For over a decade, Finlay Beverages has navigated the rough terrain of being an own-brand supplier, operating in a margin-compromised world, where price often prevented true partnerships and contracts are won on cost rather than value.
But in 2022, facing its tenth year of adversity, the business reached a breaking point.
“We believed in the potential of the business,” recalls Andy Bulman, Managing Director. “But belief alone wasn’t enough. We knew we had to rethink – completely.”
That belief sparked a bold transformation - one that turned Finlay Beverages from a price-led commodity player, into a capability- rich partner. A business reimagined with a clear mission: to become the most trusted own-brand tea and coffee supplier in the U.K.
The Turning Point
Finlay Beverages had long operated with a lean, cost-focused model - delivering on price, but struggling to invest in long-term capability and value. So, the team made a purposeful shift: invest, simplify, and lead.
“It started with ambition,” says Andy. “We had to remove the fear of failure and create a learning culture. From there, we focused on building real capability.”
One of the earliest difficult decisions was to rationalize the customer base. Smaller, non-strategic contracts were let go in favor of deeper partnerships with aligned retailers.
“That decision hurt in the short term,” Andy admits, “but it gave us the space to serve our partners better. We chose focus, over fragmentation.”
