CHOCOLATE A TALE OF
SWEET TASTE OF SUCCESS B
eech’s Fine Chocolates, a family- owned firm employing 55 staff, makes quality traditional British
chocolates from its factory in the centre of Preston and is an institution in the town.
It supplies its gourmet chocolates
to customers throughout the UK as well as creating ‘own brand’ chocolates for a select number of retailers and is now implementing an export drive, exporting to the USA, Kuwait, India and Japan. But the firm’s story wasn’t always
so sweet. In a highly competitive, commoditised market, the firm was feeling the pressure and it faced a tough decision.
26 SME
“It was a loss making business for a number of years,” explains chairman Andrew Whiting. “Even when it became profitable, the business lacked the boost it needed. We were stagnant. We had a choice: sit there and fail, or adapt, be brave and face the challenges of the future.” A six-figure funding package from HSBC
enabled Beech’s to invest in its products, plant and its people. “We’ve introduced a new range of truffles, increased the cocoa content of our chocolate, and rebranded and relaunched our product range,” added Andrew. “We also recognised that we needed to be able to respond much more
One of Britain’s oldest chocolate makers, which opened its doors in Lancashire in 1920 but faced closure less a decade ago, is now enjoying a period of unprecedented growth thanks to the vision of its new owners
quickly to customer demands otherwise we ran the risk of being left behind. We had to speed up our processes so that our chocolatiers could experiment with a range of ingredients to have new ideas implemented much quicker for clients. Our chocolatiers now have the tools to respond to clients within a week with new ideas.” These developments have seen the firm
secure new UK stockists from well-loved household retailers to top high class London department stores. Consequently, revenue is forecast to grow by 10% in the next 12 months. Tony Fulton, HSBC’s area director for Lancashire, said, “It’s fantastic
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