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KINGS ELITE SNACKS
Kings Elite Snacks was forged in 2014 with the aim of taking Biltong mainstream. 1 year from launch the brand had landed in every major retailer in the UK and 3 years later achieved a turnover of £10,000,000 before being sold to venture capitalists in a £20,000,000+ transaction.
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The brand by 2020 represented 85% market share and was achieving sales of over 25 million bags across the major retailers in the UK and Europe. In October 2021 we for a final time sold the company to Valeo Foods, a food group with annual sales in excess of £1 billion, for a sale price of over £40,000,000.
THE LIONS KINGDOM
The Lions Kingdom is designed to bring the planets healthiest meat to the shelves of the UK. With half the calories of beef and one tenth the saturated fat, Ostrich is perfect for those on the hunt for lean meat on the go! Now Available in Sainsburys, Morrisons, Aldi, Asda, Coop, Iceland and B&M!
THE LAND OF THE SAMURAI
The Land of The Samurai has been designed in partnership with a Michelin Star Wagyu Master to introduce British consumers to true Wagyu Beef. Never crossbred, 100% Japanese and from The Land of The Samurai. Now available in Aldi for £29.99 and coming soon to other major retailers in the UK!
THE HEROES JOURNEY
We are proud to unleash a brand which represents all of our experiences on the field of Mars and is destined to deliver flavour unlike any other snacks on the market. Our vow is we will never be defeated on delivering an incredible eating experience and this is one we intend to keep!
THE YOUNG BULLS
The Young Bulls is here to deliver the most powerful flavours in the kingdom of food to adventurous consumers on the go! Here to innovate and add value to sausage and burger categories this is one of The Heroes Journeys favourite businesses!
HEAVENLY PET TREATS
Heavenly Pet Treats is designed to bring the highest quality pet treats and ingredients to your best friends taste buds! We pride ourselves on using only the most natural human grade ingredients and once you see how your best friend reacts to our treats vs ordinary pet treats you will see the difference!
THE TEMPLES OF OUR GODS
I AM THE PUNISHMENT OF GOD... IF YOU HAD NOT COMMITTED GREAT SINS, GOD WOULD NOT HAVE SENT A PUNISHMENT LIKE ME UPON YOU
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GENGHIS KHAN
THE HEROES JOURNEY - KEYS2RETAIL
At The Heroes Journey we have created a specialist division which works with strategic partners on entering major retail with their products. After all, we are specialists in creating new propositions and establishing them across major retail as challenger brands and category captains which is very difficult. When we access existing and established brands it is far easier for us to make quick progress in major retail by utilising our expertise.
On this venture we work with established businesses with recognised brands looking to enter major retail, international companies looking to enter the UK market and new businesses hoping to launch their products in major retail.
WOLFPACK CRISPS
At Wolfpacks we believe the age of deep fried potato is over. The age of high protein, high fibre crisps is about to begin!
WOLFCUBS CRISPS
As a parent set yourself the challenge of looking at the back of pack of ever snack you feed your children. Behind the friendly, bright packaging is an ocean of highly processed products filled mostly with sugar!!! Wolfcubs is here to end this, here to offer a natural high protein snack for growing bodies and parents who understand how important natural protein is in their children's diets!
THE BIG BAD WOLVES
In a world filled with miserable snacking options full of fairytale stories we want to offer customers on the hunt for flavour and protein the chance to snack like BIG BAD WOLVES SNACK!!!
THE HERITAGE
AN ORGANISATION FORGED BY A FAMILY OF FORMER INTERNATIONAL RUGBY PLAYERS & STUDENTS OF HISTORY
THE CUSTOMERS
THE UNITED KINGDOMS LARGEST AND MOST ELITE MAJOR RETAILERS
THE TEAM
CHARLIE SIMPSON-DANIEL
THE HEROES JOURNEY
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Charlie is a former international rugby player turned entrepreneur. He launched his first business Kings Elite Snacks, a meat snack venture in 2014 and within six months landed his product on the shelves in Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose, COOP, Costco, Wh Smiths, Boots, Holland & Barretts, B&M and Home Bargains.
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He doubled his annual sales and profits year on year before leading the sale of the business to venture capitalists in 2018. He continues to manage the sales of this business which exceed £20 million annual and represent 85% market share. Charlie also founded the brand Revolution Waves in 2017 which he launched in Tesco, Asda and the Co-Op Food to Go categories before selling this business to venture capitalists in 2019.
