Sliced Bread
While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up Toast. A study of the spectacular failures of brands which had promised so much to consumers. In each episode, the presenter and BBC business journalist Sean Farrington examines one big idea. What did it promise? Why did people back it? Why did they get burnt? Some of the world’s most successful businesses have also brought us some of the world’s most remarkable failures. So, what led them to be toast? And what can we learn from their stories today? Sean unpicks all the early optimism, hype and ambition. He learns about the tremendous success of a brand before hearing how it faltered, with help from expert commentators and people who were directly involved. How do they view things now and what, if anything, could have been done differently? The self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White, is alongside him, analysing the missteps that changed a brand’s fortunes and reaching her own, often instructive, conclusions. From big tech to high street retail and, of course, food, Toast tackles the business ideas that, one way or another, ended up cooked. Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations on 3 July, 2025. In the new series, Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds. For this brand new series of Toast, episodes will be released weekly on Thursdays wherever you get your podcasts. But if you’re in the UK, you can listen to the latest episode on BBC Sounds first, a week earlier than anywhere else. Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4.
Episodes
Homebase was once one of our leading home improvement chains so, why did it have to close all of its stores?
The BBC Business journalist Sean Farrington investigates.
Alongside him is the entrepreneur Sam White, who at the end of the show has to reach her own conclusions, based only on what she has heard and her own business acumen.
Homebase was established by the supermarket chain Sainsbury's and a Belgian retailer which was already ...
FHM was the men's magazine that sold vastly more copies than any of its competitors but still ended up toast. So, why did its publishers stop printing it while other men's magazines survived?
The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, charts its highs and lows in the company of four of FHM's former editors.
Alongside them is the entrepreneur, Sam White, who has to use her business acumen to reach her own conclusions based upon wh...
Nike's FuelBand was among the first fitness trackers to be launched and was worn by sports stars including the tennis player, Serena Williams. So, why did Nike give up on it so soon after its launch?
The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, is joined by Nike's former Vice President of Digital Sport, Stefan Olander, to get the inside story on what happened to the successful product.
Alongside them is the entrepreneur, Sam Whit...
Freeserve rapidly became the UK's number one internet service provider within months of its launch in 1998, yet the brand disappeared almost as quickly. So, what happened?
The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, investigates.
Alongside him is the entrepreneur, Sam White, who at the end of the show has to reach her own conclusions, based only on what she has heard and her own business acumen.
Sean and Sam hear from expert guest...
Woolworths was once a family favourite with well over 1,000 UK stores selling everything from kitchenware to pick and mix. So, why did the business collapse when other general retailers were on the rise?
The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, charts the company's highs and lows before asking 'what went wrong at Woolies?'.
Alongside him is the entrepreneur, Sam White, who at the end of the show has to reach her own conclusion...
Can supplements claiming to make menopause symptoms more bearable, really help?
Going through menopause can result in a myriad of symptoms, leaving women stressed, exhausted, and desperate for anything that might make it easier to deal with.
In recent years, a huge range of products have become available in supermarkets, pharmacies and online, all promising to help alleviate some of these symptoms – for a price. So listener Susie, ...
Do Vagus Nerve Stimulators help your mental health?
The vagus nerve could be one of the most important body parts you might never have heard of. It's a large nerve that connects major organs like the heart and lungs to the brain and studies have found that stimulating it with electrical pulses can lead to dramatic improvements in some people with depression and other mental health conditions. Those trials were for medical devices im...
When staring at shelves full of sticks, tubs and tubes all promising us the perfect pout, how do you know which Lip Balms will really help keep chapped lips at bay?
Listener Kiran is a regular lip balm applier - saying she often suffers with dry or cracked lips, and recently splashed out on an expensive lip balm after seeing celebrity endorsed adverts for it online. But she isn’t sure it’s any better than her trusty tub of Vaseline.
...
Which products are best for bedtime listening?
According to a YouGov poll nearly half of us listen to music or podcasts to help us get to sleep and there are a range of products designed to do just that.
