Leon Hodgson

Hustle might have started with two students and a pile of crumbs, but it's grown into so much more than us. Behind every bar is a team we're lucky to call our own. The Emerge Global crew in Stoke look after every box like it's their own, making sure our bars get where they need to be, safe and on time. Along the way, brilliant agencies, consultants and partners have shared their expertise, their patience and their belief in us when we needed it most. And most recently, we were thrilled to welcome Emilia to the team, who's brought fresh energy, ideas and a whole lot of heart to telling the Hustle story. None of this happens alone, and we're endlessly grateful to every person who's helped carry Hustle this far.

It all started in a first-year marketing lecture at the University of Liverpool, where I met Mike and we bonded over a shared dream of building something of our own. One summer, inspired by my time in the gym and my grandad, who made protein bars, I had a simple idea: put creatine in a protein bar. My first attempt was a pile of damp crumbs, but Mike saw something in it, and we didn't give up. We sold our cars, emptied our savings and worked through 16 recipes during our final year until we got it right, and then made our very first 8,000 bars. Since then, more than 100,000 Hustle bars have found their way into gym bags, lecture halls and lunchboxes across around 600 locations. Along the way we picked up a Vegan Choice Award and a Vendies Best New Product shortlisting. My proudest moment was seeing Hustle in every vending machine back at the University of Liverpool, right where it all began. To everyone who's taken a chance on us, thank you. We're only just getting started.