Instead of hitting up his mates for cash when he started his drinks business, Firefly Tonics co-founder Marcus Waley-Cohen hit them up for their taste buds.
Waley-Cohen started Firefly with his school friend Harry Briggs and they leaned heavily on their friends in deciding which of their healthy, natural drinks were top-shelf – and those that weren't.
“It helped us refine our ideas,” he says. “When we started, we consulted about 50 people; now it’s more like 250 people.”
Those same friends are still involved in the company’s taste panels and have also brought new ideas to the table, although some (such as a cheer-up drink) are more practical than others (a mind-reading drink).
Firefly currently sells six drinks products, primarily in the UK and Northern Europe, but the company also has customers in countries such as Dubai, Japan, South Africa and Australia.
Firefly employs ten people and has a turnover of nearly £1.6m. It’s growing at 150 per cent year on year.