35. Peppersmith

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Founders: Dan Shrimpton and Mike Stevens
Founded: April 2009 (launched January 2010)
Website: www.peppersmith.co.uk

Shrimpton and Stevens were told multiple times that making mints and chewing gum without synthetic ingredients was impossible (if you still want them to taste good). However, their products today prove the nay-sayers wrong. Over 2,000 stockists, including Sainsbury's, Boots, Harvey Nichols, Virgin Atlantic and Waitrose, sell their range – which will expand into other confectionary in the next year.

Consumers have been attracted to the idea of mints which are actively good for teeth (with accreditation from the British Dental Society to prove it) and have been willing to pay slightly more for the products. The founders, who met while working at start-up superstar Innocent Drinks, are now looking beyond the British Isles and have just secured their first major listing in Australia. Impossi… what?

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