They Said No, And She Built Her Own Yes

They told her it couldn’t be done. She did it anyway.

Lemon Fuller, a dynamic entrepreneur, has transformed the UK lingerie market by championing inclusivity, sustainability and comfort. She set out to create a brand that didn’t just fit bodies, but changed minds.

Armed with nothing but a bold Instagram account and a refusal to take NO for an answer, she launched Lemonade Dolls: a UK-first subscription underwear brand that rewrote the rules of comfort, representation and power. At a time when mainstream lingerie still clung to tired ideals and outdated sizing, Lemon and her brand offered something radical: undies made for every woman. Her win at the 2024 Great British Entrepreneur Awards as the Retail Entrepreneur of the Year isn’t just a business milestone, it’s proof that disrupting an industry doesn’t always require a seat at the table. Sometimes, you have to flip the whole table over.

What began as a body-positive focused page is now one of the fastest-growing names in UK retail, not by playing it safe, but by tearing up the rulebook. Built on confidence, inclusion, and a refusal to settle for outdated standards.

For Lemon, selling underwear was never the goal. She wanted to build a community where every woman felt seen, supported and celebrated. And that’s exactly what she’s done.

The rejections didn’t stop her, they made her louder. "I realised that every time I was told 'no', it was just a chance to prove why it should be 'yes'," she says. That mindset shift changed everything.

That same defiance, the refusal to shrink when told no is what ultimately earned her industry-wide recognition at The Great British Entrepreneur Awards. We didn’t just celebrate the brand; we celebrated the boldness she brought to building it.

Lemon stopped following someone else’s rules and backed her own. That decision not only changed her path, it opened the door for others to do the same.

After more than a decade working in LA’s entertainment industry, she’d seen how narrow and damaging the beauty standards had become. Fed up with what she saw, and ready to change it, she started Lemonade Dolls.

It all started with a mission. Lemon wanted to kick-off honest conversations around body image and representation. What began as a bold storytelling online quickly gained momentum. At a time when Victoria’s Secret still dominated 70% of the market, she saw a clear gap: the world didn’t need another lingerie brand, it needed a radically different one.

Launching the UK’s first underwear subscription service of comfy undies delivered straight to your door each month? It was cheeky, fresh, and totally unheard of. Some investors weren’t so sure but Lemon didn’t flinch. She backed her gut, and it paid off. That early spark of an idea didn’t just land, it skyrocketed.

In 2020, the brand’s revenue shot up by 550%, kicking off a string of successful investment rounds including a crowdfunding campaign that hit 287% over target in just 30 minutes.

And because giving back is stitched into everything Lemonade Dolls does, through “CHOOSE LOVE,” the brand has donated over 20,000 pairs of undies to displaced people across Europe, with 30,000 in sight. It also supports breast cancer fighters via the Pink Ribbon Foundation.

From Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s in the US to John Lewis and beyond, Lemonade Dolls is going global. And they’re doing it the right way with recycled fabrics, planet-friendly packaging, and zero compromises.