My Back To Business Strategy

By Julianne Ponan, CEO of Creative Nature, a leading UK-based free from snack brand supplying baking mixes, treats, bars and superfoods which are all free of the top 14 allergens and which are healthy, tasty and vegan friendly.

Summarise how Covid-19 has affected your business? 

Initially it felt very scary as things were about to change, and to change dramatically. We realised our team would have to work from home, we didn’t know how it might affect our supply chain and ultimately our sales. 

All at once we found ourselves running through various possible scenarios and working out alternatives. Lockdown happened just as we were about to launch a new product with John Lewis in Oxford Street, London which was so disappointing yet we understood the seriousness of the situation. 

What has been your plan to continue?  

We took advice from our professional suppliers and took the view that we would keep on going, we would work from home where possible – and we would limit time in our office and warehouse. We had to operate a rota system around those who didn’t have home-schooling commitments as we have deliveries to make. 

We tested our systems to work as a remote team using things like Zoom, Teams and Slack and that has worked very well. We also really early on decided to do things together to help our physical and mental well being including exercise sessions together. 

How has business changed for you over the last few months?  

It has been busy though different. It became clear initially that there were going to be some food shortages due to unnecessary panic buying. This impacted people who suffer from food allergy and intolerance who couldn’t get free-from products from the supermarket shelves. These were also being bought up by those who didn’t need them for health reasons. We noticed that our baking mixes, which don’t require flour, were selling more quickly.

Then we noticed that our Amazon sales were climbing quickly too so we invested in that and have seen sales there rise by 650 per cent. This has really helped us to keep going and thriving through this difficult period. We have always embraced digital marketing, however in this situation it proved its worth. 

As lockdown eases what measures have you put in place to get back to business? 

The key thing for us is the health and wellbeing of our team. We have a good idea now of the challenges we all face individually eg. if a staff member still has home-schooling responsibilities so we’re being flexible about that. We’ve come to realise it’s more about ‘getting the job done’ than ‘hours sat on a seat in the office’. By being task focussed and not getting stressed when someone completes a task, it’s made us increasingly efficient. 

What has been the most challenging aspect of all of this? 

Not seeing each other and not being out and about meeting new people. You don’t realise how important that can be in business and life until that is taken away. I do look forward to seeing the whole team again. 

What has been the most positive aspect? 

Trust and relationships. I trusted my team yet now it’s even deeper. It’s also been about the way in which we have supported, and been supported by our customers and our suppliers. We manufacture in the UK and the UK has supported us. 

We also won some funding for advertising screens throughout London and also from the Federation of Small Businesses for national promotion over the summer. We were among 1,600 small businesses across the UK who were lucky enough to get some support. 

Has it made you consider how you feel about other businesses/suppliers/customers/clients for good or otherwise? 

I think ethics are important in business and I’m glad to say most of what I’ve seen has been positive. To date I’ve not had to make different choices. It takes time to get the right team around you – whether that’s staff, suppliers or clients – and I’m proud that we have a good group around us. 

I’ve been disappointed by the lack of flexible support for small businesses from the government which has seen many not able to access any financial support at all, other than loans. I’m hoping this will not lead to many job losses over the coming weeks and months. 

How important is the phrase 'buy local, supply local' to you? 

Very important. We’re very proud to be based in the UK and to manufacture in the UK even though we export products overseas too – the need for delicious free-from alternatives is, after, all global. 

As a local business we are pleased to be part of the business community in West Molesey where we are based – and in Greater London and London. Being visible in this way has really helped our business grow. I’m proud to be a director of a small business here in the UK and thanks to our decisions around where our products are made, we’ve been able to stay in business. 

What are your top tips for other business owners at this time? 

1. Plan your way forward – consider your staff, your suppliers, your supply chain and check you can supply what you’ve said you can supply as lockdown eases.

2. Say thank you – thank all of those who have stuck by you, bought from you and supported you through these times. Most importantly thank your team for staying the course.  

3. Learn – look at what’s changed in your business and adapt, do you need that massive office when staff can effectively and safely work from home? Can you work smarter in areas which were clunky during lockdown? 

Your parting thoughts? 

Small business owners should stick together and support each other – that way we will all come through. Collaborate, share and support so that we can all move from survive to thrive. 

For more information visit www.creativenaturesuperfoods.co.uk