LDC Top 50 2023

“I make the best-selling Warrior Protein Bars and my mission is to help normal people on average salaries to eat well and live healthier lives,” says Kieran Fisher, founder of KBF Enterprises. Fisher launched his business in 2008, pivoting to become a manufacturer in 2012.

“I sold my Lamborghini and my Ferrari, mortgaged my house, and built a factory,” he says. Later this year, Fisher will move into an even bigger site, which will increase output by 400 per cent, producing innovative products like energy shots and protein cookies. “I’m driven by a combination of fear and ambition,” he says.

Q&A

Tell me about your darkest hour in business?

At the end of 2012, the government decided to add VAT to whey protein and that almost destroyed the business. Consumers just weren’t willing to pay 20 per cent more, and our turnover dropped 60 per cent overnight. I went from earning good money to losing £50,000 a month. I had a baby on the way so I had two choices: shrink my business or build a factory so I could make a manufacturer’s margin. I borrowed the money and took a risk, and that saved the business. Most of our rivals went bust.

How did you come to start this business?

I was a management consultant before I started the business, but I didn’t fit in. I wanted to practise martial arts in the evenings whereas my colleagues wanted to go out for drinks and dinner. I didn’t want to wear a suit for a living so I decided to do my own thing.

How big could this get?

I think we can become a billion-pound-plus business trading internationally within 10 years. We sell food, so the only limitation to our growth is the number of people who are alive. My ambition comes from the knowledge that I can do anything I put my mind to, and I make things happen faster than anyone else.