Simon Mellin, founder and CEO of Modern Milkman, grew up working in his dad's butcher's shop in Colne, rural Lancashire. By trying to move the business online, he was shocked to find just how disconnected food supply chains had become across the UK. In 2018, inspired by Blue Planet, he bought a real, working milk round for £2,000 to find out why the dairy industry was dying – and what could be done to save it. From that cart, he has delivered Modern Milkman: a returnable-packaging grocery delivery business that has since raised tens of millions in funding, expanded into five US states, and is aiming for its first full year of profit. In this episode, Mellin tells Sir Richard Harpin about his experience as the modern milkman, as well as the strange coincidence that led him to merge with a US rival – and what he got wrong trying to run it 'the UK way'. Plus, his frank advice for founders: If you don’t try you don’t know, just get on with it!
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