Duncan Goose

Founder & managing director, One Drinks, on currency, stability and garlic bread

duncan goose one drinks

What was your first job? Working in a butcher’s - it taught me about food production and why it’s worth paying more for quality.

What’s been your worst job interview? For a Saturday retail job. I hadn’t put enough money in the meter and asked if I could be excused early.

What was the first music single you bought? Video Killed The Radio Star. My colleagues say that my tastes haven’t improved.

How do you describe your job to your mates? We sell drinks that change the lives of millions of people in Africa without access to clean water. We’ve raised over £15m and changed 3.2 million lives already. I’m also the office tea boy.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? Seeing the impact of buying our drinks rather than our competitors’. We send customers to Africa when we can to see for themselves. The conversation post-trip is very powerful and emotional.

Read more: What to expect when taking the leap from big food brand to startup

What is the least rewarding part? The post-Brexit world. Currency impacts are tough to deal with.

What is your motto in life? Unless your legs are going to fall off, give it a go.

If you were allowed one dream perk, what would it be? Stability.

Do you have any phobias? I’m not great with heights but have parachuted, bungeed and have a paragliding licence.

If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? To tier buyers - one for smaller brands and one for bigger brands.

What luxury would you have on a desert island? A hammock. I find them hugely relaxing (unless my kids are trying to flip me out).

What’s your favourite film? I just watched The Founder, about the history of McDonald’s. It was fascinating.

Read more: Spoon Guru’s Alexis Poole on life at a foodtech startup

What has been the most embarrassing moment in your life? Missing a flight with my boss to Edinburgh to see a brewery when I was 22. It was the Christmas party the night before.

Which celebrity would you most like to work with and why? Matt Damon - we share a passion for global water issues.

What would your death row meal be? Garlic bread. I know it’s wrong, but you have to love it. And it would be a bit late at that stage to worry about bad breath!

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