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Charlie continued to continue working with the venture capitalists that purchased the company in 2019 with the target of taking the business to a final sale in 2022. During this time he agreed a partnership with England Rugby and the business acquired a failing competitor. The goal of selling this business completed in 2021 through a £40,000,000+ transaction to the Billion pound company Valeo Foods. Charlie exited the business the second this final deal completed so he could focus solely on The Heroes Journey.
DARRAGH MURDOCK
THE HEROES JOURNEY
CO-CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Darragh is one of life's finest humans with a unique skillset that has seen him rise so quickly to leadership positions in companies that specialise in aggressive growth trajectories. Darragh joined The Heroes Journey at the end of 2024 to lead the finance department, however, quickly advanced to CO-CEO given the dramatic impact he made during his first six months in the company.
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Darragh as well as bringing unique commercial intellect to the business also has a heart of gold. One of his favourite things to do in his spare time is travel by bus with other old age pensioners and bond through good conversation. He will play card games from times gone by and also knit and even sing old hymns with them. A truly wonderful human.
RICHARD SMITH
THE HEROES JOURNEY - KEYS2RETAIL
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR
Richard is joining the business in 2026 to lead our consultancy business which is The Heroes Journeys fastest growing venture for 2025. Rich will also lead The Heroes Journeys ventures classed still in the start-up phase as they look to expand major retail footprints. Rich brings an incredible wealth of experience across health, wellness and ambient categories in major retail. He has led launches of powerhouse brands such as Mars Protein offerings and understands what it takes to find success in major retail and build category captains!
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We can't wait for Lee to join the business and make 2026 an incredible year for our clients and brands in our stable too!
JAMES SIMPSON-DANIEL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
James is a former international rugby player who made his debut for England aged 19 playing against the All Black legend Jonah Lomu as his opposite man. He went on to have an incredibly successful career with Gloucester and holds the accolade of a place in the premiership hall of fame. All while doing this he co-founded the brand Kings Elite Snacks and Revolution Waves with his brother Charlie.
James works in hand with Charlie on all of their business ventures to ensure that the same passion and enthusiasm that produced such excellence on the rugby pitch is at the heart of all of their business activities. James holds powerful networks in the world of sport and ensures the brands we work with have the right exposure and marketing support needed to thrive in major retail so they don't find themselves lost on shelf.
REBECCA ROWELL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Rebecca is the Creative Director in The Heroes Journey and the Managing Director of Heavens Popcorn where she is focused on bringing a value added popcorn proposition to market. She played a key role in building the Kings Biltong brand and is mother to Alfie Simpson-Daniel & Arthur Simpson-Daniel, her and Charlies sons.
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Rebecca is an incredibly hard working mother and understands the importance of natural snacking on the go for children and will be leading the Heavens Popcorn brands launch into major retail in 2024
MIKE DANIEL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mike has worked with Charlie ever since Charlie first founded Kings Biltong and played a key role in the early days of this business and in the scaling of The Heroes Journey.
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Mikes experience in business is extensive with his vast experience in founding and scaling ventures in the security industry prior to ​working with Charlie.
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Mike works closely with Charlie on the financial strategy of The Heroes Journey and has been fundamental to the creating of our manufacturing infrastructure and our three factories across Yorkshire.
MIKE TINDALL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mike has worked with Charlie ever since they first founded Kings Biltong with his brother James and played a critical role in the success of this first business journey.
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Mike has joined Charlie on a number of other journeys including The Lions Kingdom, The Wizards Magic, The Land of the Samurai and is someone that shares critical wisdom on these journeys as they pursuit success.
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Mike achieved just about all it was possible to achieve in the game of rugby as a world cup winner and former England captain. He is seeing the same success across everything else he has embarked upon since leaving the game of rugby.
DAN HARRISON
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dan is an individual who played a vital role in the life of Charlie and his families journey in early education. He is currently the Headmaster of Sedbergh school and has been a lifelong mentor to Charlie.
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Dan shares his wisdom and experience with Charlie and the senior management team with a special focus on corporate culture and strategic decision making.
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In Charlies words, "Dan is one of the most inspiring individuals I have ever come across and I'm incredibly blessed to work with him as a mentor as is our business to benefit from his wisdom. One of life's truly exceptional human beings."
Steve Betty
THE LIONS KINGDOM
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
Steve joined the business at a crucial period in our history in 2024 when we were as a business undergoing a dramatic growth spurt and were in desperate need of upgrading our operational IQ! Steve brought vast experience from the furniture sector where products consist of dramatically more component parts than the food industry.
