When we talk about business growth, high performance, and shaping industries for the better, we tend to focus on numbers, strategy, and innovation. We rarely pause to consider the quiet revolutions started in home kitchens, driven by frustration, empathy, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Yet some of the most enduring businesses have their roots exactly here—in the personal, the passionate and the purposeful.
Today, taking inspiration from the remarkable journey of Borough 22, a pioneering free-from doughnut brand founded for a simple yet profound reason: so that everyone, regardless of allergy or dietary requirement, can share in one of life’s small pleasures. Let’s delve into the fundamentals that underpin not only growth, but authentic, sustainable business success.
Finding Your Why: The True North of Exceptional Business
Every entrepreneur will face the dark hours: when energy ebbs, enthusiasm falters, and obstacles stack up higher than wins. In those moments, a clear sense of purpose, a genuine “why”, is not a nice-to-have, it’s your lifeline. Borough 22 was born out of founder Ryan Panchoo’s personal mission to create a safe, delicious treat for his own children, both of whom suffered severe allergies. Frustrated by their exclusion from the culinary world, Ryan set himself three simple, non-negotiable criteria: his products had to be safe, appealing, and as indulgent as any “ordinary” treat.
This foundational “why” did not just power a new product; it seeded a movement towards inclusive indulgence, moving the conversation beyond allergy-friendly food towards great food, full stop, food that, incidentally, happens to be inclusive.
Too often, businesses start with “what” and “how,” rather than “why.” Yet time and again, it’s the “why” that sustains through setbacks and inspires others, be it team members, customers, or collaborators—to buy into your vision.
The Value of Personal Storytelling in Brand-Building
In business, authenticity is not a buzzword, it’s a brand. Borough 22’s identity is inseparable from its founder’s personal story and values. The name itself is a nod to London’s boroughs, particularly Greenwich—Ryan’s birthplace—linking the brand back to its local roots and conveying a sense of neighbourhood and inclusivity.
This anchoring in local community is more than clever marketing; it is an open invitation for customers to be part of the journey and identity. We see this time and again with businesses whose names, stories or recipes are woven from the fabric of their founders’ lives and communities. People respond not just to product, but to provenance, and stories that feel personal invite loyalty and advocacy.
High-Performance Through Focus and Mastery
One striking lesson from Borough 22’s growth is the value of focus. The temptation for an entrepreneurial founder is to “do more:” more products, more markets, more everything. Yet Borough 22’s journey shows a measured, disciplined approach, testing a range of free-from bakes, discovering that brownies were already over-represented in the market, and quickly narrowing the focus to doughnuts where true innovation was possible.
This high-performance strategy, mastering one thing and doing it incomparably well, enabled Borough 22 to carve out a clear niche and deliver standout quality. In a business landscape obsessed with diversifying and pivoting, it’s refreshing (and instructive) to see focus as a growth lever rather than a limitation.
The Realities of Entrepreneurship: Wearing All the Hats
Business success stories too often gloss over the nitty-gritty of launching and scaling an enterprise. Yes, there’s creative satisfaction, but there’s also relentless administration, number-crunching, and late nights learning (sometimes the hard way) about cashflow, HR, logistics and accounts.
Ryan candidly shares the reality: running the business involved far more than crafting recipes. It meant single-handedly managing every aspect, at least in the beginning, from creative development to finances and delivery schedules. Those dreamlike “moments of inspiration” are propped up by a steadfast, sometimes grinding, commitment to tasks that lay far outside the kitchen or workshop.
Here lies another critical lesson: equip yourself with the best tools and surround yourself with support as soon as possible. Whether it’s embracing accountancy software to speed up invoices, automating subscriptions, or building a core team whose skills complement your own, smart entrepreneurs don’t just work harder—they work smarter, leveraging technology and people to amplify their efforts.
Scaling with Integrity: The Importance of the Right Structure and Support
Growth often exposes underlying structural weaknesses. Cash flow can prove a persistent challenge, especially as opportunity and demand surge ahead of resources. Borough 22’s move into scaling meant not just higher output but higher stakes, balancing the excitement of new markets with the discipline of fiscal responsibility.
Here, the right infrastructure is pivotal. Professionalising processes, adopting business management tools, and building a supportive team enable founders to stay in their “zone of genius” while the business operates smoothly.
The value of specialist support also cannot be overstated. Accountants, business advisors and operational experts turn founder vision into something scalable and sustainable. The romantic notion of “doing it all” feels heroic, but real longevity in business comes from recognising early and often that building a robust support system is as critical as baking the perfect doughnut.
Investment as a Growth Catalyst: Telling Your Story and Building Confidence
So often, investment is seen purely as a numbers game. But, as Borough 22’s journey demonstrates, winning over investors is as much about narrative and confidence as it is about projections.
Securing a significant investment from the Forbes Family Group was not simply a function of rapid headline growth, but of sustainable, consistent profit, a strong team, and critically a product that astonished even investors hailing from doughnut-loving regions of North America. Ryan’s approach was to be transparent about the journey, honest about the challenges, and, above all, to let the product itself do the talking.
For founders seeking investment, the lesson is clear: performance, resilience, and a clear company structure matter. But so does the ability to confidently articulate what sets your business apart and how it will continue to thrive—with or without you in the kitchen.
