🌟 I’m Ricky, the proud Co-Founder and CEO of the Delightful Food Group, founded in December 2023 as part of a strategic growth initiative.

🚀 Delightful Food Group is at the forefront of the food and drinks industry, bringing together the strengths of two well-established businesses. Our journey includes a pivotal strategic move, with IBC Simply, a renowned player in shaking up the beverage landscape for over 25 years, acquiring March Foods.

☕ IBC Simply (Italian Beverage Company) are manufacturers and suppliers of food and beverage products all around the world. Our range of Simply products are renowned for their quality and taste.

🌐 March Foods stands out as one of the UK’s leading co-packing and co-manufacturing entities, specializing in working with esteemed household names. We uniquely offer co-packing and co-manufacturing services anonymously, providing bespoke tailored bays to meet client's specific requirements.

💡 The synergy between IBC Simply and March Foods has been a driving force in our success, propelling both businesses to new heights. At Delightful Food Group, we pride ourselves on providing end-to-end expertise in innovation, product development, production, and packing.

🤝 Our dedicated teams are here to collaborate with you, leveraging insights and knowledge to bring your products to market successfully. Whether it's identifying the latest trends, presenting innovative ideas, or meticulously co-manufacturing and co-packing your products to exact specifications, we are committed to your success.

Ricky Flax

I’ve had quite a few new people follow me and join my network on LinkedIn over the past 12 months, so it feels like a good moment to reintroduce what we actually do and who we are.

I’m Ricky, and I’m the CEO across 3 closely connected businesses:

1) IBC Simply
2) March Foods
3) Delightful Food Group (our wider group).

At the heart of it all, we’re a food and beverage group that’s been around for over 25 years. We’re family-run, UK-based, and built on a simple belief:

Do things properly, look after people, and never lose sight of the customer.

IBC Simply is where it all started for me in 2012.

We’re specialists in flavour (syrups, sauces, powders, smoothies, frappes), supplying foodservice businesses across the UK and internationally. From independents to major chains, our focus has always been on products that taste great, work consistently behind the bar, and make life easier for teams on the ground.

March Foods Ltd is the manufacturing engine behind a lot of what we do.

It’s a large-scale, highly specialised co-manufacturing and co-packing operation, working with some of the biggest names in food and drink. Powders, liquids, complex formats, bespoke setups, all done to exacting standards, at scale, without cutting corners.

Delightful Food Group brings those worlds together.

But what ties all of this together isn’t just products or facilities. It’s the people.

Over the years, we’ve grown from a very small team to over 200 people across multiple sites.

That growth hasn’t always been neat or linear, but it’s been intentional. We invest heavily in quality, in systems that support scale, and in giving people ownership of what they do.

If you follow me on here, you’ll probably see a mix of:

• What it’s like scaling these businesses
• Our products and services 
• My thoughts on the F&B industry as a whole

We had such a great year in 2025, and I’m looking forward to sharing more about what 2026 has in store for us.

If you’d like to learn more about any of the above, feel free to message me!

CEO of Delightful Food Group, IBC Simply & March Foods | Deal Partner at Boardy | 2025 Scale-Up Entrepreneur of the Year

Some people shape a business by the things they build. Others shape it by the way they show up day in, day out with clarity, drive, and an unshakable belief in where we’re heading.

Kate’s done both.

She’s played a massive role in how IBC Simply has grown over the years, from strategy and structure to culture and client relationships. 

But when I take a step back, it’s not just the big wins that stand out. It’s the consistency.

The way she leads with total clarity, even when things are messy.
The way she gives people space to own things, but always has their back.
The way she balances sharp commercial thinking with a human touch.

It’s easy to talk about values.

Kate lives them, and honestly, she’s helped define them.

From heading up marketing and sales to driving our strategy and being a huge part of our leadership team, she’s been instrumental in getting us to where we are today.

And she continues to be a big part of what’s next.

This is just a moment to say thank you, Kate. For everything you’ve done, and everything you continue to do.

We’re much, much better because of it.

I’m really pleased to finally share that we’ve officially started a new distributor partnership with Bella Coffee, who will represent us across the UAE!

Great spending time with Manaf Koudmani and the rest of the team. What stood out straight away was that they’re another family business like ours, with Manaf doing some pretty amazing things. Such passion and energy, there was no doubt that they were the right partner for us. 

Bella Coffee have been building something impressive since 2005. They’re a beverage solutions business across coffee, matcha and more, working with brands like Perfect Ted, Rude Health and Oatly.  

They have teams and warehouses across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ajman, with a really strong local service setup, now supporting over 1,000 locations across the UAE and beyond. When you see the kind of work they do, it makes a lot of sense why they were recognised by Global Brands Magazine as the Fastest Growing Coffee & Beverage Distribution Company last year.

The UAE is an exciting market, and this is a strong step in the right direction with the right partner.

Really looking forward to what we can build together!

