To celebrate International Woman's Day, we wanted to interview Anne-Marie Hurst, Founder of Floreat Wines to see her experience in building a business as a woman in 2022. 

Tell us about your career up to date?
I had a traditional and very successful career as a management consultant and drinks director in Diageo plc. All my career opportunities were the fusion of very new creative ideas combined with a network of supportive colleagues.

What barriers have you faced in your industry being female?
I was one of a handful of young senior women in Diageo, which was culturally built up around a strongly masculine culture – even more so outside of the UK.  But I was always shown a huge amount of consideration and support.

Who is your inspiration?
I am first and foremost a scientist and a business woman who discovered medical herbalism. As I got involved in herbs, I discovered more profound and valid ways of thinking about wellness. Some of these insights stood up to all my challenges of common sense. My inspiration is from the herbalists from the past with great common sense, including people like Rudolf Steiner.

How does your work at Floreat contribute to a healthier world for women in particular?
Floreat was inspired by the need for friends and mums who were having to cope with the stresses of both work and motherhood and realising that the alcohol they were consuming could be beneficially replaced with the effects of herbs. As a herbalist, you realise that you help people as they actually are and not where they feel they have to pretend to be.

What has been a career highlight for you?
Creating Floreat has got to be top of the list. Who gets to design a whole new drinks category? I am very lucky as Floreat is the first in a series of new drinks I have planned which puts the real modern drinker's needs at the heart of the product.

What’s one piece of advice you give to women who want to follow in your footsteps?
To create something genuinely new in either a service or product requires a huge amount of passion, dedication, and personal courage. I advise everyone to honestly think about this, as when you do, you discover a whole network of friends and family around you who will be there to support you.