James Henderson
Fractional Sales Lead. Commercial Advisor. UK Market Entry.
For founders scaling without a senior commercial hire.
I help challenger brands build distribution, activate wholesalers / national accounts, and turn listings into actual sales. Trade entry, distributor + account management, pricing discipline, D2C insight and brand workshopping.
Built for drinks brands with growth appetite: founders scaling without senior commercial firepower in-house. If you need trade strategy, account activation or regular founder sparring on brand and commercial direction — I'm here.
The alternative is hiring a full-time senior commercial lead at £90k+, signing with a distributor and giving away 25–30% gross margin in perpetuity, or attempting commercial scale-up without dedicated resource and losing the year.
This advisory sits between those at far lower outlay — and de-risks your B2B ambition significantly.
Wholesalers can stock you but not move product, buyers can allocate shelf space and delist within months if rate-of-sale underachieves. Distributors can carry your brand for years without making it a priority.
I can offer senior commercial judgement, brand sense, and practical help making liquid move.
Also for foreign drinks brands evaluating UK entry, recently landed and underperforming, or post-Series A signalling international expansion.
From £2,500 p/m
For brands that need senior sales leadership but are not ready to hire a full-time Head of Sales.
I help run the commercial agenda: route-to-market, account planning, wholesaler activation, pricing, sales materials, buyer preparation, pipeline building, sales systems and founder support.
Best for founder-led brands that need senior commercial bandwidth without a full-time hire.
From £500 per month
For founders who want experienced commercial judgement without weekly execution.
Monthly calls, ad-hoc support, review of key decisions, selected introductions, and clear quarterly commercial priorities.
Best for early-stage brands that need a senior sounding board.
Fixed cost dependent on scope.
For brands with a defined commercial problem.
Examples include wholesaler engagement / activation, national account activation, distributor management, independent on-trade push, sales deck rebuilds, pipeline / reporting systems reviews, comprehensive launch plans.
Cost dependent on scope
For overseas drinks brands looking to enter the UK.
The market has never been trickier or more complicated: channel margins, importer dynamics, wholesale economics, multiple operator sales cycles, grocery expectations, rate-of-sale pressure.
I help foreign brands understand the landscape, choose the right routes to market, build the commercial story, and avoid expensive mistakes.
This can follow with active implementation to see the strategy through.
Head of Sales · 2024–present, transitioning to fractional
Joined pre-launch as the second commercial hire. Owned the full B2B agenda — on-trade, off-trade, grocery, wholesale, export — alongside D2C, brand and NPD input.
Scaled the business from zero to £2m run rate within 18 months (65/35 D2C/B2B). Wins included Morrisons (200 stores), Sainsbury's (150), Planet Organic, Dishoom, Hoxton Hotels, Six Senses, Young's. Eight wholesale RTMs opened including LWC, Venus, Berkmann. The fastest-growing non-alc beer in the UK over that period.
Head of UK & Ireland · 2022–2024
Country lead for a Spanish-owned super-premium portfolio entering and scaling in the UK. Owned commercial strategy, importer relationships, A&P deployment (£260k p/a) and direct trade engagement across 10+ brands.
15% value growth to £1.15m revenue, 12% volume growth to 8,580 9LCs (FY 2023 MAT). Tesco (495 stores), Sainsbury's (71), Waitrose (116), Wholefoods. Twenty-five new on-trade distributor listings. Managed lead-brand transition to Brown-Forman including financial reconciliations.
National Account Manager - 5 years
Direct wholesale lead on Matthew Clark Bibendum - largest single RTM account. £1.8m portfolio under management across Macallan, Famous Grouse, Laphroaig, Maker's Mark, Jim Beam, Courvoisier and Suntory spirits.
7% value growth, +212 distribution points across the portfolio, rose to #3 of 25 in the Advantage supplier survey. Six-month stand-in National Account Manager secondments at Tesco and Booker.
Co-founder · 2023–present, currently dormant
Built a premium 4% / 0% ABV hard seltzer from concept to market. Led brand strategy, financial modelling, fundraising, sales, marketing and NPD.
Spirits Business Master Award (top 7 globally from 300+ entries). Great Taste 1-star. Successful 0% ABV line extension and full rebrand including pack format change.
Fifteen years in UK drinks. Started at Majestic and Sipsmith. Ran free trade for Carlsberg across the Thames Valley. Five years on the Macallan, Famous Grouse and Beam-Suntory portfolios at Edrington including secondments into Tesco and Booker. UK & Ireland country lead on Gin Mare at Vantguard. Co-founded Yan Tan in 2023. Joined Collider pre-launch in 2024 and built it to £2m in 18 months.
Operator credentials on both sides of the table — buyer relationships, multinational portfolio management, and founder-side scar tissue.
Edinburgh MA Hons. WSET Level 2. Intermediate French and Spanish. Based in West London.
Drinks brands win when the commercial and emotional story line up.
Product, packaging, price, channel, occasion, consumer and sales story all need to make sense together.
Having worked across beer, wine, spirits, RTD's and non-alcoholic drinks, from major suppliers to founder-led startups, I understand each layer of the on and off-trade, brand building and the pressures of trying to grow a drinks business with limited resource.
Be in touch to see if we can make your drinks come to life for the long term.
james@jhenderson.uk
+44 (0)7799 038 523
LinkedIn
Best fit: UK challenger drinks brands at £500k–£3m revenue, or foreign drinks brands evaluating UK entry. If you're outside those, drop me a line anyway and let's talk!