Inclusivity as Innovation: Redefining “Free-From” as “Full of Possibility”
Perhaps the greatest disruption to come from Borough 22 is not a new flavour or a viral campaign—it’s a change in narrative. For decades, free-from or allergy-friendly products were positioned as “less than,” food of compromise and omission. Borough 22 turns that narrative on its head: the question is not “what’s missing?” but “what have you gained?”
The company’s commitment to making doughnuts that are gluten free, dairy free, nut free, plant based, Halal, and Kosher certified, all without sacrificing taste or texture, means more people can indulge without fear or exclusion. For many, this is not just a treat, but a return to social and culinary inclusion, sometimes after decades of feeling sidelined.
By focussing on mastery, Borough 22 has achieved what many “mainstream” brands have failed to do: creating a product that not only rivals traditional alternatives but, in many cases, surpasses them. The positive customer response, moving testimonies from people who had not tasted a doughnut in 25 years, stories of tears and gratitude, attests to the emotional power of inclusive innovation.
Creativity and Collaboration: Sustaining Momentum
No business can rest on its laurels. In the fast-moving world of food and retail, there is continuous pressure to innovate, whether through new products or creative collaborations. Once again, Borough 22 exemplifies how best to respond: with structured, collaborative creativity, bringing in new flavours for celebrations, working with award-winning chefs, and even highlighting Caribbean heritage through innovative recipes.
As the world watches mash-ups and limited-edition drops from Heinz & Absolut to KFC & Crocs, Borough 22 embraces the marketing magic of “newness” and the joy of exclusive collaborations. These can feel like passing trends, but as the sneaker industry has taught us, they spark excitement, fuel demand, and can build lasting cultural cachet for brands willing to experiment.
Landing the Big Prize: Breaking into Selfridges and Beyond
Much is made of getting a product into “the big leagues”, the Harrods, Selfridges, Whole Foods of the world. Yet those wins are rarely about luck; rather, they are the cumulative result of perseverance, persistence, and consistently excellent service.
For Borough 22, it started with an Instagram tag from a customer, a proactive approach to follow up, and the humility to ask for help with the nitty-gritty of certifications and logistics. Over the ensuing years, the business not only supplied but improved, delivering best-in-class product quality, adapting in response to feedback, and building deep relationships with retail partners.
Scaling success in Selfridges has been more than a branding coup; it has been a business accelerator, providing proof of concept and paving the way for expansion not just in London, but potentially into Manchester, Birmingham, Ireland, and beyond.
Ambition Without Borders: Thinking and Acting Global
For allergy-friendly, free-from, or inclusive brands, “niche” is a misleading term. The need is global, as Borough 22’s experience proves, with demand coming from Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Gulf states, and the US. By designing the business for robust replicability, using tried and tested structures, scalable models, and a relentless commitment to customer experience, Ryan and his team have laid the groundwork for international expansion.
In other words, when a business is built on the foundation of excellence and inclusion, there are fewer limits to scalability than one might imagine. The key is to build incrementally, maintain exceptional service, and never lose sight of what made customers (and partners) care in the first place.
Practical Lessons for Growth
If there’s a single thread running through the Borough 22 journey, it’s this: growth follows purpose, and scale follows structure. What does that mean for founders, leaders, and ambitious businesses everywhere?
- Know Your Why – Dig deep. Know precisely why your business deserves to exist. Make sure your story can withstand scrutiny and inspire others when you’re not in the room.
- Invest in Structure Early – Implement professional tools and processes before they’re strictly “necessary.” Choose solutions that make your business more autonomous and less reliant on founder heroics.
- Build Around Yourself, Not Just On Yourself – Success hinges on knowing what you’re good at—and where you’re not. Surround yourself with true specialists and invest in a culture where everyone is accountable, capable, and empowered.
- Tell Your Story Confidently – Whether pitching to investors, retailers, collaborators or customers, communicate the unique value of your product and purpose. Let your authenticity do the heavy lifting.
- Embrace Creative Evolution – Stay open to new collaborations, flavours, and ideas. Use creativity as a growth catalyst, not just a marketing tool.
- Celebrate Inclusivity as Progress, Not Pity – Position your “free-from” or inclusive offering as best-in-class, not second choice. Innovation that bridges divides is always future-proof.
Final Thoughts
True business growth is never only about profit, market share, or investor returns—it’s about leaving your industry, community, or even the world a little bit better than you found it. The story of Borough 22 teaches us that the most powerful businesses are those that start small but dream big; those that build community, not just commerce; and those that see inclusion not as a branding exercise, but as the future of good business.
If you want to hear more about the Borough 22 journey, including lessons on business structure, scaling, inclusivity and the power of purpose, listen to my conversation with founder Ryan Panchoo on Episode 8 of the Beyond Breakeven podcast.
Ready to build your own business with impact? Start with your “why”—the rest will follow.
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This post is inspired by the full on entreneurship in the food industry and inclusivity through food, as explored in our latest episode of Beyond Breakeven. Tune in to Episode 8: Side hustle to Selfridges.
For more insights into purpose-driven business growth, subscribe to Beyond Breakeven, brought to you by Xeinadin.
