I've enjoyed my Graze boxes so I thought I'd ask Graze for their insights into starting out. Here Ben Jones, Co-Founder of Graze, gives you his freshly prepared wisdom. Thank you very much, Ben.
5 Bits of Wisdom – Ben Jones, Co-Founder of Graze
1. "Spiritual – good things happen to good people, in any start-up you always need a little bit of luck so be nice to everyone and boost your karma.
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Claire of Breckland Orchard, maker of posh pop, has all the freshness and zing of one of her drinks, and here she is to share her Four Things with you, in her words:
1. SHARE EVERYTHING YOU KNOW
"Sam Walton, the founder of Wal*Mart, had a great saying: ‘Share everything you can with your suppliers. The more they know, the more they'll understand. The more they understand, the more they'll care. Once they care, there's no stopping them’.
I was the Mars Account Director for Asda for several years, and although Sam’s words kind of made sense then, it’s only when I started my own business that they really hit home.
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I repeatedly research pack design and pack communications for Firefly Tonics, innocent drinks, and Rude Health.
For Rude Health, we needed to compel attention for their - newly listed in 350 Tesco stores - granola. And explain what granola is - it's a new category - and unfamiliar. And compete with all those habitual brightly coloured cereal purchases in the cereal aisle. Off the back of the consumer research we did, Rude Health employed a bright colour, made the word Granola very big, made the product shot appealing (it couldn't be a window for technical reasons but it looks like one), listed out the ingredients clearly.
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It's definitely the weather for iced coffee.
Jimmy's Iced Coffee, available in Original and Skinny Love, is very delicious. I thought I'd call up the originator of this refreshing product, Jimmy Cregan, and ask him for his FIve Tips When You're Starting Out. And here they are. Thank you very much, Jim. Jim says:
1. Your idea will wake you up every morning by jumping on your brain. You won't ever wake it up. If this doesn't happen and you wake up thinking how you're going to cook your eggs, it may not be the right idea for now.
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Last night I learnt how to distill gin. From Sam Galsworthy, the engaging co-founder of Sipsmith Gin in Hammersmith. Thank you, Sam.I was introduced to Prudence, their beautiful copper pot still. She is a curvaceous and lovely toy, with lots of levers and piers and portholes, through which we could peer to see the botanicals steeping - liquorice, orris root, juniper, cassia bark, Spanish lemon and orange peel...
I was also re-introduced to Sipsmith's excellent gin, sloe gin and barley vodka. I've been drinking the gin for a while now, and the sloe gin makes a superb gift for elderly fathers.
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