From Audience to Aisle: Rodd's Signs Off First Year as it Fuels UK Iced Coffee Category

After driving significant category recruitment, creator-founded iced coffee brand surpasses £3m in year one and launches sixth SKU, Brown Sugar Latte

Rodd’s, the iced coffee brand founded by UK creators Will Lenney (WillNE) and James Marriott, has surpassed £3m in retail sales in its first year and is launching its sixth SKU into Sainsbury’s this month.

The brand, which entered Sainsbury’s in May 2025 with three chilled SKUs, has since expanded its range to six, with new Rodd's Brown Sugar Latte rolling out from 10th May to over 360 Sainsbury’s Local stores to coincide with its first anniversary.

Rodd’s has rapidly scaled distribution from an initial 300 Sainsbury’s stores to full national supermarket coverage within six months, alongside expansion into Sainsbury’s Meal Deal, convenience, forecourts and via Ocado. It is also stocked in food-to-go operator Sandwich Sandwich. 

The brand has demonstrated strong repeat purchase and category recruitment since its introduction, with 75% of Rodd’s consumers at Sainsbury’s new to the iced coffee category entirely. Rodd’s is the #1 plant-based iced coffee brand in Great Britain.

Proving Product Quality, Not Purely Platform Play

While Rodd’s originated from two well-known digital creators, its first year in market has been defined by in-store performance rather than online hype.

Growth has been driven by product quality and taste in a highly competitive chilled coffee fixture, where repeat purchase, flavour and consistency determine success. This has translated into retail milestones including the inclusion of its Original Oat Latte in Sainsbury’s meal deals and two lines featuring on secondary space, as well as winning The Grocer Gold award for NPD innovation. Its sixth SKU, Brown Sugar Latte, will be the second Rodd’s product to enter the Meal Deal within the retailer’s convenience estate. 

Shaping the Category with New Shoppers

The UK RTD coffee market is now worth £360m, with growth driven by plant-based recipes, low-sugar options and increasing demand for chilled drinks beyond traditional energy-led formats.

Rodd’s performance reflects rising demand for flavour-led, quality plant-based iced coffee, with indulgent first-to-market variants such as Waffle; Maple Sea Salt and most recently, Brown Sugar helping to attract new shoppers into the fixture, where new flavour profiles overall are delivering 151% YOY growth year on year. 

“Through our content background, James and I learned pretty quickly that attention doesn’t automatically turn into loyalty,” said co-founder Will Lenney. “We clocked that early on.

“It’s the same here. Getting people to try it is the easy bit, but getting them to come back is what actually matters - seeing repeat customers is serious validation for us because that’s what it all comes down to  here.

“What’s been interesting over the past year is that when the product delivers, it doesn’t just convert, it actually pulls new people into the category altogether. We set out to make a café-style iced coffee that genuinely tastes good. Simple as that.  So seeing that land in retail over the last 12 months has been a huge moment for us.”

Looking Ahead

Rodd’s is now focused on scaling availability in line with demand, as it enters its second year of growth, alongside continued product development to build on the rise of oat-based iced coffee, which is up 36% year on year.

“Now it’s about scaling Rodd’s properly.” continues Lenney. “Heading into summer,  we’re backing it with serious investment - sampling and out-of-home activity - getting it in front of people in the real world so visibility keeps pace with the demand we’re already seeing on the shelf.”