Leith coffee business shortlisted for entrepreneur award
- By editor
- Jun 30
- 2 min read
Edinburgh coffee business, The Healthy Coffee Company, has been shortlisted in the Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur awards, which were founded in 2012 and attract thousands of entrants annually.
Asanka De Silva, shortlisted in the award’s Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year- Scotland category, founded the business in 2016, after his mother was diagnosed with a liver condition. He started researching liver health and kept finding references to coffee. This led him to develop a liver-health drink based on coffee.
Since then, the business has evolved and now offers a different product. In 2024 it was renamed The Healthy Coffee Company and today focuses entirely on coffee. It now produces LivOn artisan coffee, launched earlier this year. The range includes coffees blended with ingredients such as lion’s mane mushrooms, vitamin B6 and collagen, and is made at its roastery in Leith.
LivOn is available in Artisan Roast and some of Edinburgh’s cafes, as well as direct, via its website: “We have just agreed our first listing with Margiotta, with more stores expected to follow," explained Asanka: "We will also be launching in the UAE in August this year.”
The brand has already attracted attention, having been named a Mintel Most Innovative product for 2026, in the EMEA food and drink category. It was one of 72 winners across 14 countries, judged by an international jury, including professors at INSEAD business school, journalists from The Grocer and marketing and innovation leaders from global brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, Coty and The Estee Lauder Company.
Reflecting on other key achievements to date, Asanka said: “Delivering a functional ground-coffee range is a significant technical challenge and I am proud that we have solved it. Most of all, I am glad we have built a range of functional products that prioritises taste, so consumers never have to compromise on their enjoyment.”
He added: “LivOn is a ‘coffee-first’ brand. It is not a supplement brand using coffee as a vehicle to deliver a benefit. We have prioritised enjoyment above everything else.”
Commenting on being shortlisted for the Allica Bank award, Asanka said: “LivOn is the product of so many conversations, with so many people, over a number of years.
"Coffee had stood still as a category while everything around it moved on, and we set out to change that. It is great to see it recognised this way - it's a validation of all those conversations and the work behind it.”
The Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur awards will be announced on Monday 16 November, at the awards ceremony, held at the Grosvenor House hotel, on Park Lane in London.
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