Bold beans now sold nationwide in stores

AN entrepreneur who started a bean company during the coronavirus pandemic is now selling her product in Waitrose nationwide.

Amelia Christie-Miller, from Swyncombe, is the founder of Bold Bean Co, which sells a range of jarred heirloom beans sourced from Spain and Poland.

She launched the company in May last year and the beans are now being sold nationwide in 216 Waitrose stores.

Ms Christie-Miller said: “The beans have had an incredible start and have been selling out in loads of the stores. It’s been a complete transformation since Waitrose started selling them. People now have so much more access to our beans.

“We have to upscale our production to meet the rising demand. I don’t mind though. It’s a nice problem to have.”

Before setting up her business Ms Christie-Miller earned money as a private chef while a student at the University of Edinburgh and worked at a Gail’s Bakery in London after graduating.

She came across the business idea in Madrid when she woke with a hangover and nothing in the house to eat but a jar of beans. She ate a spoonful straight out of the jar and spotted a gap in the UK market for high-quality and nutritious beans.

Ms Christie-Miller said: “We are on a mission to get a nation obsessed with beans — beans can be delicious.”

She began selling the product in stores nearby to where she had grown up — including the Granary in Watlington, McQueens in Nettlebed, the Henley Larder and Pavilion in Market Place, Henley.

Ms Christie-Miller said she had to work hard to convince the supermarket chain to sell her beans.

She said: “They get inundated with millions of partnership requests every year, so you have to persevere. You just have keep chasing and chasing them.”

Waitrose began to stock Bold Beans Co in May, although things did not get off to the best of starts.

Ms Christie-Miller visited the Henley store with her mother and brother to see her products stacked on the shelves for the first time, filming the moment for a TikTok video.

But when she arrived the beans were out of stock. The video of her disappointed reaction went viral, amassing more than 100,000 views.

Waitrose responded by , posting an action movie-style video of them stocking the beans along to the music from film Mission Impossible.

Ms Christie-Miller now believes Bold Bean Co can grow even bigger. 

She said: “My ambition is to be a household brand. I’d also love to write a bean-themed cookbook at some point.”