Charlie Bigham's Belief in Better
Tessa Stuart
I recently worked with Charlie Bigham’s, talking to their customers and potential customers in Waitrose, Sainsbury and Tesco, looking at new products that the brand could provide. Charlie Bigham’s have just launched an excellent range of puds.
Charlie Bigham told me: "Our meals have a very broad appeal, that occasion of being a bit busy, and wanting to shove something in the oven, pour a glass of wine, and relax. We aspire to being a company that produces really nice food. Our mantra is to be a little bit better every day, every month."
His advice for food start-ups?
"Start with an idea that works for customers, for retailers and for you.
Be consistent at applying the idea.
Be a little bit better at everything you do, every week, ideally, every month certainly, and every year, without fail.
We were spending 80-90% of our time with out chef team working on new recipes and only 10-20% on making our existing recipes better. We've turned that on its head. It's not about finding a way to make it cheaper. It's generally about being better, which is usually more expensive. Our average price is £7 for a dish for two people - that's £3.50 a head.
We believe that the simple equation of price, with quality added to it, is value for money."