be the moment that I knew we had something. It wasn’t just the recognition, but the fact that experienced business leaders and investors could see the potential in what we were building. It gave the brand credibility and helped open doors that might otherwise have taken much longer to access.
More importantly, it shifted my mindset. It made me realise that this wasn’t just a side hustle business anymore, but something that had the potential to become something much bigger if we approached it right.
From that point onwards, I became much more focused on building the business with structure and long-term vision. That meant strengthening the operational side, thinking more seriously about growth channels such as corporate gifting and partnerships, and ensuring the brand was positioned in a way that could scale sustainably. I have also rebalanced my time and focus. Winning the Launchpad didn’t just give us visibility and support; it gave me the confidence to lead the business with much greater ambition.
The FMCG space is highly competitive and margin-sensitive. How do you approach growth — commercially and personally? How do you balance brand positioning, scale, distribution, and profitability?
I have had a lot to learn about the FMCG space over the last couple of years. From the beginning, we positioned Letterbox Cocktails as a premium brand because we could see that competing purely on price would not be sustainable in this industry.
There is a lot of competition in the ready-to-drink space, so we have had to work out our brand positioning as a business, and this has only really been fully understood in the last few months by engaging with our customers and looking at our sales data.
A clear brand identity allows you to protect margins while still delivering value to customers. It is also essential in creating effective marketing that actually reaches the right audiences. The online space is very noisy and now driven by AI, so you need clear messaging and brand positioning to stand out in the crowd and reach your customers.
We have also diversified our focus to channels that align with our product. Direct-to-consumer sales remain important, but corporate gifting, weddings and subscription customers have become key growth drivers. These customers offer different scales of volume and revenue that are great for our bottom line.
At the same time, we operate with a very lean mindset. Cost control, efficient production and careful product development are essential. Idea generation is something that comes very easily to entrepreneurs! But the trick has been to take time to consider these ideas and not rush into new product development. Every new idea has to make commercial sense as well as creative sense. We use a ‘carpark’ to put all the ideas in that are not doable right now and then review them each month and decide as a team their next steps.
On a personal level, growth means constantly learning. The food and drink sector evolves quickly, and staying curious about customer behaviour, packaging innovation, rules and regulations, and distribution opportunities has helped us adapt and improve. Finding events and organisations in this space to join has helped to build a relevant network of advice and opportunity too. You can never know enough in this space, so learning from others is key, and there is a lot going on out there to help you.
What does building with intention mean to you in a category driven by volume and velocity? How do you maintain quality, brand integrity, and customer trust as you scale?
For me, it means resisting the temptation to chase growth at the expense of quality. In a category like drinks, it is easy to become focused purely on scale, but long-term brands are built on trust and consistency.
We have three very clear brand values we use on our marketing – Premium, Fresh, Delivered – and we have a fourth value that we use internally, and that is Customer First. Having these four values helps us to decide the what, where, when and how to every challenge or opportunity.
Every product we release and every package we send has to reflect the standards we set for the brand. That includes the recipes themselves, the presentation, and the experience customers receive when they open the package. We also think carefully about where the brand appears and who we work with. Protecting brand integrity is important because once a product enters the market, reputation travels quickly.
As we scale, the goal is to grow in a way that still feels authentic to how the business started. Customers should always feel they are receiving something made with care rather than something that has simply been produced in volume.
Resilience is critical in this sector – from supply chain pressures to retailer negotiations. What have been your most valuable lessons in navigating uncertainty?
Staying true to your brand and values, particularly when the business environment becomes challenging, is crucial. There is often pressure to move quickly, cut costs or chase opportunities that may not fully align with what you are trying to build. You will get offers to try things that take away from your brand and instead suck your time; it can be hard to say no, but that no certainly becomes easier! Over time, I have realised that protecting the integrity of the brand is one of the most important decisions a founder can make. Customers trust consistency, and maintaining that trust is far more valuable than short-term gains.
Another key lesson has been the power of partnerships and collaborations. Building a business does not happen in isolation, and the right partnerships can create opportunities that would be difficult to achieve alone. Whether it is working with corporate clients, collaborating with other brands, or forming strong relationships with suppliers and distributors, these partnerships help strengthen the business and create new pathways for growth. Using other people’s audiences is a growth strategy that any type of business can apply.
Resilience in this sector is not just about pushing through challenges. It is about making thoughtful decisions, surrounding yourself with the right people, and continuing to build something that reflects the values you started with.
How do you balance ambition with wellbeing in an industry that rarely slows down? What systems or boundaries have become non-negotiable?
I’m probably not the best example of this at the moment! I am a classic entrepreneur, and right now, this business is growing, and it is all-consuming, so there isn’t a lot of time for any personal life. The way I handle that is to put a timeframe on the intensity of the business and set boundaries that protect the people around me. If I am not working, then I am conscious to be fully present in those moments, which can be hard when the business is technically always open. I also try not to think about what the rest of the world is doing and just focus on what we are doing and keep doing it.
I know that clear processes, delegation and planning ahead reduce the pressure that comes with running a growing company, and I am lucky to have a supportive team and an older family, which really helps with getting everybody to pitch in. When the right structure is in place, it becomes possible to step back occasionally and think strategically rather than constantly reacting. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and after 47 years, I am pretty good at recognising when my needs are not being met, so I will stop and take time out if I need to without feeling guilty.
What does legacy look like in your work? Are you building for acquisition, long-term category disruption, cultural impact, or generational value?
Letterbox Cocktails is being built to sell – that has been my objective since day 1, and we will have the most amazing journey to get there. We are building something that will be recognised as the brand that brought creativity and quality into the cocktail gifting space and that people automatically think of when they are gift shopping.
I am also passionate about helping others to do similar things, and I will continue to offer student and new business mentorship to anybody who needs that support. There is something powerful about building a business that demonstrates what is possible for founders who are prepared to take an idea and turn it into something real. If the brand can inspire others to start their own ventures, that would be incredibly meaningful.
What advice would you give to women building their next chapter in food, drink, or FMCG?
Five tips that I would give are:
Don’t wait for perfect. Many successful businesses begin with a simple idea and evolve through learning and experimentation. If you wait for perfection, you will never start.
Understanding the numbers is essential in FMCG. Knowing your production costs, margins and scaling potential gives you confidence when making decisions and negotiating with partners.
Don’t say yes to everybody. Choosing the right suppliers and collaborators can make a significant difference. Reliable partners who understand your standards will help you grow more effectively.
Build a strong network of other founders and mentors. The journey can be demanding, but sharing experiences with people who understand the challenges makes it far more enjoyable.
Trust your vision. If you believe in what you are building and remain committed to quality and integrity, the business will have a solid foundation for growth.
https://www.letterbox-cocktails.com/ https://www.instagram.com/letterbox__cocktails/