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BUSINESS WEST – CONNECTING BUSINESSES


Support for healthy growth S


leepy North Perrott in rural Somerset is not the first place you would expect to find a thriving international business. From behind the doors of Downclose Farm,


husband and wife team, Hilary and Tony Self (pictured) and their 22 employees manage their award winning business in 42 countries worldwide, providing herbal and natural healthcare products for horses, dogs, cats, poultry, racing pigeons and birds. Founded in 1990, Hilton Herbs produces top-


quality natural products backed up with a professional, friendly and knowledgeable helpline, providing in-depth information on herbal and complementary healthcare for animals. Hilton Herbs is the only UK company manufacturing herbal and natural healthcare products for animals that has all its products formulated by a qualified Medical Herbalist.


The brand is also committed to using the


highest grade and quality of ingredients. By 2007 after 17 years in business, Hilary and


Tony felt that the UK market had reached saturation point in their category and that they had too many competitors eating away at market share to thrive. As a small family run business, Hilton Herbs could not compete with other multinational owned brands in terms of marketing spend and low pricing. The company had already started to successfully export and they felt this was where the opportunity existed to grow their business. “We faced a price war in the UK and the only


way we could have competed was by choosing cheaper ingredients and we weren’t prepared to do that,” said Hilary Self. Fast-forward nine years and export now accounts for 70% of Hilton Herb’s revenue.


Quality Tips for Successful Export


Hilary, Tony and the team have amassed a huge amount of knowledge during their years in export. Here are their top tips for potential exporters:


Make changes as your knowledge grows In the early days of the business, the team attended many international trade shows where they built a network of contacts. They quickly founded distributor relationships across 42 markets. Not all those distributors ended up being the right choice for their business. Over time, Hilton Herbs took control of the


US as they found that their distributor partners focused too much on margins rather than investing in and building the brand. “Building a distributor relationship can be a


foot in the door and can help you gain traction quickly and learn about the market. However, putting your brand in the hands of others requires a lot of mutual trust and sometimes it works out and other times it doesn’t,” said Hilary. Now Hilton Herbs has a mix of distributor


and wholesale relationships across the globe depending on the size of the opportunity in each market. For the US and France, operations are managed from North Perrott. Hilton Herbs have a warehouse in the US but every other aspect of the business including taking orders, fulfillment, invoicing and the helpline is handled from the UK. “The infrastructure in the South West, including broadband, motorway connections to all four corners of the country, Bristol and Exeter airport and the ready supply of quality talent means that it’s totally possible to run a successful global business from here,” says Hilary Charman, Hilton Herbs’ international trade adviser since 2007.


Listen and learn Hilton Herbs advise being flexible in your approach and listening to your markets and respecting the cultural nuances of each country. For instance, in Japan and the US the UK provenance of Hilton Herbs is very important to customers as a mark of quality.


In France, one of Hilton Herbs ‘DIT’s


biggest markets, the UK origin of the company is not used in the marketing of the product. French customers are more nationalistic so the company has a dedicated French website, catalogue and labeling and Facebook posts in France only appear in the native language. The company also employs a native French speaker as a sales agent who is based in North Perrott.


guidance has proved invaluable


to our business. They have been close


partners for many years now’


The US continues to be a market where much


opportunity for growth exists. When a Chinese distributor


approached Hilton Herbs they turned


Recession proof your business Hilton Herbs didn’t feel the affects of the recession in the same way as many other retailers. They believe this was because of their exposure to multiple markets and the fact that not all countries felt the hit at the same time thus mitigating their risk and keeping their balance sheet healthy,


Don’t ever think you know it all “We’d been exporting for 11 years when we were approached by the Department for International Trade (DIT) who offered their support. At first, we felt there wasn’t much they could teach us as we’d been in the game for many years already! How wrong we were! DIT’s guidance has proved invaluable to our business. They have been close partners for many years now,” said Tony Self.


Martin Brooks, Production and Export Manager, Hilton Herbs has been DIT’s main point of contact and embarked on as many opportunities to develop knowledge as possible for Hilton Herbs. When Hilton Herbs first entered the US they


were based in Philadelphia. In recent years, on the advice of DIT, they moved their base to Iowa, which is centrally placed in the country and therefore more convenient for trading with both the East & West coasts. Since the move, Hilton Herbs have seen an increase in business.


to DIT for research support. DIT were able to undertake due diligence in China to help ensure the distributor was a good match for the company and had the right credentials in place.


Push on through the bureaucracy Hilton Herbs admit that in the early years of dealing with the US authorities to get approval for their products it was complicated and there were times they wanted to give up. In the UK there is just one authority to deal with but in the US they had to liaise with the Department of Agriculture, Food & Drug Administration and Customs, none of whom where prepared to liaise with each other. However, fast forward 20 years and the early struggles were worth it because they now have now reaped the rewards of the market and know how to work with all these important stakeholders.


Move with the times Now that shopping online is so much a part of our lives, Hilton Herbs have found new routes through Amazon and other online sites. The UK market has also changed considerably in the past 10 years. Hilton Herbs is now reviewing its UK approach and seeking opportunities with dedicated pet retailers. Hilton Herbs continues to grow its export network. It is currently reviewing further opportunities in the growing economies of both China and South Korea where pet ownership is on the rise.


MARCH/APRIL 2017 insight 17


inspire


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