Listener Nick has seen wearable sleep headbands with speakers woven in to the fabric which he hopes will stop him waking up in the middle of the night with headphones or earbuds digging into his ears.
And listener David says his socia...
You may have heard health warnings around too much red or processed meat, and considered trying a plant based meat alternative as one of your midweek meals instead. But after looking at the ingredients on the packet and spotting salt, additives and flavourings, wondered if they really are the healthier choice?
That’s exactly what listener Graham did, as he hunted for an alternative to his beloved sausage – and found that the plant b...
Are there products that can help you avoid or ease jet lag?
If you've travelled long-haul you'll know the feeling; your body feels completely out of sync with the new time zone, leaving you tired, disorientated and quite possibly a tad irritated!
So is there anything you can do? Listener Moira suffered the effects of jet lag on a recent work trip to India and with another one coming up to the USA, she's keen to know more about the pr...
Artificial sweeteners appeal to anyone with a sweet tooth looking to cut down on their sugar intake. They’re not only for use in our cups of tea or coffee, but they’re also in fizzy drinks, low calorie products, sweets and baked goods. But are they really a better alternative?
Greg is joined by a leading scientist from the World Health Organisation, as well as a Professor of Gastroenterology who has researched the impact of sweetene...
Can home tests tell you if you have an allergy or a food intolerance?
We're back with a new batch of investigations and kicking off this series is one of our most popular requests: home allergy tests. The companies that make them claim they can help you work out if you have an allergy or intolerance to certain foods. The idea is the information can help you decide what to eliminate from your diet. But do they work?
Greg is joined by...
What is keeping the traditional watch industry ticking over?
The entrepreneur, Sam White, hosts Dough - the BBC Radio 4 series which looks at the business behind profitable everyday products and where the smart money might take them next.
In each episode, Sam, and the futurist, Tom Cheesewright, are joined by product manufacturers and industry experts whose inside knowledge gives a new appreciation for the everyday things that we oft...
Could the next generation of lawn mowers create any image you like on your lawn?
The entrepreneur, Sam White, hosts Dough - the BBC Radio 4 series which looks at the business behind profitable everyday products and where the smart money might take them next.
In each episode, Sam, and the futurist, Tom Cheesewright, are joined by product manufacturers and industry experts whose inside knowledge gives a new appreciation for the everyda...
How can the bicycle industry recover from sales that plummeted after the pandemic?
The entrepreneur, Sam White, hosts Dough - the BBC Radio 4 series which looks at the business behind profitable everyday products and where the smart money might take them next.
In each episode, Sam, and the futurist, Tom Cheesewright, are joined by product manufacturers and industry experts whose inside knowledge gives a new appreciation for the every...
Could washing machines soon be cleaning our clothes without using any water?
The entrepreneur, Sam White, hosts Dough - the BBC Radio 4 series which looks at the business behind profitable everyday products and where the smart money might take them next.
In each episode, Sam, and the futurist, Tom Cheesewright, are joined by product manufacturers and industry experts whose inside knowledge gives a new appreciation for the everyday th...
Game consoles have come a long way since the 1970s but could their days now be numbered?
The entrepreneur, Sam White, returns with a new series of Dough - the BBC Radio 4 show which looks at the business behind profitable everyday products and where the smart money might take them next.
In each episode, Sam, and the futurist, Tom Cheesewright, are joined by product manufacturers and industry experts whose inside knowledge gives a ne...
Listener Angela is a musician, and long-time wearer of Hearing Aids – but as her parents and friends have started reaching an age where they might need them, she’s wondering what advice to give them - and whether paying more for a hearing aid, and potentially going private – would really help?
There’s no question – Hearing Aids are Sliced Bread – but can the top end products really deliver on claims they can improve sound, reduce ba...
Edinburgh gardener Alan got in touch with Sliced Bread, to ask if he really needs to be spending money on buying and applying plant food or fish, blood and bone meal to his roses and woody perennials?
He was keen to know what is in these commercial plant foods that come as a solid, liquid or granule, how often he is supposed to use them, whether they make as much of a difference as they claim, and if he can save money by making his...
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