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Steve leads all operations in The Lions Kingdom and works closely with international suppliers while also running our two factories in Yorkshire. He also works closely with Darragh as his personal trainer, teaching him the importance of correct form when lifting heavy weights. A quote from Darragh, "Steve is an inspiration, my sensei, he taught me that discipline is doing what you hate to do, but doing it like you love it".
LEE CAMMIDGE
THE LIONS KINGDOM
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR
Lee is one of life's diamonds. A man that has served his country in the armed forces before entering the food industry, a sector he lives and breathes. Lee brings an incredible wealth of experience to our organisations. Experience which includes spending 6 years as a buyer in Asda, followed by a career leading chilled food products in some of the countries most successful organisations. Businesses such as Kerry Foods, Pilgrims Mission Foods and now The Lions Kingdom where he leads the commercial strategy for this venture.
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Lee joined the business at the end of 2025, however, has had an instant impact in bringing unique wisdom and intellect to our business as well as an incredible character found only in individuals that know what it is to fight for their country. Lee is also a huge Tolkien fan and will frequently quote The Lord of the Rings spontaneously from memory in order to inspire and educate other team members.
JIM HOLDSWORTH
THE TEMPLES OUF OUR GODS
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR
Jim is someone with a long history with Charlie with them both attending Sedbergh School together in the Lake District. Charlie employed Jim in his first role as a graduate straight out of Loughborough University and Jim was very much Charlies sales prodigy as they both scaled their brand Kings Biltong.
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After Charlie exited his journey with Kings upon the sale to Valeo Foods, Jim remained where he managed all of the sales into the major retailers for what at the time was the UK's leading Biltong and Jerky business. Jim then left Valeo Foods to join his family's business where he ran of the UK's leading privately owned Cashmere businesses working closely with his family.
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Jim re-joined Charlie in 2024 when he wished to return to the food industry and after working with Heroes on all it's ventures was promoted to lead the companies new biltong and jerky business, The Temples of Our Gods and re-conquer their old Biltong and Jerky market! The only thing Jim loves more than Biltong and Jerky is tweed clothing which he wears almost exclusively.
JONNY KENNEDY
WOLFPACKS
CO - CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Jonny is a former international rugby player who had an exciting career at Sale Sharks which very sadly was cut short due to a number of head injuries early on in his career. As such Jonny went on a new mission to create one of the UK's most exciting cognitive health brands which he launched in Holland & Barrett as well as a number of international markets across the globe!
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Jonny in his early rugby playing days used to train with Charlie as they both pursued professional rugby careers and they have entered into a partnership with Heroes, Gods, Neubria & Wolfpacks. Jonny brings unique intellect in business and life to these ventures and has been instrumental to Wolfpack & Gods launching in 2025, including the setting up of our state of the art manufacturing facility in Thirsk.
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The latest market data has shown that Jonny is personally responsible for consuming 50% of all biltong and jerky manufactured in the UK!!
JASMINE HANNAWAY
THE CHAMPIONS KITCHEN
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR
Jas is a fantastic human who has led our business The Champions Kitchen, a business which supplies our healthiest products to schools across the United Kingdom. Jas is an outstanding builder of relationships and does everything within her power to support the needs of the schools we supply.
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The Champions Kitchen sits outside of our traditional model but is a venture which Jas runs autonomously with support from Ama. With the rollout of a Champions Kitchen specific range in 2026, we cannot wait to see what this business and Jas can cahieve together.
NICK STEPHENS
THE HEROES JOURNEY
CO-BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Nick is a product of St Peters school and crossed paths with Charlie when he had the misfortune to find Charlie as his coach! Nick went on to have a very promising rugby career and work with Charlie on his first business venture Kings Biltong before embarking on a successful career in sales in the technology sector in Scotland!
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Nick many years later upon returning to his home city in York joined The Heroes Journey at the end of 2024 and re-joined Charlie to lead sales activities for the company outside of major retail. Nick is one of life's top quality humans with a heart of gold, incredible family values and a passion for sales!
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Nick supports all the Commercial Directors and Charlie working closely with the major retailers to ensure that support our major retail partners to the very best of our abilities.
MADDY HARRISON
THE HEROES JOURNEY
CO-BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Maddy is a product of Sedbergh School and so has benefitted from the same foundations Charlie, James and Tom have. She is by far the most mature 21 year old the business has ever encountered (by far) and she works across all key departments in the business while also studying Project Management at university.
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Maddy works closely with Darragh and the operations team to ensure that the processes across the business run efficiently and with accuracy. Maddy's attention to detail and organisational skills are second to no one and she has made an astounding impact on The Heroes Journey.
