How do you take a neighbourhood bubble tea café and build a brand stocked by Harrods, Selfridges and Ocado?

Yandis Ying, Founder and CEO of Dot Dot Tea, joins Founders500 to share the story behind that journey, including building an in-house brewery, securing major retail partnerships and receiving four offers on BBC’s Dragons’ Den.

We explore what it takes to create a product customers want, stand out in a competitive market and scale production without compromising quality. Along the way, Yandis shares lessons on investment, resilience and building a business alongside family life.

Whether you’re developing your first product, growing a consumer brand or curious about what happens behind the scenes, this conversation offers an honest look at turning an ambitious idea into a growing business.

In this conversation:

• Taking Dot Dot from café to national retail
• Creating a distinctive brand with mainstream appeal
• Getting products onto shelves and building retail partnerships
• Scaling manufacturing while keeping control of quality
• Pitching for investment and the Dragons’ Den experience
• Navigating the pressures and uncertainty of founder life

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