Recession busters

Thought the recession was a bad time to start a food business? These companies didn’t think so.

Lily Turner (pictured) worked in property before starting up Yum Yum Tree Fudge to pay the bills. Now she earns more from fudge than real estate.

‘We’re land and property developers so last year was the toughest ever for us,’ explains Lily Turner of the decision to launch Yum Yum Tree Fudge. ‘I used to make the fudge and my husband’s an entrepreneurial type so he encouraged me to sell it locally. I started supplying local markets and it went from there.’

According to Lily part of the secret to her success is making a product which lifts people’s mood at a time which is otherwise gloomy. ‘The sales in winter went particularly well,’ she says. ‘I think with the cold weather people are looking for something to give them a treat. Even during the recession I don’t think that £2.50 or £3 is considered big expense.’

With this in mind Lily set about making multi-coloured fudge in a variety of weird and wonderful flavours, from liquorice to passion-fruit. Spotting the trend for provenance in food, Lily also sources her sugar from a local refinery which only processes sugar beet from nearby fields.

Now that the economy is picking up and property is back in the offing Lily is still enjoying great success from her sweet treats, and attributes getting through the recession solely to the fudge. ‘We wouldn’t have been able to eat if it wasn’t for the fudge, it’s as simple as that,’ she says.

Catherine Maille-Fenwick (left, with business partner Camille) started her French hamper business Savourez just before Christmas as the recession hit. A year on and they’ve weathered the storm.

‘The combination of lack of experience and recession was bad,’ says Catherine of the first festive sales. ‘We participated to a few Christmas markets which were deserted and people really needed to be convinced to buy.’ But with a company ideally suited to seasonal sales Catherine knew that getting into gear was imperative for their future success. ‘We started very quickly in October 2008 to be ready to trade by Christmas. We are selling hampers so we didn’t want to miss it,’ she explains.

The company aims to provide a gourmet French hamper experience in the UK packed with Continental goods which aren’t available on British shores. Choices are themed around different areas of France, as well as hitting seasonal notes and have proved surprisingly popular given the doom and gloom forecasts for luxury products.

‘Some markets to which we signed up even cancelled due to the lack of traders,’ says Catherine. ‘I remember on our first day of trade we made £9 – that was hard. We are two owners with no employees, so we were disappointed and very worried. One of the positive effect is that we had to manage our costs very tightly, and ingenuity comes in.’ Now out of the woods the company is enjoying burgeoning trading and a healthy year ahead with English fine food lovers.

David Hollier started Caviar 4 All as a way of ensuring his consultancy business had a recession proof outlet. A year on and the market has proved rewarding.

Coming from a background in consultancy David Hollier knew a deal when he saw it, and despite a floundering economy was unwilling to let an opportunity slip through his fingers. ‘It wasn’t a case of whether or not I should start a business during the recession,’ he explains. ‘The business was there and I knew in five years time it wouldn’t be.’

The business in this case is the innovative production of vegetarian caviar. With scientific developments in food continuing apace, a Dutch inventor has patented the product leaving an opening in the UK market for distribution. And as far as David is concerned the concept has proved strong enough to grow through the recession and beyond.

‘It looks, tastes and smells exactly like the real thing,’ he explains. ‘But whereas I can sell mine for £17 for a 250g pot the same product in Harrods would cost you between £300 and £400. There’s also no endangering to sturgeon so the environmental issue isn’t a factor.’

Like other start-ups who have come through the recession in profit the future looks bright, and when your business has fared the worst it’s difficult not to be optimistic. ‘We’re doing really well and I’m hoping the best is yet to come,’ says David.

Malmo Nordic Dining was Erika Eklundh’s  (pictured) dream to bring Scandinavian food to the UK. And despite a bumpy start she’s glad she opened when she did.

With a drive to share Nordic cuisine with the nation, Erika Eklundh wasn’t going to let a little thing like the recession deter her from opening Malmo Nordic Dining. ‘A typical characteristic of mine is never to worry, which comes with good and bad, I suppose,’ she explains of the move. Although she does admit the financial climate came with more downsides than she realised. ‘I do think I underestimated Londoner’s price sensitivity, which to a large extent depends on the insecure minds of the recession, and so it has taken us longer to break through than we thought,’ she says.

But with the company up and running, Malmo is now set to prove that Scandinavian food is more than just meatballs and pickled herring. Selling everything from gourmet smoked mussels to wafer thin crispbreads, mature Swedish cheese and Nordic style preserves the business has now attracted the attention of UK-based gourmands, and receives popular acclaim throughout the country. Better yet, having braved the crisis Erika is now in full swing for the recovery ahead. ‘The positive effects for a small start-up like ours, is of course that if can make it now, we will fly off when times change to the better,’ she says.

The Real Food Festival in London is from the 7th to the 10th of May. www.realfoodfestival.com.

Tags: Launching in a recession

Posted by Catherine Quinn on Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 at 12:05 pm.

Filed under Careers, Lifestyle, News, SMEs, Starting a Business, Tagged as: , Launching in a recession.