Disruptors & Innovators in Retail 2026 Report launched
By Glynn Davis |
Here at Retail Insider we’re pleased to highlight the new order in the world of retail and this year everything’s gone green as Perfect Ted’s Marisa Poster is named 2026 Retail Disruptor of the Year in a new report from Retail Insider and the Retail Technology Show.
The co-founder of the matcha-tea brand Perfect Ted came out as the top disruptor & innovator in the 2026 report that showcases the retail industry’s progressive pioneers who are making a real difference in the sector and helping drive new thinking.
From challenger brands to transformative entrepreneurs and those driving seismic change in retail’s largest organisations, the report has been curated by Retail Insider and the specially selected Advisory Panel to put the spotlight on the game-changers in the retail revolution.
Top Ten 2026 Retail Disruptors
Marisa Poster, Co-Founder, Perfect Ted
Poppy Mardall (Founder) & Clare Montagu (CEO), Poppy’s Funerals
Mark Rushmore & Gyve Safavi, Co-Founders, SURI
Chamiah Dewey, Founder, Dewey
Mohsen Ghasempour, Chief AI Officer, Kingfisher
Baris Ozaydinli, Founder & CEO, Scooch
Sarah Watt, CEO, Gisou
Roger Howard, Chief Trading Director, BrandAlley
Alexandra Wilson, Sustainability & Compliance Manager, Fabacus
Florian Schroedl, Senior Brand Specialist, Amazon
Perfect Ted’s Poster was closely followed by Poppy Mardall and Clare Montagu of Poppy’s Funerals who are shaking up the funerals category with their new customer-centric approach. In third place comes Mark Rushmore and Gyve Safavi, who co-founded sustainable electric toothbrush brand SURI.
Completing the top five are Chamiah Dewey, founder of fashion brand Dewey, who is carving out a successful apparel proposition for petite and extra-petite women and driving greater awareness of sizing diversity within the sector, and Mohsen Ghasempour, chief AI officer at Kingfisher, who is recognised for his role in leading the business’ AI strategy across the B&Q, Screwfix, Castorama and Brico Dépôt brands.
Matt Bradley, founder & event director at RTS, says: “This year’s Retail Disruptors Report features the widest array of businesses and examples of retail pioneers we’ve seen yet – proof that impactful innovation comes in many guises and that the inspiration for challenging sector norms is never linear. Once again, Glynn and the Retail Insider team have showcased the breadth and depth of retail disruption, which is creating the waves of change needed to help the industry evolve and thrive.”
Many thanks to RTS for their partnership, which makes the publication of this report possible and to this year’s Advisory Panel: Laura Harricks, non-executive director; Sienne Veit, board advisor; Paddy Earnshaw, retail, property & technology director – B&Q; Andrew Xeni, founder & CEO – Fabacus + founder & chairman – Nobody’s Child; Daisy Kelly, founder – Glow For It; Rosie Bailey, co-founder & CEO – Nibble Technology; Gareth Jones, chair, NED and advisor; Charlotte Morley, founder – TheLittleLoop; Melissa Reed, managing partner – H.I. Executive Consulting (HIEC); Rebecca DeNiro, chair, NED and advisor; Sandrine Deveaux, NED and luxury sector advisor.
For more information and to download a link to the full 2026 Retail Disruptors Report, visit: https://www.retailtechnologyshow.com/disruptors-innovators-report.
To register to attend RTS, visit: Retail Technology Show 2026.
A sweet proposition
By Glynn Davis |
While the big guns of quick service restaurants (QSR) fight it out to attract younger customers who have found it increasingly hard to stomach the big brands’ inflation-busting price rises over recent years, Generation Zs and millennials seem to have less aversion to splashing out on brightly-coloured drinks. Blank Street Coffee has found itself theRead full story
Searching for the ‘Disruptors & Innovators in Retail 2026’
By Glynn Davis |
This year’s search for the talented individuals to be included in the ‘Disruptors & Innovators in Retail report 2026’ has been completed and we look forward to revealing the Top 30 names very soon. The report is a collaboration between Retail Insider x Retail Technology Show and involves an Advisory Panel who recently met upRead full story
Still an appetite for vegetable-based cuisine
By Glynn Davis |
Puraan is a small, family-owned Indian restaurant that serves up great value, tasty food in a friendly atmosphere just down the road from my house, so it’s been a favourite of my family’s for some years. It’s also vegetarian. But that’s of little interest to me, because all the elements described above ultimately override theRead full story
Keeping it simple
By Glynn Davis |
Retailers and hospitality companies alike are battling with the issue of avoiding complexity and keeping things simple. This scenario came to light on a recent evening out. The Mossy Well in Muswell Hill is a relatively smart and popular JD Wetherspoon that I returned to on Burns Night for its one-week-only haggis burger. The dinnerRead full story
Fathers & Daughters Dine – Fête
By Glynn Davis |
Chelmsford was not on my list of dining destinations. Until my daughter found herself at University near the city this September. Visits to see her for a drink and a bite to eat were in order so I needed to do some research. Finding suitable pubs was not a problem as there are plenty ofRead full story
The lesson retailers can teach hospitality
By Glynn Davis |
Despite having eaten probably a couple of thousand meals in various restaurants over the years, I can vividly remember a specific dinner with my parents in the mid-1970s, at a Berni Inn in the centre of Doncaster. It’s not that the dishes were particularly memorable – undoubtedly prawn cocktail, steak and chips and Black ForestRead full story
Pashley launches Townhouse Bicycle
By Glynn Davis |
As a fair-weather cyclist a rainy day in London meant the tube was used rather than my bike to travel to the launch of the bespoke bicycle – The Townhouse Bicycle – at a listed historic house in East London. British cycle brand Pashley has collaborated with London-based design house Considered Things to create theRead full story
Uber Eats gears up for Christmas
By Glynn Davis |
In the run up to Christmas last year a bottle of Baileys was ordered via Uber Eats every 20 seconds. Even more astonishingly, on Christmas Day more than three tonnes of turkey was searched for by Uber Eats customers for whom, due to reasons we can only really guess at, the entire festive dinner wasRead full story
Jamaica Patty Co. spices up London market
By Glynn Davis |
With four sites and a production kitchen in place the Jamaica Patty Co. is geared up for expansion across London and then beyond as it continues to tempt people into trying its authentic patties. Set up by Andrew Roberts and his wife Theresa Roberts, who is also cultural ambassador for Jamaica, in 2014 the planRead full story