Fireside Chat with Laura Briesenick

From Greenpeace recruiter to co‑founder of Copenhagen Coffee Lab to brewing Europe’s next drink craze, Laura Briesenick has turned a lifelong passion for purpose into a fast‑growing beverage startup. Raised to value sustainability and impact over growth and profit at all costs, Laura began her career recruiting volunteers for Greenpeace in New Zealand, far from the startup world.

A move to Lisbon for a master’s thesis on social innovation accidentally led her into hospitality — in 2016 she joined as a co‑founder of Lisbon’s Copenhagen Coffee Lab, one of the city’s first specialty cafés, and helped grow it to profitability in less than a year before exiting to new investors who have since scaled the brand to more than 30 locations across Europe.
In 2022, after spotting a gap for a light, low‑sugar alternative to beer and cider, Laura teamed up with her friends and launched ūmmi, Europe’s first hard‑kombucha brand. Starting with a modest budget and a small, hands-on team, ūmmi has already sold nearly 200,000 cans, logged 50 percent year‑on‑year growth since then, and secured distribution from alpine Chamonix and urban Amsterdam to sun‑soaked Mykonos, Mallorca, and Ibiza.

Join us to hear how Laura went from environmentalist and accidental café owner to pioneering a category that is changing the way Europeans drink, proving that business can begin with values and still fizz with commercial promise.