Start-ups: How to grow your business and your brand

Starting a new business in the food and beverage industry is not easy. In fact, it famously difficult, bringing with it huge financial and reputational risks. But it’s been done by many thousands of entrepreneurs across the globe. And while some have failed, others have gone on to establish the household-name brands we know and love today.

So, how do you make sure your business becomes one of the success stories? We discover what it takes to be the best in the biz.

How to ensure your brand succeeds​

It’s all about the product: ​The success of a new food or beverage brand depends upon a whole range of things. But, without a doubt, the key to success is the quality of your product. Get that right and then build your business around it.

Build your brand: ​Once you’ve got a great product, it’s time to take it to market. But how do you stand out from the crowd? Be interesting!

“More and more we’re hearing that customers want a brand to have a good story around what they’re doing,” said Bronagh Clarke, founder of snack brand, Forest Feast, at the recent Bread & Jam event in London.

This will help consumers to not only become interested in your product, but to become loyal customers, who are invested in your brand.

And make sure you’re getting the word about your product out there at every opportunity.

“Be as visible as you can” says Clarke. “And that’s where something like digital comes into play because you can use these channels to show what you do.”

Do your homework:​​ Make sure you know as much as you possibly can about the industry, including your supply chains, your production and marketing plans, and your competition.

“Do your research,” said Stephen Minall, founder of FDReviews, while speaking at IFE 2024. “Go into supermarkets, look at the shelves, look at the shelf space to make sure your product actually fits the shelf height. I’ve seen hundreds of brands where the bottle’s the wrong size or the jam jar looks lovely, but you can’t get the product out.”

Grow your network:​​ Get to know people across your industry who can advise you how to grow your brand. Connections across the food and beverage industry are a vital part of business and could just be the catalyst to take you to the next level of growth.

“You may well find that there are different people who have different expertise who can help you at different parts of your journey,” says Bruce Isaacs, partner at Hospitality Management Solutions.

Set goals:​​ Make a clear plan for how you want the company to develop so you know what you want to achieve and by when.

“Get some KPIs in place so you can measure your progress,” says Dan Barron, non-executive director at Just So Care Ltd.

Speak to a business consultant​​: Consultants can guide you through some of the more complex business processes and advise you on fundamental decisions. But choose that consultant carefully as you’ll be financially invested in them and they’ll be having an influence over the success of your company.

“Look at their LinkedIn, get case studies from them, tie your contract to results and trust your instincts,” says Daniela Busseni, senior consultant at the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD).

Be open to change:​​ Your circumstances may change throughout your first year but if you can adapt to those changes and recognise the aspects of your business, which are not working, then you have a greater chance of success.

“The reality is, the business you end up with will not be the one you have in your business plan,” says Hospitality Management Solutions’ Isaacs. “There’ll be something that will happen and opportunities will change, meaning that the business looks different.”

Innovate for the future: ​Continuing to push and grow your brand is an essential part of continued success. A single product or product range will only be able to get you so far and innovating for the future will help to avoid the sales plateau experienced by so many businesses.

“For some businesses it happens at one million, for others it happens at five million, for Forest Feast it happened at around ten to twelve million,” says Forest Feast’s Clarke. “The plateau happened because the brand had invested in mango, that was what it was known for, but nothing beyond that.”

And pay attention to what consumers are buying and where interest is growing.

“Keep things fresh and keep ahead of the trends​,” says Clarke.

And the best way to do this is through social media. See what influencers​ are talking about and join the conversation. But don't just rely on your phone or tablet, get out and about too. Go to trade shows and meet people face to face. You’ll make new connections, raise your brand’s profile and get an idea of what your competitors are up to.

Don’t lose hope when things don’t work:​​ There will almost certainly be aspects of the business or a particular product idea which won’t succeed. But that’s okay, not everything will work out perfectly and not every product will succeed.

“Don’t take it personally, it happens to everyone,” says Tim Davies, founder of sports nutrition brand, DuelFuel. “Steve Jobs failed at Apple in the first couple of years and look what happened.”

And if something does go wrong, which it probably will at some point, then get straight back to it and carry on.

“If you’re going to fail, fail fast,” says Clarke. “Then pick yourself up, dust yourself off, learn from it and move on.”