About the Speaker
Yan is the co-founder of Dot Dot Bubble Tea, an award-winning London-based food and drink brand on a mission to reinvent bubble tea for a modern audience. What began as a small café in Stoke Newington has grown into the UK’s first ready-to-drink bubble tea available in glass bottles and cans, launching in Selfridges in 2023 and continuing to gain recognition across the food and beverage industry.
Built alongside co-founder Susie, Dot Dot combines authentic Asian flavours with a focus on lower sugar, sustainability and craftsmanship. Every drink is brewed, bottled and packed in their own London brewery, giving the founders complete control over quality and innovation.
The business has received multiple industry awards, including:
- Winner – Drink Category Pitch Live, Speciality Fine Food Fair 2024
- Gold Winner – Innovation Challenge, LUNCH! 2024
- Most Innovative Female-Founded F&B Start-up – Lux Life Awards 2024
Session Overview
From a neighbourhood café to a nationally recognised consumer brand, Yan will share the honest story behind building Dot Dot Bubble Tea.
This conversation will explore what it really takes to launch a product-led business in a competitive market, balancing authenticity with commercial growth, innovating within a traditional category, and building a brand that stands out on supermarket shelves.
Expect an open discussion about entrepreneurship, resilience, product development, sustainability, and the realities of growing a consumer business from the ground up.
Key Themes
- The journey from café to consumer brand
- Building a purpose-driven food and beverage business
- Product innovation and standing out in a crowded market
- Scaling manufacturing while maintaining quality
- Sustainability as part of the brand, not an afterthought
- Lessons learned as a founder
- The highs, lows and unexpected challenges of entrepreneurship
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave with practical insights into:
- Turning an idea into a scalable business
- Building a memorable consumer brand
- Creating products customers genuinely love
- Balancing growth with your values
- The realities of fundraising, scaling and founder resilience
- Why innovation often comes from challenging established industries
Thank you to our founding partner Signal for making this event happen.
You can also listen to these sessions on the Founders500 Podcast:
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