Honey infused beer crowned queen bee in Britain’s Next Top Supplier

Hannah Rhodes from London pitched to Sir Stuart Rose and Tom Kerridge, beating over 400 hopefuls in Ocado’s national search for the next big thing in food & drink

Ocado.com, the online supermarket, has today announced the winner of its inaugural Britain’s Next Top Supplier initiative: Hiver – The Honey Beer, a British craft beer brewed with urban and rural honey by London resident, Hannah Rhodes. Hiver is now exclusively listed and available to purchase at ocado.com and Hannah has been awarded a £10,000 marketing package to promote her product through Ocado’s website, PR and social media channels.

Hannah entered her honey infused creation in the national competition aimed at unearthing a small British supplier and launching them nationally, giving Ocado’s customers a unique and exclusive product to purchase. Hiver – The Honey Beer caught the judges’ eye thanks to its delicious flavour and innovative brewing method.

Hannah then delivered a ‘Dragons’ Den’ style business pitch to a panel of experts including retail legend and Ocado Chairman, Sir Stuart Rose, and Michelin starred chef and TV personality, Tom Kerridge who were on the hunt for a product of high quality and unlike anything else on the market.

Hannah Rhodes, Hiver Beers said, “It was so exciting to pitch to Sir Stuart Rose and Tom Kerridge and can’t believe I’ve won! After attending an Urban Beekeeping course, I really fell in love with honey as a product and the stories behind beekeeping. Once I’d tried a few honey beers, I felt that there was a lot more that could be done and so I set about developing a recipe that really show cased the honey and its story through a great quality beer.”

Tom Kerridge, author of Proper Pub Food and Chef Patron of The Hand & Flowerssaid, “I was really impressed by Hannah’s innovation, enthusiasm and knowledge and she obviously has a massive amount of passion for this industry. The entire Hiver product, from taste to packaging, has been carefully crafted. She’s doing something different, she’s doing it well and she loves doing it – she’s the perfect winner in my eyes.”

Sir Stuart Rose, Ocado Chairman said, “Hannah and her Hiver Beers had it all – an intriguing back story, a passion for the industry, a great tasting, quirky product and one that will hopefully fly out of the Ocado warehouse. All of the finalists were hidden gems and it was a tough decision to pick the winner, but Hannah’s holistic approach to her product and brand is what really sold it for me.”

Britain’s Next Top Supplier builds on Ocado’s history of supporting new, up and coming purveyors including Yorkshire Provender, Muddy Boots, Higgidy and What on Earth. The competition also gave applicants the chance to meet Ocado’s buyers and benefit from expert guidance on how to secure a listing with a large supermarket.

Hiver – The Honey Beer is now available at ocado.com for £2.40 per bottle

To see the full product profile, visit: ocado.com

For more information, sample, images and interview requests, please contact M&C Saatchi PR:

Olivia Burrell: olivia.burrell@mcsaatchi.com/ 020 3617 6531
Thom Landers: thom.landers@mcsaatchi.com / 020 3617 8464