I’ll be in Dubai this Sunday for a couple of days to launch a new partnership we’re incredibly excited about.

Can’t share the details just yet… but it’s a big one, and I’m really looking forward to announcing it properly soon.

If you’re over in Dubai during the same time, or if there’s someone you think I should grab a coffee with whilst I’m there, drop me a message!

I’m super excited to share that I’ve recently become a Deal Partner at Boardy Ventures!

Over the past month, Boardy has become one of the most active connectors in early-stage fundraising, speaking with 8,000+ founders (collectively raising over $20B) and 1,000+ investors (managing more than $1T in capital).

Boardy is now partnering with AngelList to launch Boardy Ventures, which is the world’s first AI-led venture fund. The ambition over the next 12 months is to meet every founder preparing to raise, connect them with the right investors, and back the strongest opportunities.

I can help you:

– Skip the queue
– Get introduced to the right investors faster
– Make sure your deck is ready before you go out to market

Fundraising is hard enough as it is. If I can help make that process sharper and more efficient, I’m always happy to do so.

If you’re raising now, or planning to raise soon, drop me a message or comment ‘raise’ below.

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I know there’ll be plenty of business owners on here that disagree with this, but one thing I’ve always believed in (probably without realising it at first) is having a proper balance in work and life.

A lot of that belief comes from watching my dad when I was growing up.

He built a successful business, but he was always around for us as a family. He was always around. At home, on holidays, at family dinners, and never glued to a phone or email. 

To be fair, he probably had a bit of an advantage because back then, with the lack of technology available, it was a much simpler time. If you weren’t at work, you weren’t at work. No phones, no notifications or emails.

But that’s probably shaped a lot of how I approach things today.

I just find it really hard to believe that finding balance comes after achieving ‘success’. I think it’s what allows you to sustain it in all honesty.

It’s definitely a more competitive world now, there’s no getting around that. You have to work hard and stay switched on, but I fully believe you CAN build a great business without pausing your personal life and still be there for the moments with the people you love most.

You just have to be intentional about it. Focused when you’re working, fully present when you’re not.

In the end, if you’re constantly chasing the next thing, you’ll always miss what’s happening right in front of you.

January is always an interesting month in the beverage industry.

Behind the counter, businesses are coming off the back of the busiest trading period of the year.

In front of the counter, customers suddenly want to reset with lighter choices, wellness cues, and drinks that feel a bit more intentional… without losing enjoyment.

Over 70% of consumers say they actively try to make healthier choices in January, and the functional drinks category continues to grow at a pace. 

But most venues don’t want more complexity to serve that demand.

So we’ve been looking closely at how operators can meet the “feel-good” moment in January without reinventing their menu or slowing service.

A few things we’re seeing work particularly well:

1) Protein.

Drinks like proffee and protein milkshakes are becoming everyday orders, especially with under-35s. The key is integration… adding protein into drinks customers already love, using the same workflow and equipment.

2) Boosted fruit drinks.

Energy blends, multivitamins and antioxidants are an easy value add. Whether charged as an upgrade or baked into the menu, they give customers a clear reason to trade up while keeping prep simple.

3) Matcha is continuing its steady rise.

Hot, iced or paired with fruit, matcha ticks a lot of January boxes. It’s plant-based, functional, and globally familiar. It’s now a staple rather than a trend, especially through Veganuary.

4) Dry January without the compromise.

Mocktails and light spritzes are fast-build, flavour-led options using existing back bars are outperforming anything overly complicated.

We’ve pulled all of this into a “Feel Good Sips” January menu guide, with recipes and ideas you can implement this month.

If you’re refreshing your menu for the start of the year, it’s definitely worth a read: https://lnkd.in/eVsGthUJ

Let me know what you think!

Master Certified Executive Coach (ICF MCC) | Chartered Fellow (CMgr FCMI) │ B Corp | Mentor | Consultant | Non-Executive Director │ Board Advisor | Accelerating Executive, Team and Organisational Performance.

As a Master coach, I am deeply committed to helping individuals and organisations achieve their aspirations through change. 

I bring a unique and intimate expertise to my clients with a wealth of experience in people leadership, development, team building, career transitioning, personal branding, and navigating the complexities of success in and outside of the boardroom.

My coaching style is open, honest, fun, and constructively challenging. 

I help my clients broaden their perspectives on their limitations and potential. I believe that nurturing relationships and having challenging conversations in equal measure is the cornerstone of self-discovery, actualisation, and development.

Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with senior leaders and individuals seeking to expand their influence, confidence, and skills to fulfil their professional and personal ambitions. 

I am grateful for those opportunities and I am always looking for new ways to help others reach their full potential.

If you're ready to take your career and personal development to the next level, let's connect!

👉🏼 07799 474776

👉🏼 paul@starbuckassociates.com

👉🏼 www.starbuckassociates.com

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Ricky Flax

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The Battle

Ricky Flax

Paul Starbuck - MCC

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ricky Flax's LinkedIn Performance

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