{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"OxTalks","title":"Achieving Small Business Success Whilst Remaining Purpose-Driven","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2807,"description":"Can a business grow and scale whilst genuinely putting purpose before profit? \nIn this episode of OxTalks, host Howard Bentham speaks with Bethan Thomas, co-founder and CEO of HotTea Mama, an award-winning women's wellness tea company that has grown from a kitchen-table start-up to a brand stocked in Holland & Barrett, Selfridges and Planet Organic. Bethan shares her remarkable journey from studying tea science in China to creating a business that supports women through periods, pregnancy, motherhood and menopause.\nWith the UK losing 150 million working days each year due to poor women's health and purpose-led UK businesses achieving 20% turnover growth compared to just 3% for all SMEs, Bethan's story demonstrates how values-driven entrepreneurship can deliver both commercial success and meaningful social impact. \nThis conversation explores the practical realities of building a mission-led brand, from navigating supply chains and retail partnerships to maintaining authenticity in an age of greenwashing, all whilst managing the demands of motherhood and running a growing business.\nBethan Thomas: Bethan Thomas is the co-founder and CEO of HotTea Mama, an award-winning women's wellness tea and hot beverage company creating functional blends to support women through periods, fertility, pregnancy, motherhood and menopause. A graduate of Oxford University with a master's in Modern Chinese, Bethan is the first non-Chinese person to earn a degree in Tea Science from Fujian Agricultural University in China, where she specialised in understanding how botanicals and herbs can support health and wellbeing. After more than a decade working as a professional tea buyer and taster for major British tea companies, she co-founded HotTea Mama in 2017 with her friend Kate Achilles, inspired by their own experiences of pregnancy and early motherhood. Under Bethan's leadership, HotTea Mama has grown to a £1.2 million turnover business, winning multiple awards including recognition...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/8Tqvv39_tJ7BatBkXiBnNnV1As80NgGanbdQ9tTXM8s/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8yNmJm/YTAwMmM0NTFkMTU2/OGVjMGFlZGJkYmZm/MWM4OC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}