How this entrepreneur turned her obsession with beans into a successful start-up
Jennifer Sieg sits down with Amelia Christie-Miller, founder of premium beans business Bold Bean Co, to see how she turned her obsession with beans into a successful British start-up.
We all have our go-to hangover cures – whether it be a croissant from the cafe around the corner, a sausage roll (or two) from your neighbourhood Gregg’s, or even just the first decent looking meal deal to pop up on Deliveroo.
Entrepreneur Amelia Christie-Miller, however, might just be the only person alive who swears by a spoonful of beans.
Christie-Miller, 31, founded her premium beans business Bold Bean Co in 2021 with a mission to help reduce meat consumption by making the world “obsessed” with the “best” of beans.
After securing her most recent £50,000 investment on Dragon’s Den earlier this year and a first-place grant of £150,000 from the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation’s inaugural Young Entrepreneurs Awards a month later, it seems as if she’s made a name for herself – and her beans.
The brand also achieved both operational profitability and B-Corp certification – a certification awarded to purpose-led companies meeting high standards of social and environmental performance – in 2023, seeing 100 per cent year-on-year growth.
So what is so special about its beans, and where did the idea to start a business out of beans even come from in the first place?
The ‘lightbulb’ moment
The idea for Bold Bean Co can be traced back to a “fateful” hangover morning in Madrid, when the young entrepreneur was unable to find anything but a jar of heirloom butter beans in the fridge.
“I tasted this incredible heirloom butter bean out of a jar and it was just like nothing else – that’s when I started seeing beans differently,” she says.
“I realised that was what I needed to emulate in the UK… finding a really delicious tasting bean to help people see that beans can be really delicious and cool and that experience is what I needed to bring to them.”
The entrepreneurial bug seemed to bite in all the right places, because Bold Bean Co’s beans are now sourced directly from the idea’s birthplace in Spain, as well as other countries, including Mexico, Poland and Canada.
Christie-Miller even published a bestselling cookbook last year to complement her recipes, titled ‘Bold Beans: Recipes to Get Your Pulse Racing’, which has been a big help when it comes to establishing the brand.
Bold Bean Co’s recipe for success
No social media buzz survives contact with reality if the buzz isn’t justified — which is where Christie-Miller’s inner foodie kicks in.
“We take a lot of care into our sourcing – we specially select varieties that have thin skins, we choose them for size and flavour and test each harvest,” Christie-Miller says, with a smile.
“We’re also cooking the beans very quickly from their harvest date, which is such a small detail but because beans are long life, in other circumstances, they might just choose a dried bean that has been sitting around for a few years and it just really affects the texture, affects the cook, affects everything.”
After spending over a decade in the food industry, putting attention to detail at the forefront of any recipe for success might just become second nature.
The detail can be seen throughout the rest of Bold Bean Co’s operations, Christie-Miller says, especially as the now nine-person team continues its sustainability efforts around reducing the need for chemical fertilisers in soil by planting more beans and dedication to plastic-free packaging
Brand authenticity
Big consumer brands spend millions on marketing. For Christie-Miller, it’s been different. Brand before big bucks.
She adds: “I was seeing a brand like Oatly completely transform consumer behaviour by making something cool.
“So that’s why I wanted to create a brand that was having that relationship with the end consumer because I believe that brands can change consumer behaviour.
“We’re not trying to make you eat beans because they’re good for the environment and they’re healthy, we’re just trying to make you eat beans because you want to eat them because they’re delicious.”
“I think that competition is coming, but if we can just stick to what we’re doing really well and not live in fear of competition, we can still grow within that landscape,” she adds.
CV
Name: Amelia Christie-Miller
Company: Bold Bean Co.
Founded: 2021
Staff: 9
Title: Founder & CEO
Age: 31
Born: Oxford
Lives: London & Barcelona
Studied: History
Talents: Over analysis of song lyrics
Motto: For a career without regrets, stick to your purpose.
Most known for: Being the crazy bean lady
First ambition: Interior designer
Favourite book: Obsessed by Emily Heyward
Best piece of advice: The most powerful action that moves a business forward furthest is FOCUS.