EP:15 - (PART 1) Sophie Hood, business founder and winner of Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, on why your personal brand is essential, and her experience with tall poppy syndrome.

Sophie Hood was recently crowned Australia's first ever Food Star, which secured her $250k and 1 year mentorship from Boost Juice founder, Janine Allis. Sophie talks about what marketing tactics really worked for her when she launched her business Seoul Tonic, and how she stays ahead of the latest trends with the ever evolving beauty, health, wellness and beverage categories.  Sophie launched her business in 2022 after discovering the benefits of Korean pears and oriental raisins in stopping hangovers. She talks about her biggest challenges to date and explains how she has built and scaled her business, and what she would do differently if she was to go back and do it all again.  Sophie, prior to Seoul Tonic, worked at big consulting firms, as well as Red Bull, she shares what she learnt from these businesses as well as diving into her founder journey and experience with tall poppy syndrome in Australia. We discuss 3 thing every product based business should be doing, Sophie shares her predictions for the beverage/health/beauty space, and outlines her plans for  the future of Seoul Tonic.  Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective, a pay-as-you-go marketing agency making marketing, social media and personal branding expertise accessible to everyone.  Don't forget to rate, subscribe and review - it helps our podcast grow and allows us to access amazing guests, and unlock more information for you to grow and scale your business. Follow along on your preferred channels: Sophie on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sophiehood1/  Sophie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-hood-b1b2a3115/  Sophie on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sophiehoodd  Seoul Tonic IG: https://www.instagram.com/seoul_tonic/  Shop Seoul Tonic here: https://seoultonic.com.au/  Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Gambit Collective on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gambitcollective/ Gambit Collective on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gambitcollective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby