Why Can’t You Name a Disabled-Founded Drinks Brand?

On 3rd December, the world marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities. It's a day to recognise the contribution disabled people make to every part of society, and to be honest about the barriers that still stand in the way.

Here's a fact that surprises most people. One in four people in the UK is disabled, according to the government's Family Resources Survey. And disabled entrepreneurs run around a quarter of the UK's small businesses.

Now picture the drinks aisle in your local supermarket. Can you name a single brand that was started by a disabled founder? Most people can't. That gap is what this piece is about.

The numbers behind the gap

Disabled founders are not a niche group. They are a huge part of British business, but the support, funding and visibility don't come close to matching that.

• A quarter of businesses, a fraction of the turnover. Research from Anglia Ruskin University and Small Business Britain, supported by Lloyds, found disabled entrepreneurs make up 25% of the UK's 5.45 million small businesses but only 8.6% of business turnover.
• Locked out of investment. The Access2Funding campaign found disabled entrepreneurs are around 400 times less likely to receive investment than their non-disabled peers.
• Unequal access. 84% of disabled founders surveyed said they don't have the same access to opportunities and resources as non-disabled founders.
• Higher costs before day one. Disability equality charity Scope estimated that disabled households need an extra £975 a month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households, and that's before any business costs.
• A massive missed opportunity. The Lilac Review, an independent review into disabled entrepreneurship, estimates that giving disabled founders equal opportunities to start and grow could unlock an extra £230 billion in UK business revenue.

None of this points to a lack of talent in the community, it (ironically) suggests there is an accessibility problem.

Why food and drink is a harder space to get into

Every industry has its hurdles, but food and drink asks a lot of a founder before a single product reaches a customer.

There are minimum production runs to fund, packaging to design and buy in bulk, stock sitting in warehouses, and listing fees to pay. Then there's the physical side of the job. Trade shows mean long days on your feet. Sampling means carrying cases of product across the city. Relationships are often built at industry events in venues that weren't designed with everyone in mind.

Each of those things assumes a certain amount of cash, energy and mobility. For a disabled founder, every one of them can cost more, take longer, or simply not be possible in the way it's "supposed" to be done. Add in the pressure of feeling like you have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously, and it's easy to see why so few disabled-founded brands make it onto the shelf.

Visibility matters too. Food and drink brands sell on their founder stories. If the stories we see are all shaped the same way, fewer people believe there's a place for them in the industry at all.

Lived experience builds better products

Disabled people aren't only potential founders. They're customers. With one in four people in the UK living with a disability, products that ignore their day-to-day realities are ignoring a big share of the market.

Founders who live with a disability tend to notice friction that others walk straight past. The heavy bag. The product that needs prep, mixing or a sink. The ten-minute walk to the nearest shop. Solve those problems properly and you don't just make life easier for disabled people, you end up with something simpler and better for everyone.

That's exactly how JUCED started.

Where JUCED fits

At eight years old, JUCED founder Jed Thirkettle was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy. He was told he'd be in a wheelchair by 12 and might not see his twenties. Instead of waiting for that prediction to come true, he started daily physio and strength training, and built his life around routine and discipline.

For Jed, protein became a daily essential rather than a lifestyle choice. The problem was that nothing on the market worked for him. The products that tasted good were full of sugar. The ones that weren't tasted awful. Most were chalky and heavy. And carrying tubs of powder and shaker bottles around every day was a struggle in itself.

So he built the drink he couldn't find. JUCED is a still, juice-based protein drink made with real fruit juice, packing 15g of collagen protein and 100% of your daily Vitamin C into every can. It has no added sugar, it's dairy, whey and lactose free, and it's ready to drink. No shaking, no mixing, no prep. Just crack it open.

JUCED was shaped by the realities of building a business, and a life, around a disability. But it was never meant to be a drink only for disabled people. As Jed puts it:

"While disability is a huge part of my story, I want people to recognise JUCED regardless of that. As a delicious, convenient, functional juice that supports anyone's health and busy lifestyle."

A product built to remove a real life barrier ends up being a better option for anyone with a busy day, a long commute or a packed gym bag.

What would actually help

Awareness days are a good start, but change comes from what happens on the other 364 days of the year. If you work in or around food and drink, here's where you can make a difference:

• Investors: look at who's in your pipeline, and who isn't. Offer flexible and remote pitching, and judge founders on the business, not the stamina it takes to get in the room (although some investors may see this as another positive signal in a person's journey as an entrepreneur). 
• Retailers, caterers and buyers: make space for disabled-founded brands, and tell your customers when you do. Shelf space is one of the hardest things for a small brand to win.
• Event organisers: make trade shows and industry events accessible by default, with seating, step-free access and quiet spaces.
• Everyone: buy from, follow and share disabled-founded brands. Every order and every share helps a small brand get seen.

Proud to be disabled-founded

Disabled founders remain underrepresented in UK food and drink, but that's starting to change, one brand at a time. JUCED is proud to be part of that change, and to show that a disabled-founded brand can compete on taste, quality and convenience with anyone.

This International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we'd love you to be part of the story too.

Try JUCED here, and follow along on Instagram at @juced.co.uk.