A can of beans never seemed like something to brag about. But Amelia Christie-Miller, the founder of Bold Bean Co, knew it was time to rewrite the story of the British breakfast staple. The London-based brand is redefining beans as a crave-worthy, premium ingredient—with clear-jar packaging, bestselling cookbooks, and content that’s as flavorful as its product.
From 2021 to 2024, Bold Bean Co grew 250%. It also won shelf space across the UK and landed on a reality competition show.
Here, Amelia explains how she’s reshaped public perception of beans, built a cult following through storytelling, and scaled a purpose-driven remote team. Bold Bean Co’s story offers actionable lessons any founder can apply.
Making an everyday staple into a premium obsession
Amelia launched Bold Bean Co to change minds. She knew that beans, with their variety, their flexibility, their flavor, and their nutrition profile, deserved more respect than they were given in the culinary landscape. Her aha moment came while studying in Madrid. “I was hung over and all I had was a jar of these beautifully cooked butter beans,” she recalls. “It completely changed my mind about what beans could taste like.”
Amelia brought that revelation home to the UK, sourcing the same premium Spanish beans and preserving them in glass—the same way they’re prepared in Spain. The result was a product that challenged every stereotype of the dull pantry staple. Shoppers could literally see the quality through the jar.
By focusing on flavor and presentation rather than only on health claims, Amelia made beans aspirational. “People talk about spending £3.25 pounds on a jar of beans,” she says. The reaction to the premium pricing, she adds, is often one of amusement—proof that something as ordinary as beans can spark genuine excitement when given the care and storytelling once reserved for luxury goods.
That shift speaks to a broader truth about innovation. Sometimes the most powerful ideas come not from inventing something new, but from reintroducing the familiar in a way that captures curiosity and imagination.
Turning content into community and community into customers
From day one, Amelia shared Bold Bean’s journey on Instagram, not as a marketing tactic, but as a desire to connect. “Part of me sharing it was around navigating the loneliness of starting a business,” she says. “But consumers are crying out for humanity behind brands.”
That openness became the foundation of the brand’s media strategy. Instead of bombarding followers with product shots, Bold Bean Co gives something back: cooking videos and hundreds of free recipes on its website. “My view has always been we need to give back to our community, not sell to them,” Amelia says. Those recipes now drive significant site traffic and act as soft conversion touchpoints.
By framing itself as a food-media company that sells a premium staple, Bold Bean Co stays in conversation with its audience daily—beginning long before a purchase happens. Bold Bean Co proves content isn’t a side project; it’s your most authentic form of marketing. Give value first, and sales will follow.
Building media momentum through authenticity and values
Publicity didn’t just happen for Bold Bean Co—it was engineered through mission-driven storytelling. Amelia’s team pairs credible content like their Sunday Times–bestselling cookbook, Bold Beans, with a strong cultural stance around sustainability and gut health. “Getting press as a brand isn’t super easy,” she says, “but one of the ways you can do it is standing for something beyond what you’re selling.”
That approach paid off. Appearing on the British reality competition series Dragon’s’ Den put Bold Bean Co on national television, and the cookbook cemented a reputation of offering delicious recipes. Combined, this fueled that phenomenal 250% sales spike. The team’s strategy also included key collaborations. Chefs and food influencers became natural advocates because Bold Bean Co fit into their lives as an essential ingredient they used in creating meals to share with their audiences.
Amelia’s advice to other founders: Build the kind of story journalists and creators want to tell. Beautiful visuals help, but conviction is the hook. “You can never expect or demand attention,” she notes. “You just have to have faith that if they love your product, they’ll talk about it.”
When your mission aligns with broader cultural movements, coverage becomes inevitable, not forced.
Creating a people-first culture in a remote workplace
Bold Bean’s team is scattered across the UK and Spain, but their connection is anything but distant. “Remote is definitely not for everyone,” Amelia admitted. “We’ve turned it into our superpower.”
By hiring culturally-aligned talent near suppliers, she created a hybrid advantage: proximity to sourcing and deep understanding of the UK consumer. The company reinforces cohesion through intentional rituals: monthly cook-alongs, live guided meditations on Wellness Wednesdays, and the use of voice notes on Slack to avoid miscommunication. “We’re very sensitive about how we come across on digital,” Amelia says.
Vulnerability is also built into the company culture. “You may not see if people are struggling,” she says. “If we continue to champion vulnerability … we can more easily identify problems and fix them.”
Her advice for founders leading distributed teams is to over-communicate with empathy, invest in cultural caretakers, and remember that flexibility attracts exceptional talent. When remote work aligns with a shared purpose, geography stops being a barrier.
From changing public perception to mastering modern public relations, Amelia shows that you don’t need a flashy tech product to spark a movement—just conviction, creativity, and community. For founders everywhere, Bold Bean Co is proof that even the simplest ingredient can become a sensation when you lead with purpose and keep your team, your audience, and your values at the center. To hear Amelia share how Bold Bean Co successfully led a staple rebrand, listen to the full interview on Shopify Masters.
