I borrowed £6k from my pal to set up my brand and moved in with strangers – now it’s worth £5m and stocked in Selfridges

WAKING up the day after her GP appointment with a widespread body rash and swollen, streaming eyes, Ros Heathcote knew she was down to her last thread of hope.

The 41-year-old had developed severe allergies (seemingly overnight) and no medical professional could work out how to ease her pain – even the posh Harley Street doctor she shelled out £200 for.

Ros was desperate for a solution, and quickly realised that medical interventions weren't doing much to cure her.

Chicken soup was a staple in her childhood and, following official nutrition advice, her last hope was to make bone broth like her grandmother used to for her chicken soup and see if that had any healing benefits.

Amazingly, it did – and introducing bone broth into her diet every day was not only the antidote to her allergy symptoms, but it also sparked Ros’ £5 million business idea.

Her homemade bone broths transformed into a company named Borough Broth, which Ros got off the ground in 2015 after borrowing £6,000 from a friend.

The company turned over £3,980,577 in the 2024 financial year and is forecasted to turn over £5 million this year.

“I moved into a London flat share in my Thirties after I started the business in 2015,”; she tells Fabulous for our exclusive series, Bossing It. “And I didn’t pay myself a salary for two years.

“I always had an unwavering belief that Borough Broth would work out, so I was able to suffer the short-term pain.”;

Bone broth is rich in collagen and amino acids, which help support joint health, improve skin elasticity, and promote gut healing.

Its high mineral content also aids in strengthening bones, boosting the immune system and reducing inflammation.

It was this combination of soothing and strengthening that healed Ros' allergies.

From Burberry to bones

Ros, who is now known as “the founding broth lady”;, grew up in East Preston, West Sussex, as the youngest of four siblings.

From the age of 14, she always had a job, mostly working as a waitress in cafés and restaurants, before progressing to telesales and door-to-door sales jobs during the summers.

Back in those days, she never could’ve anticipated becoming an entrepreneur – let alone one whose business was targeted to turn over £5 million this year.

At university she studied for a BA in Music Production but life took her into data and analytics roles in companies like Vodafone, Burberry and Coca-Cola.

Ros had a busy career in IT which required her to travel frequently. However, as the chaos of her lifestyle began to wreak havoc on her immune system, she developed allergies.

She was waking up covered in rashes, with her eyes stinging and watering. During the day, her stomach would struggle to digest her meals.

Then in her early Thirties, she was living in agony.

After a few failed attempts to find out what was wrong with her GP, she “threw £200 at the problem”; at a clinic on London’s affluent Harley Street.

I suddenly had more energy, my skin was better, my digestion was better – and I realised there might be something special to my bone broth

Ros HeathcoteBorough Broth founder

Even the posh docs still couldn’t find a way to ease the inflammation and swelling that was taking over her whole body.

But Ros remembered that as a child, her parents and grandmother would always give her homemade chicken soup when she was poorly.

She realised that her problems might be coming from the inside-out, so she stripped back her diet to remove gluten, refined carbs and dairy, and introduced more bone broth.

“I was literally just eating meat, fish, vegetables and bone broth,”; she tells. “Suddenly, I just felt better.

I didn't really know what I was doing, but it was sort of a feeling of, ‘I have to do this'. I couldn't shake off the idea

Ros HeathcoteBorough Broth Founder

“I suddenly had more energy, my skin was better, my digestion was better – and I realised there might be something special to my bone broth.”;

However, finding bones was no mean feat. They’re not sold in supermarkets, and it’s a bit of an odd request to go into butchers asking for them every day.

So, Ros struck up a deal with a local meat monger.

With her IT career still very much in full swing, she offered to revamp his website in exchange for free bones.

‘Light bulb moment'

Ros' “light bulb moment”; came when the butcher said that she could take as many bones as she wanted, given he disposed of tonnes every week.

“Within 24 hours, I'd applied to set up a business and started to look for kitchens,”; she recalls.

“I didn't really know what I was doing, but it was sort of a feeling of, ‘I have to do this.’

“I couldn't shake off the idea.”;

There was one pressing issue that Ros had, though – she didn’t have any money.

With just a pipe dream and no savings under her belt, her idea could’ve fallen flat on its face.

But it didn’t, because a friend of hers who also bought into the vision lent her £6,000 to get Borough Broth off the ground.

That first cash injection paid for three months rent up front on the kitchen and some equipment she needed to make the broth on a larger scale to sell online.

I always had an unwavering belief that Borough Broth would work out, so I was able to suffer the short-term pain

Ros HeathcoteBorough Broth founder

Within a few weeks of making the first batch, Borough Broth had been noticed by the buyers at Selfridges – and within three months, the brand was stocked in the luxury department retailer’s food hall.

Ros spent the first two years of the business juggling her career in IT and data analytics with being an entrepreneur.

She managed all aspects of the business independently in that time, from branding and marketing to production and logistics, until finally securing investment as the business scaled.

By 2017, she was full-time with Borough Broth and building the brand’s profile across the UK.

It is now an award-winning brand, and stocked in major retailers like Waitrose, Ocado and Planet Organic – and in January this year, Ros struck a deal to have Borough Broth stocked in 400 Sainsbury’s stores across the country.

The company employs 50 staff and is set to generate over £5 million in annual revenue this year.

The brand’s hero product is its Free-range Organic Chicken Bone Broth which (you guessed it!) is made using free-range, 100% organic British chicken bones and British spring water. One pack will set you back £6.15.