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Charlie frequently jokes that if anything ever happened to Maddy we'd be out of business within a couple of days, a true key player operating at a level far far beyond her years on planet earth!
MAX GREGORY
THE WIZARDS MAGIC
FACTORY MANAGER
Max is an extremely hard working individual that has been in the food industry for his entire career, working his way up from the shop floor. He after working in Lions with Charlie for three years took the position of leading the companies Easingwold Factory and leading the charge on our ambient snacking business.
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Max is working tirelessly to prepare our Easingwold facility to evolve through the aquisition of state of the art machinery in order to meet volumes coming in 2026 with the launch of new products and expansion of our Wizards brand
STEPHEN MACHETA
THE LIONS KINGDOM
FINANCE MANAGER
Stephen is a unique individual with an incredible relationship with numbers and an analytical mind. Darragh's first recruit who has had a huge impact on the business and how we manage data. Stephen works in the finance department but also closely with our commercial directors to ensure they are understanding the hard science of major retail alongside our goal of exciting and innovating from the shelves.
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Stephen joined the business in 2024 and has a long and exciting future ahead of him!
VIOREL TICLEA
THE LIONS KINGDOM
LOGISTICS MANAGER
Viorel is one of the companies hardest workers who has been with us for a number of years ensuring we manage our stock and supply chains effectively. Vior is frequently first to arrive and last to leave and bring a work ethic that enriches all around him.
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He leads all things logistics across The Lions Kingdom to ensure best in class supply chains can blossom!
AMA SAMBHI
THE CHAMPIONS KITCHEN
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Ama works very closely with Jas in running The Champions Kitchen and building positive relationships with the schools we supply. Ama is an absolute pleasure to work with and understands so well how important health and wellness is in the education sector.
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Ama has been with the business for three years now and played a vital role in its growth and the relationships that have blossomed within our customer base.
FIN OLSEN
WOLFPACKS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Fin, a resident of Australia originally, with a strong background in the legal sector, is leading this business as it aims to launch in major retail in 2026. Fin is an incredibly driven individual who works closely with Jonny and Charlie on the total commercial strategy of the Wolfpack venture!
ROLAND FROEBEL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Roland is an industry leading expert whose time in the food industry includes roles at Mars, Goldenfry Foods, Greencore, Premier Foods, Sante Foods, Symingtons, Fox's Biscuits and Baxters Food Group. He has worked in Technical Director roles supplying brand and own label to Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Co-Op, Costco, Waitrose, Wh Smiths, Boots and Home Bargains.
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Roland works closely across the ventures ensuring best in class supply chains that can support our brands as they scale towards category captain status.
DON NISBET
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Don Nisbet is one of the worlds leading experts in meat snacking and pioneered tender Jerky snacking in Australia where he was the CEO of New World Foods Plc in Australia. This was Australasia's leading Beef Jerky manufacturer and he crossed paths with Charlie in 2014 when New World Foods Australia entered the UK market through the acquisition of Charlies Biltong and Jerky brand Kings. Don left this sector when he successfully completed the sale of New World Foods Plc to an Australian Venture Capital firm.
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Don works with Charlie on The Heroes Journey - Keys2retail where he manages the Australian business and partners looking to enter the UK market with the same form New World Foods Plc did in 2014!
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Don is a key mentor to Charlie and although their journey together began in 2014 on the basis of business, he has very much become a member of Charlies family!
DAN NORTON
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dan Norton is a former international rugby player who has played more minutes and scored more tries in an England Sevens shirt than any other human in history. He and Charlie both debuted together in England Sevens and have created a number of ventures together over the years.
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Dan is a seasoned entrepreneur who co-founded the Revolution Waves brand which he launched into Tesco, Asda and the CO-OP. He spends much of his time travelling internationally however when in the UK is located in London and in 2024 will launch his next food business!
SUCCESS STORIES
CONTACT US
The Heroes Journey
Popeshead Court Offices
Peter Lane
York
YO1 8SU
GARY QUINN
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Gary is an individual that has been pivotal in the meat snack category in the UK for the last 20 years. An engineer by trade, he specialises as an early stage entrepreneur that has worked with Charlie for over 10 years across a wide variety of ventures. Gary brings a unique manufacturing wisdom that has proven key in scaling the ventures he has joined Charlie in developing.
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Gary also has a love for Africa, with unique networks and an understanding of the customs and culture which allows us to build unique, best in class supply chains and bring them to life in the UK!