9 years of KW Marketing! What growth really looks like behind the scenes

Nine years ago, KW Marketing started in the spare bedroom of my parents’ house. No office. No team. No roadmap. Just me, a laptop, and a slightly concerning level of belief that somehow I could make this work.

At the time, I don’t think I fully understood what “building a business” would actually ask of me. Because behind every growing business is usually a founder carrying far more than people realise. The pressure, the responsibility, the self-doubt, the overthinking, the late nights, the huge decisions made whilst pretending you absolutely know what you’re doing.

And honestly? There have been moments over the last nine years where this business has felt VERY heavy.

Moments where growth felt messy instead of exciting. Moments where I questioned myself massively. Moments where I felt the pressure of trying to lead whilst still figuring myself out at the same time. I know so many founders reading this will relate to that feeling, because growth rarely feels glamorous when you’re actually in it. Most of the time it feels uncomfortable, chaotic, exciting, heavy, and terrifying all at once.

But alongside all of that, there have also been moments I never could’ve imagined when I first started.

When I look back now, it’s honestly wild to think how far KW Marketing has come. We’ve now worked with over 100+ brands, built an incredible team, won awards, spoken on national stages, sat inside rooms like the House of Lords representing small businesses, launched FUEL LIVE, started a podcast, and become one of the UK’s most recognised food & drink marketing agencies… all from something that started with a laptop in a spare bedroom in Devon!

Watching FUEL LIVE become something people genuinely connected with will always be one of my proudest moments. Seeing ambitious food & drink founders in one room, having honest conversations about growth, marketing, scaling, and what’s actually working right now, reminded me exactly why we built this business in the first place.

Launching Fuelling Foodies: The Food Marketing Podcast has been another huge moment for us, too. Sitting opposite founders I continue to be inspired by, hearing the real stories behind building food & drink brands, and creating a platform for honest conversations around digital marketing, ecommerce growth, and entrepreneurship has genuinely felt surreal at times.

And somewhere along the way, I realised this had become so much bigger than “just freelancing.”

It became a business built around fuelling food & drink growth, one brand at a time. But more than anything, it became a team of genuinely brilliant people who care SO much about the work, the brands we support, and each other. Watching KW grow from just me, into a team I genuinely love building alongside has been one of the most emotional parts of this whole journey.

This last year especially feels like something shifted. KW Marketing doesn’t just feel like an agency anymore. It feels like a community. A platform. A business genuinely helping food & drink founders navigate the reality of scaling in 2026.

Because the reality is, most founders don’t need more noise. They need clarity. They need marketing that actually drives revenue, repeat purchases, and long-term growth – not just vanity metrics and “content for the sake of content.” That’s exactly why our work has evolved so heavily into helping eCommerce food brands build predictable, profitable growth through email marketing, paid social, content, and full customer lifecycle strategies.

We’ve become part of this industry in a way I never expected. Not just through client work, but through events, podcasts, partnerships, speaking opportunities, and relationships with founders who genuinely care about building brilliant brands. And honestly? That’s probably the part I’m most proud of.

Now we’re taking FUEL LIVE to Manchester. We’re expanding beyond the South West and building relationships with some of the most exciting food & drink brands in the UK. It genuinely feels like we’re entering a completely new era of KW Marketing.

But I think the biggest thing these last nine years have taught me is this… you do not need to have everything figured out to build something meaningful.

You just have to keep showing up. Keep learning. Keep evolving. Keep backing yourself – even when it feels uncomfortable.

So if you’re currently building something and questioning yourself constantly, you’re probably doing better than you think!

And finally, if you’ve supported KW Marketing in any way over the last nine years, whether as a client, team member, partner, podcast guest, event attendee, supporter, or friend… thank YOU. Seriously.

You’ve helped build something I’m SO unbelievably proud of.

9 years of KW Marketing. And I cannot wait for the next chapter!

Kate Xx